2025-12-10 - Digital sovereignty, a local consideration
Comfort my friend, comfort
With the Internet, we started seeing new services like Gmail, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube, … And the whole idea behind it was: “Give us your data we will provide you with good services”. And they did, really, I was such a Google boy at that time, then Facebook, Twitter, Skype, … I was starting my developer career, I knew already that cloud is just someone else computer, but I was lured by the quality of the services provided, I was able to check my emails anywhere, to get in touch with people easily, to react on people’s post, … And all this for free!
If it is free, then you know what
Well, here again, I was not surprised that Google could read my emails to help them pushing some targeted ads somewhere. It was just a small banner, come on. I was still seeing all this as individual concerns, I was missing the point.
From mid-2012, I started working in an awesome coworking space in Lille, and on different side projects, with people having a much more critical point of view regarding technology and its effect on society. And it was great, it was fair, something was rotten in the land of tech companies, and it was just the beginning.
Concentration was going on (GitHub finally being bought by Microsoft was a shock to me…), monopolistic behaviors were not at all addressed (Google can use search, read emails and propose tailored ads, and it is fine…) and social networks can manipulate masses with ease (Facebook and Cambridge Analytica case).
In late 2018, it was all clear that claiming that you are not doing evil was not enough, you needed to prove it in your actions… By the way, you always need to show off what is not obvious…
Time for the blue pill
In 2020, a virus appeared, I got some time to spend in my flat with my laptop, so I decided to plan how I could get rid of most of my GAFAMs services. Let me be clear here, I was quite satisfied with their services, but I thought that it was just too much, Google and Facebook were everywhere, literally…
I am a plurality advocate, I am against all form of massification or monopoly, I had to step back, I had to show that another way was possible. Also, as a web developer, it was easier for me, I was not taking such a big risk. And many famous advocates were already promoting it like Framasoft association or Yunohost project.
It was time to push back.
Yunohost instance on my Raspberry Pi, my Spartacus moment
The main objective was clearly identified: Emails. I already had domains with personal emails plugged on Gmail, the first step was to use these emails in most of my web services. Then, I decided to run a Yunohost instance on a local Raspberry Pi 4. I discovered this project sometime back at Fosdem and I was a fan of it.
It was really easy to setup, you need to:
- Install the Yunohost app, first flashing the SD-Card with the good Rom
- Setup the system and create accounts
- Check the Yunohost Diagnostic tool, especially to get the missing DNS configuration
- Update your DNS Registrar with the mentioned configuration
- Manage Port Forwarding on your home router in order to access your Yunohost instance from the Web The documentation is great, there is also an active forum for discussions, quite straight-forward, and I was finally getting my emails (with sometimes some difficulties that I will develop later).
Aside of emails, I got a huge applications catalog that helped me to switch 3 critical services:
- Roundcube to replace Gmail App
- Nextcloud Files to replace Google Drive
- Nextcloud Calendar to replace Google Calendar I also started using:
- Vaultwarden to manage my password
- Miniflux to manage my feeds list
- Dolibarr to manage the accounting part of my freelance activity As any new tools and changes, you need time to adjust and accommodate, but I was very happy of these moves. All my data were coming back home, it just feels great.
Note regarding backups
A first consideration concerns backups. You NEED to SET UP BACKUP carefully. I am saying it again, GAFAMs are providing awesome services in terms of reliability and persistence, so you need to manage this yourself now. If reliability issues can be okish (1 hour downtime does not affect you much actually), persistence issues can be really painful. You don’t want to lose your emails. Or do you? Actually it was funny to see how I got really more reasonable with my emails. I cleaned my mailboxes to shrink it from 8gb to 2.3gb. I removed big attachments and export emails that I just needed for legal reasons. Also, I started using Thunderbird on my laptop, keeping most of my emails locally, and just the important ones on my IMAP server. I am now just having around 200mb of emails on my server.
Note regarding email hosting
A second consideration concerns email hosting. It is a pain in the ass to handle IP reputation. After 2 years at home, with a correct IP on my box, I changed my internet provider and it got worse, many of my emails were considered as spams… Then I decided to host my Yunohost instance on a VPS with a french provider. It was worse! VPS are using shared IP addresses, and you can have many spam bots using the same spot to mass deliver their crap, the IP address is then banned after some time… So I finally ended up using a email service directly from a specific provider with good reputation, the o2switch offer is really good and competitive for this if you are looking for a France-located provider.
What about mobile?
Big question. I was on Android OS since 2014, with my Google Account plugged in, it was data open bar… So I bought a Fairphone 3+ in late 2020, and I installed LineageOS on it. The setup is less easy than Yunohost if you are not technical, but it worked well. The key part was the App Store alternative, as you cannot access this store without a Google account. I used F-Droid store which is awesome for open source apps, but I still needed to access proprietary apps such as Slack or my bank app. For this purpose, the Aurora store was a savior.
One thing quite annoying about LineageOS is that you need to flash your phone with a new ROM on every Android major release and some apps cannot be installed due to lack of Google connectivity. You need something like the MicroG framework to do it. So I decided to use /e/OS in mid-2025 (it is actually a fork of LineageOS) and I am not regretting it. It solves the 2 issues above, and gives you a really fine control over anything tracking data in your phone.
So I can now use really all the applications I need without a Google account.
Quick review of other services
We talked a lot about Google as it was my biggest commitment, but there are other fellas in the crew.
Amazon
I deleted my account in 2020, only used for online shopping personnaly. I am still using AWS services for some clients.
I still have an account, not using much, sometimes Messenger with old friends. But I am still using a lot Whatsapp. I always suggest Signal as an alternative, but not everybody is ready yet.
Apple
No accounts, I used a Mac Book Pro in early 2010’s. Great product. Using Shazam on my mobile, but without account.
Microsoft
Never got an account directly, I was using Skype but the service sunset I am still using a lot Github. Personally and professionally.
There are also other smaller companies, but with a similar business mindset and propensity for monopolistic views, I will just mention the ones I was using or still use:
I was a huge user, from 2008. I created an account on a Mastodon node in 2016, never switched. But I took the Bluesky wave in late 2023 and deleted my account at that time. No regret. It was toxic at many levels.
Airbnb
I planned many holidays thanks to this application for many years. It is a great service for tourists, but it is also disturbing the local house market in many places (Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, …). I am trying now to use alternatives, phoning touristic agencies like in the 80’s, and also considering home exchange options.
Still plugged in it for professional reasons. A lot of noisy content, I don’t blame the platform for the content posed by users, but I passed hours filtering it out and it is still appearing on my wall…
Now what? From a local consideration to a global perspective
So it is possible. And the most important thing is that it gives you back the choice. You are not just obliged to use Gmail, Google Drive, iOS or Android. You can do something else, it will not always be better, UX friction is something real, but it will be yours.
There is also something really satisfying about adapting. Finding a workaround for a missing feature, learning a new interface, ordering your pictures to ease manual backups — it reconnects you to a leaner, more intentional relationship with technology. Especially if you are geek as I am.
But we can see where the individual argument reaches its limit. I can self-host my emails, degoogle my phone, but I still live in a world where GAFAM infrastructure is everywhere, in the services I use for work, in the platforms my clients depend on, in the apps my friends use every day.Again, the idea is not to make them disappear, they are great services, but we need to find alternatives, concentration and monopoly are never a good options, especially in our turbulent times. Individual sovereignty matters, but it is limited. And we are not even considering the hardware part here. The response to address this bigger picture has to be a collective one.
A few years back, I was amazed by the French initiative called Les Chatons. In 2016, small collectives emerged and proposed open source solutions for associations or even companies. The original idea of the Internet was still there, and to keep showing another way is possible remains the first step for bigger changes.
Now we need to scale up these initiatives, a lot of different voices like Henri Verdier, Quentin Adam or Tariq Krim are advocating for EU alternatives to the GAFAMs services. We have the entrepreneurs, we have the engineers, we have the companies (OVH, Hetzner, Scaleway, Clever Cloud, …), and since the beginning of the year, we started having what was missing for a long time, some political courage, still a bit of EU coordination and it should fly! Thanks for that, Mr. Trump.