Intro
About a month ago, I became obsessed with the idea of reducing my digital footprint, especially on big tech platforms like Google, Meta, Instagram, etc. This isn’t something you can accomplish overnight (unfortunately), but with concerted effort, I believe you can make real progress. In my case, I’m not entirely sure what triggered this desire, but it gradually became clear that there’s a concerning amount of data about me on the internet, which doesn’t feel comfortable to have out there—especially as we enter a new age of AI where phishing scams are easier and more effective than ever. The less public information you have, the less likely you’ll be a target.
One thing I’ll say right off the bat: I’m by no means an expert on the topic. I’m just doing the best I know how, and I’m sure I’ll learn many new things along the way. I’ll also mention that I’m not a purist—I’m a pragmatist. I’m aiming to do the best job I can within reasonable time and effort constraints. Another goal I’ve set for myself is improving my personal cybersecurity, which I’ll dive into later in this post.
Where to Start?
I started with my email. Email is the cornerstone of your digital identity, so it makes sense to begin there, both from a security and privacy perspective. Like most people, I’ve been a Gmail user for as long as I can remember. Switching email providers felt like the biggest hurdle—everything else seemed trivial in comparison. I chose Proton Mail. If you’re more hardcore, you could host your own email server, but I found that was far more work than I wanted to take on. Many open-source webmail clients weren’t visually appealing to me, and I’m a very aesthetic-driven person. If I’m using something daily, it needs to look good. Proton strikes a great balance between being privacy-centric and aesthetically pleasing.
Proton Mail Features I Love
One of my favorite features of Proton Mail is email aliasing. You can create a new pseudo-email for every account you sign up for, which hides your real email address. This gives you a huge advantage: if you ever want to sever ties with a service, you can delete the alias and stop receiving emails from them. It also boosts your security because, over time, your primary email address may get leaked in data breaches. With email aliases, you solve this problem—if one alias is compromised, it isn’t tied to your other accounts.
Proton also offers alternatives to Google Docs, a password manager, and encrypted cloud storage. I consolidated my password management into Proton’s ecosystem, replacing 1Password. While I think 1Password is fantastic, I wanted to reduce my number of paid subscriptions. Proton’s encrypted Drive is a solid Google Drive alternative. For sensitive files, people recommend double encryption, but for everyday documents, it’s a massive improvement from a privacy perspective.
Note-Taking
I used to rely on Google Keep for all my notes—it was easy and convenient. However, when I started this journey, I discovered Standard Notes, which was recently acquired by Proton. It’s an end-to-end encrypted note-taking app, similar to Keep. It works fantastically for my needs, and I hope Proton eventually integrates it more tightly into their ecosystem. Bonus: it supports multi-factor authentication (MFA), which is always a plus.
Google Sheets Alternative
This one was tricky. There aren’t many aesthetically pleasing cloud-based alternatives to Google Sheets. I’ve taken a hybrid approach—moving some data back to my local computer with Apple Numbers and self-hosting NocoDB on a Raspberry Pi. NocoDB is like a mix of Google Sheets and Airtable. It’s great for collaboration and managing data like addresses. Self-hosting isn’t for everyone, but I enjoy taking control where I can.
Social Media
I’m not a huge fan of social media—it’s addictive and often a time sink. That said, I believe there’s a time and place for it, especially if there’s no algorithm designed to steal your time and energy. I’ve been exploring Nostr as a replacement for platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’re curious about Nostr, check out my article here where I explain it in detail. I believe it could be the future of social media, giving users data sovereignty.
I deleted my Facebook account after downloading my data (mostly photos). You can find instructions here. Instagram has been harder to quit, but I’m exploring Olas as a promising alternative. My vision is to use a private Nostr relay for close friends and a public profile for broader content. Nostr already feels like a less toxic replacement for Twitter.
YouTube
YouTube is tough to replace. I use a whole home VPN to stay anonymous while watching, but I haven’t found a viable alternative yet. I’m optimistic that Nostr or a similar decentralized platform will eventually fill this gap.
Spotify
I enjoy Spotify and didn’t want to quit entirely, so I recreated my account using an email alias to obscure my identity. I’ve also started using virtual credit card numbers to limit exposure during breaches. For podcasts, I switched to Fountain, which integrates with Nostr for episode discussions. I’m also trying TIDAL for its HiFi audio quality.
Security Improvements
I’ve been upgrading my cybersecurity alongside these changes. Here’s what I’ve done:
- Adopted email aliases for accounts and updated old ones retroactively.
- Invested in YubiKeys for MFA. Unlike phone-based MFA, YubiKeys are immune to malware and SIM cloning.
- Stopped storing recovery codes in my password manager.
- Set a PIN for my password manager, which auto-locks after inactivity.
Obfuscating Your Phone Number
I’ve started using temporary phone numbers, such as those from Anonymous SMS. These are great for one-time use but shouldn’t be relied on for long-term accounts.
Google Photos/iCloud Alternatives
If you’re like me, you value accessibility and security for your photos. I used to use Google Photos but switched to Immich, a self-hosted solution on a NAS (Network Attached Storage). If you go this route:
- Don’t expose your NAS to the internet—use a VPN for external access.
- Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule: three copies of your data, two local (on your device and NAS), and one offsite.
Reduce Your Exposure to Data Brokers
I found Incogni, a paid service that (allegedly) requests the removal of your data from data broker websites, making significantly less accessible information about you on the internet. Does it work? I think so... but honestly, I just subscribed for a month and canceled because I don't think there's much value in continuing the subscription once they've made all the requests for you. Only time will tell, but the goal is to reduce your data exposure to the point where you receive significantly less spam, scam attempts, etc.
Conclusion
I’m far from done with this journey and continue to learn every day. My goal is to reduce dependence on big tech, reclaim ownership of my data, and undo years of oversharing. If you have questions or want to chat, reach out to me on Nostr: npub17afya0s3re0f6t246az8vrzgguywdn6ea2p7dv9kn744kkyxxs3q2hjmzg.