My Journey
I am now only writing about my journey that started about 18 months ago. My experiences, feelings, and reasoning is documented here to assist others who may be feeling the same way.
The software industry, especially Big Tech, is plagued by systemic enshittification, making self-hosting open-source software and contributing back not just an alternative—but the future. Decentralization through democratization is the way forward. To be fair, there is also closed-source or proprietary software out there that prioritizes users and privacy which I have also switched over to. Typically, these are companies that are PBCs and/or have a manifesto that is cut and dry about their purpose. A quick way to tell? Look for a privacy policy or manifesto that is simple to read and is very clear about their intentions.
Cory Doctorow popularized the term enshittification and outlined the problem alongside the necessary steps to combat it through regulation and interoperability. Unfortunately, government intervention is slow, and I didn’t have the patience to wait.
With broadband widely accessible, computing costs lower than ever, multiple ways to secure your setup, and an abundance of self-hosting options, there has never been a better time to free yourself from enshittification. Breaking free won’t be equally easy for everyone—how deeply you’re entrenched in a particular ecosystem determines the difficulty—but I’m here to guide you through the process and minimize friction.
Steps to Enshittification
- Attract users – Platforms lure people in with high-quality products or services.
- Exploit users – Once locked in, users become the product, their data leveraged to attract business customers.
- Degrade services – Services for both users and businesses deteriorate as the platform prioritizes profit over value.
My homelab journey began after a messy divorce from Google’s ecosystem. I got tired of being the product, tired of relying on cloud-first services that could be bricked at any moment by corporate whims. I wasn’t just a casual Google user—I was a fanboy for over a decade. I bought into the ‘Don’t Be Evil’ marketing and the “user first” propaganda, only to realize it was as empty as a used car salesman’s pitch. Everything looked great on the surface—until you were locked in so deep that leaving seemed impossible.
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It was time to fight back.
The Pile of Shit Known as Google
The cracks started showing when Google killed off one promising product after another—Stadia, Podcasts, Reader, Chromecast, Optimize, Domains, and countless others. Then came the bait-and-switch tactics: once-free services suddenly paywalled, unlimited storage disappearing overnight, and once-promised features were axed or shoved behind subscriptions. Pixel owners enjoyed free Google Photos backups—until they didn’t. Nest’s best features? Gutted or locked behind a paywall. Products were launched with cloud dependency and no local options—forcing users into subscriptions.
Even Google’s flagship AI product, Assistant, became dumber over time. Customization remained limited—no custom wake words, barely any voice options—and worst of all, Google let others listen to private conversations.
Then came the aggressive advertising, invasion of privacy, and shittier search results—the final insult. Scammy ads slipped past Google’s filters, Gmail and Chrome became ad delivery mechanisms, and users were misled about privacy (incognito mode? Not actually private). Not to mention Google Search ad real estate grew alarmingly as organic results were given a backseat and questionable Generative AI features stole publishers content reducing the click through rate many publishers so badly depend on to survive. That was the breaking point. I was done being the product. I was done with an exploitative company that valued data over people. And I wasn’t alone—so many people felt the same that sites like ‘Google Graveyard’ emerged to track its growing list of abandoned projects.
This Is the Way
As I reflected on my experience with Google, I saw the pattern everywhere—software decay wasn’t limited to one company. The problem was systemic. But rather than be a victim, I chose to fight back. And honestly? It was a blessing in disguise. The world of open-source, self-hosted software is vast, thriving, and filled with brilliant people. There are also companies that do build solid, privacy, user-first products but you have to do your due diligence. I found some great ones on my journey that I list below.
My mission was to replace every piece of shitty proprietary software I could—without compromising on quality. The journey was long, full of trial and error, but ultimately rewarding. And now, I’m sharing my experience to help others who feel just as betrayed and trapped as I once did.
Below, you’ll find a list of everything I currently switched over to and what it replaced. I’ll be linking to guides to help you set it up as I post them. The path to digital freedom starts here.
Just some thoughts.
| Name | Replaced | Open Source? | Self-hostable? | SAAS Option? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AudiobookShelf | Google Podcasts | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bluesky | Any centralized social network | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fasten Health | Health Provider Portals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Firefly III | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Frigate | Nest Camera | Yes | Yes | No |
| GrapheneOS | Stock Android (ASOP) | Yes | N/A | N/A |
| HEY Calendar | Google Calendar | No | No | Yes |
| HEY Email | Gmail | No | No | Yes |
| Hoarder | Google News | Yes | Yes | No |
| Home Assistant | Google Home | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Immich | Google Photos | Yes | Yes | No |
| Jellyfin | Plex | Yes | Yes | No |
| Kagi | Google Search | Partially | No | Yes |
| Matrix | Any centralized chat service | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mealie | Pinterest (recipes) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Obsidian | Notion Google Keep | Partially | No | Yes |
| ownCloud | Google Docs Google Sheets Google Presentation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Paperlessngx | Google Drive | Yes | Yes | No |
| Plant-It | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Ryot | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Traccar | Google Location History | Yes | Yes | No |
| TubeArchivist | YouTube | Yes | Yes | No |
When possible, all supporting articles or references I linked to were fact checked and credibility verified. Below is the data from MBFC
| Source | Bias | Reporting Accuracy | Credibility Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Times | Left-Center | High | High |
| Wikipedia | Least Biased | Mixed | Medium |
| Gizmodo | Left | High | High |
| The Verge | Left-Center | High | High |
| Wired | Left-Center | High | High |