Building on yesterday’s rant about Sellouts and Hypocrites, one of the 1st things you need to understand in order to extract yourself from the tech titans are the concepts of:

End to End Encryption (E2EE)

With E2EE you own your data. Not the software creator. They just own or maintain the software that makes it possible for you to work with your data. Here’s a good primer if you’re really interested, but the point is E2EE is what keeps the titan (FB, X, Goog, etc) from reading/using your data. Believe it or not, there are E2EE services for just about anything.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

FOSS (aka FLOSS) takes things one step further to prevent vendor lock-in from any 1 titan. This is usually enhanced by the FOSS taking advantage of a protocol. The web and email are two of the best examples of what FOSS has enabled. With a little bit of know how anyone can run a website and send or receive email without being forced through a single provider (be it Gmail, Outlook.com, etc). There are even FOSS social media networks!

In Summary

Yes, I know these are overly simplified descriptions, but the point isn’t to get dragged into holy wars over the pedantic differences between FOSS and FLOSS, or encryption at rest vs in transit… it’s to understand what you’re looking for and, more importantly, why!

One last point before I go… Not all FOSS includes E2EE, nor does E2EE mean the software is FOSS (we software developers have to make a living after all). No one ever said freedom comes free.

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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...