Ask Lemmy

Chatgpt sub is more expensive than just their api. I use their api with shell gpt, it costs me less than 1$ per month with my usage.

Learn linux of course.

Download data dump of stack overflow, wiki, etc. Set up software to search through it, for example "codesearch", maybe there is something better. This guarantees independence from bot infected search results.

That's a setup for a decade, maybe then local LLMs will be smoothed out and reliable enough to use daily.

Depending on the make and model of your Android phone, you might be able to use GrapheneOS which will vastly improve your situation. Use it together with privacy respecting apps and you'll be a long way towards reclaiming your mobile privacy. You can also buy Android phones that are pre-configured with Graphene on them on ebay but you are obviously a running a risk.

Desktop/laptop you will need to move to Linux. Mint is (in my opinion) a very good option if you're new to Linux as it is privacy respecting and looks/acts in a very Windows type way. Like most Linux distributions, you can even try it without installing it by downloading and burning an ISO to a USB pen/stick drive. Here's a YT tutorial on doing that (also covers going on to install Mint).

Switch browsers to Firefox and install uBlockOrigin, LibRedirect and Firefox Multi Containers add-ons. Switch to a privacy friendly search engine such as DuckDuckGo, Startpage or a SearX instance.

Migrate your email to an encrypted privacy respecting provider such as Tuta (recently changed their name from Tutanota) and stop using things like OneDrive or Dropbox, instead use a service like ProtonDrive or Filen.

Use a decent VPN like Mullvad on all your devices. This not only protects your ISP from seeing what you're doing it also means you're using their DNS, which you can configure to block trackers, adverts and a few other things (at DNS level, you'll still need uBlockOrigin in your browser). It doesn't offer as much control as PiHole or AdGuard but it's a lot less complicated to set up.

You need to check out the degoogle magazine. On mobile, can someone link to it?

I completely agree with your point of view. If you don't control your technology, then your technology controls you.

You should know that it's really incredibly difficult to actually establish privacy on internet connected devices. They are designed to share information. Security is often an afterthought and privacy is often directly opposed to the goals of the corporations. It is possible to get a fair amount of privacy, but it is not easy. It will cost a lot of time in learning and configuring things, money to buy specific devices with specific features, and the sacrifice of the convenience that comes with mainstream products (you will have to do a lot more for yourself). There is no quick solution, it is an endless struggle - but personally I think the learning process is extremely rewarding and the skills you gain will be very useful.

So, where to begin? I would recommend learning about the technology that underpins all of the data gathering - computer networking. In order to make real decisions about how to use the technology and how to secure it, you need to understand how it works. You won't ever know if you are leaking data if you don't understand how that data is collected and transmitted.

I would like to point you to Professor Messer's Network+ training course, starting with the OSI model. This will help you learn the terminology of computer networking, and the concepts that underlie everything on the internet. If you get through the Network+ content, do Security+ also.

I also want to recommend the Selfhosted@lemmy.world community. A major goal of self hosting is separating your internet services from corporate control. This community is great place to learn and ask questions.

You should get a cheap computer (old, out of date hardware is completely fine) and install Linux on it so you can start learning how to use it (you'll need this to get away from Microsoft and Apple, and more importantly to have some control over your computing environment).

You might also be interested in the Murena 2 smartphone. It has physical switches for turning off the microphone and camera and network connections, and it runs /e/os (a de-Googled Android version).

There's also the Privacy, Security, and OSINT podcast.

I could write about other resources but this post has gotten long. Please feel free to ask me more about anything that interests you.

Nextdns or a pihole would be a good first step. Blocking tracker and ad domains (and whatever else you want) at the DNS level is fairly easy and inexpensive to accomplish. I use nextdns on my router and on every device that leaves my home network, it took less than an hour to get everything set up.

You're being a bit too paranoid. You're very safe using Google services since they are the most secure. They offer many good services for free and are very democratic, even Chromebooks are so cheap. Please OP, maybe you should seek therapy for dealing with such irrational beliefs.

Don't use them, nobody needs youtube.