Hi, my post is focusing specifically on YouTube since I observed the following categories have less intrusive solutions or privacy focused solutions, even if they are paid:
- Operating Systems (Linux, for example)
- Instant Messaging (Element, for example)
- Community Messaging (Revolt, for example)
- E-Mail (Proton, for example)
- Office (libreoffice, for example)
- Password Managers (Bitwarden, for example)
However, how do we distribute videos and watch them without data collection? I am NOT asking how do I use a privacy-focused front-end for YouTube, by the way, I am aware they exist.
I am wondering how we obtain a FOSS solution to something super critical such as YouTube. It is critical since it contains a lot of educational content (I’d wager more than any other platform), and arguably the most informative platform, despite having to filter through a lot of trash. During COVID, we even saw lecturers from universities upload their content on YouTube and telling students to watch those lectures. (I have first-hand experience with this at a respectable university).
I refuse to accept that there is nothing we can do about it.
Everything seems critical when you haven’t tried living without. Meat eaters can’t comprehend living without meat. Car drivers can’t imagine living without cars.
I wondered how people pass their time without phones. Then my autistic son started demanding holding onto my phone for every waking minute he is not at school. Now I spend my day without the phone. Now that YouTube has stopped working on NewPipe, I’ve stopped watching it…and it felt a bit uncomfortable to miss my videos before bed, but now it’s not a big deal. None of these thongs are critical. There’s a near infinite world of choices available to us now. We just need to pick something else.
Well said. I have found challenging myself to limit or go without certain things has had a great impact on my happiness and contentment. Once you realise you can get on fine without one thing, it puts everything else into perspective. Similar to you, I switched phone last month and purposely didn’t import any of my YouTube subscriptions to see how I’d go if I just didn’t have that constant stream of interesting videos there demanding my time. I went from an hour or two of daily viewing to nothing very quickly and the only impact it had was to free up more time in my day. I used to check daily for new uploads from my favourite YouTubers and now it doesn’t even enter my mind, I couldn’t care less.