The Apps I Use So Apple Can't Take Everything

TL;DR: Part two of the Apple Account series. Backup apps that pull your iCloud data down to storage you control, email providers that speak IMAP/CalDAV/CardDAV so Apple's own apps keep working without iCloud, ways to buy and track software outside the App Store, and a password manager that isn't Keychain. My own five picks are at the end, along with why you should be testing a restore every quarter. Disaster Avoidance Apps Yesterday I laid out what happens when Apple closes your account: your identity if it's an @icloud.com address, your photos and messages, your purchases, your hardware in every practical sense, and a 2023 federal ruling that says suspicion is the only standard Apple has to meet. That post was the bad news. This is the other half. These are the apps and services that move your data out from under a single Apple Account, what each one actually protects, and where each one falls short. There are more options here than anyone needs, and I have not run most of them. At…