Services Worth Self-Hosting for Privacy

A few years ago, I decided I wanted more control over my data. I was tired of wondering what Google knew about me, tired of cloud services getting breached, and tired of relying on companies that could shut down tomorrow and take my data with them. So I started self-hosting — not to be optimal, but to be in control. If you’re here, you might be thinking about doing the same. Maybe you’ve heard about self-hosting but feel overwhelmed by where to start. Maybe you think it requires a server closet full of equipment and a networking degree. It doesn’t. This post covers the services I recommend starting with if you care about privacy and want to own your data. None of these are required. Pick what sounds useful and ignore the rest. Pi-hole # If you only self-host one thing, make it Pi-hole. It runs a DNS server on your network that blocks ads and trackers at the source. Every device in your home connects through it, so you get ad-blocking everywhere on your phone, your laptop, and your…