Get a library card! It's free, your neighborhood has a local library, and apps like Libby and Kanopy offer FREE ree e-books, audio books, music, movies, educational video content, and more. I used to love going to the library as a kid, and forgot all about it as an adult.
Library is great!! They have a lot more resources and more events. I used to think it was just books. I also got a dvd player from marketplace and have started renting DVDs I have been enjoying it quite a lot! 😁
100%! The public library in the city I live in has nearly 100 branches and I can order any book from any branch for free, not to mention subscribe to more magazines than I could ever read, plus DVDs. It's been a revelation. I've saved a lot of money too.
The library purchases books from * somewhere * and books that work on the kindle format, while “free “ (tax money is still your money) to you, are still funding Amazon.
By using kobo and putting the demand on epub and similar formats you are diverting that money and demand away from pushing someone else to do the buying from an evil corp on your behalf…
I recognised myself in your description, in basically all aspects. I did almost exactly what you did. I add a piece of advice: go the extra mile and buy the Proton package. Mail, Drive, Authenticator, password protection and VPN are all included in 10$ per month ALL ENCRYPTED, no ads no NSA intrusions (its servers are in Switzerland, the strongest privacy legislation in the world).
Admittedly, migrating my 10k photos from GDrive to Proton was a bit of a challenge. But now it works fine, you just have to be patient and wait a few seconds for the system to encrypt your new photos or documents. I am still not there yet with the browser, I will try one of your alternatives. I used to be a Firefox user, but many banks or secure systems do not accept it any more.
I also subscribe to Proton for mail and other services. I hadn’t thought about migrating my photos from Google to Proton so thank you for the suggestion!
Proton will still report your stuff to authorities if asked. VPNs are now being blocked by sites. See Reddit, Google (which has merged with Reddit), Meta, etc. If your bank doesn't accept Firefox, CHANGE BANKS.
“Proton will still report your stuff to authorities if asked” They have to if they want to stay in business. I use Reddit and meta every day without having to disconnect from VPN. I do occasionally have to disconnect for a site, but I do that then reconnect.
I have proton....I didn't realize I could put photos there....my phone is full of photos and a few videos....I need to store them somewhere......and buy a new phone...
I'm a Luddite online and don't know how to do anything..for instance....I can't figure out why I can't upload photos to substack....I'm not sure if my phone is set wrong or too full or what....
But I've never owned a computer.....and I'm just lost....
“But I've never owned a computer” The Substack app does not have all the features of the full site on a computer browser. What exactly do you mean by “upload photos” to Substack? What specifically are you trying to do ?
When I first signed up for my art website and GoFundMe I was able to upload photos from my phone….
When it said upload photos and I clicked it gave me options to use photos on my phone….now….it doesn't give me that option….I have tried to figure out why I can't do now what I could do 2 years ago…
I'm confused by technology and have migraines so it's not easy for me to figure out….
I may have misspoke, there is actually a Proton Drive app that I imagine would do what you are describing. However, it comes separately from the email product. If you look at pricing here: https://protonvpn.com/ you can see that Proton Unlimited, which includes email, VPN, and cloud drive storage, is $7.99 / month.
I don't know anything about Proton yet, but it seems the Proton Free 5GB account should provide you with "Encrypted cloud storage for files, PHOTOS and documents. Online document and spreadsheet editor."
I appreciate the mention of replacing services instead of just getting rid of them. I feel many people don't consider that as an option and don't bother to try distancing themselves from mainstream because of the expectation to let so many things go.
As a young adult in gen Z, moving away from social media has been the hardest step so far lol. I've grown to heavily dislike social media in the last year but rely on it for communications and current information, especially as a Journalism student. I settled on using the select few sites I value via their websites on my browser, which I find I rarely open on anything but my PC now, and trashed the apps. For a while I struggled with Instagram since as much as I'd love to ditch it, most of my communications with close friends and with class groupchats are on there. For a while I used a distraction-free fork of it that let me turn off the feed and reels and whatnot until I found out abt Beeper, so I ditched Instagram (and Discord! Which is a tar pit of data violations!) and still get to access those chats without needing the apps. I plan to ditch them entirety when given the chance but it's been a lifesaver in the meantime.
After years of frustration (and wanting to get off Google drive for good), I finally found a good solution last year: German hosting company Hetzner offers a hosted NextCloud solution that is super cheap and so far is working great for me.
What I particularly love is that I now have personalised file sharing urls - I've hooked my own sub-domain up, so no more expiring wesendit.com links etc
Another rabbit hole I went down was linux. Not relevant to you because it's still well nigh impossible to run on a Macbook, but I'm a happy Ubuntu user for the last 15 years now. It empowered me to an unbelievable degree.
No more slow boot up times, no more endless "system updates". No more expensive licensed software. No bundled AI or snooping "assistant". Yes it occasionally requires a bit more tech-friendliness than running Microsoft or Apple. But less and less.
I actually bought a used ThinkPad this year and have some vague intention to try running Linux on it. Honestly my only reluctance is that I got it to run iTunes for Windows in order to run stable updates on my iPod...
But yes, so much of this experiment has been about taking back agency with my technology and feeling like I have alternatives, even if I don't immediately choose to adopt them. I don't hate my Macbook, but if that changes for some reason, I will be glad that I am prepared to run Linux on short notice.
This is a great approach. You identified a problem statement, you collected meaningful data, you researched and executed, you defined measurable ways to see what is working and what is not, and you cycled through continuous improvement to get better. This is what I do at work, but with different projects. This is an excellent approach to re-connecting to what matters. I never thought to approach my vices this way, either. I will certainly give this a try. Thanks for the great article and inspiration.
This is so good!!! And so insanely helpful. Thank you!!!
I’ve been looking to switch to Hey for gmail and calendar (I’m a big fan of the whole 37 signals tech stack actually!) The holdup is sharing a calendar with my husband and also Google Docs and Drive which is my whole business…. But it’s a process!!!
Starting with Kago and Orion to replace Google search and chrome. But I’ve already had some glitchy problems with the browser. We’ll see how it goes.
Amazon I’m off of, except kindle. This one is challenging because Libby uses the Kindle!!!! How do you get library books?? (And don’t say physical books haha, I love reading on my phone so much!)
For music I switched to Apple Music and just bought all my favorite albums rather than pay for streaming. So it’s effectively an iPod now!!! (Although now my husband got an Apple Music account so I also have access to that.)
I used to be very into the privacy of Apple and Siri and all of our products are that (including Apple TV, and Apple speakers, laptops and phones) so that will be too expensive to replace right now and I’m honestly hooked on all of them so we’ll have to see how the company goes…
Do you have a favorite AI LLM? I’m using ChatGPT now but starting to feel uncomfortable about all the access they have to me.
Anyway, thanks so much for doing this, it was really fun to read through your process and try to figure out mine!!!
I didn't come across Hey when I was looking for an email replacement but it looks great.
Kobo has Libby integration too! Though I don't think there's anything wrong with continuing to use the Kindle you own for library books, and you could use the Kobo store and the send-to-Kindle function to move the book purchasing side, especially since Amazon no longer lets you download ebook files. I'm with you though, I mostly buy physical books once I've read and loved something in ebook form now. My physical library has just gotten too big to be as wanton with book acquisition.
My LLM of choice has Claude for a while now, primarily because I find it more conversational and measured in how it handles queries. I'm not sure if it's accurate to say I "trust" any of these companies, but I worry less about Anthropic than OpenAI/Google.
I have successfully disconnected from Google and those people by taking much of my activity to proton which works really well and it is very safe. My computer is Apple and I’m happy to stay with them because they’re so privacy focused. The big problem is getting away from Facebook. I could with a bit of effort and a willingness to annoy a few people manage to keep in touch with old friends a good number of whom are on different continents to me, but Facebook is the main means by which community groups and the town authorities where I live, keep in touch with the public and the stuff I simply need to use Facebook to find out about. That one’s tough, but Google is easy to get rid of no great problems there at all. Start with the proton account and work out from there.
I’m a parent of elementary school aged kids and I am witnessing in real time their “awakening” to the tech and social stacks, so to speak. This is a really interesting context to consider what I do and don’t link them into.
I'm shocked! This is incredible! thank you for sharing your process and discoveries with the world. I am both inspired and overwhelmed, but you give me hope that I can tackle my tech stack in time.
As I was reading this, I would take mini breaks to go delete apps and it felt amazing. Thank you for the walkthrough- I know it’s taken years for me to get this bogged down with tech madness, so it will take a while to delete/change things, but I love the little hits of dopamine I’m getting with each step forward!
This is fantastic! Thank you so much! I love your slowly but surely approach, and the idea of replacing not simply deleting. I’m going to use your article as a road-map for my family to do the same. Thank you so much for sharing!
I started with my phone last year. Deleting apps etc… which means I’m also off IG and FB… saw TikTok for what it is in the beginning and never got into it, and meta imitating it made it easier for me to drop it.
Everything else’s is going to require me to do a serious audit and I’m excited.
I loved this so much, thank you for taking the time to write and share it with us. And that watch is so cool, my Lord!
I have done this a few times. I know it is weird, but every service in the end looks to build a walled garden, and the main purpose of the whole exercise is lost.
I think diversifying the use of services is the best option. I have used Proton, Tuta, and others for email, and one problem I had with each one is that they either do not have enough essential features or try to sell more than what I need.
Fastmail is a good option, and I intend to try that next.
I have a pCloud lifetime plan, and it is enough for my cloud needs, which are syncing photos and documents from my Apple devices.
Social media has become the antithesis of what it was meant to do, and I try to limit the need to use multiple services. I have circled back to Substack, solely for the reason that the quality of content is miles ahead of X, Instagram, or Facebook.
It was a good read and all the best with your efforts :)
But it comes down to what you use your phone for. I've seen people keep a cheap smartphone on hand for wi-fi for some apps but use a flip phone for regular use.
I was an early Light Phone III adopter as well. I still have it and still use it sometimes (I turn on call forwarding and leave my iPhone at home), but I haven't yet figured out how to fully integrate it into my life.
I've been keeping a close eye on tech in the dumb-smartphone space and the only reason I didn't say more about it is that I plan to write about it more extensively in my next piece.
Old lady here. Have started much of this with the help (& motivation) of my 25 year old daughter. I switched from iPhone to a Google Pixle on which she put the GrapheneOs. Got rid of all our Amazon Echos & such. Use an open source thingy (Hey Nabu) mostly just for lights now. Got rid of Amazon Prime a long time ago. Wiring on deGoogling now. Use Petition suite. Daughter is stung up NAS & served to a Kobo reader. We have different needs (or maybe wants?), so I started much more slowly than she did on some things. But the more we do, the better I like it. FB is my bugaboo. Local town stuff on it & far flung distant relatives... Used Signal with just s few, but more are coming in board. Doing library activities more. Or next big better is cutting the cord from Smart TV...
Get a library card! It's free, your neighborhood has a local library, and apps like Libby and Kanopy offer FREE ree e-books, audio books, music, movies, educational video content, and more. I used to love going to the library as a kid, and forgot all about it as an adult.
I use bookshop.org a lot. The have audio books now too
Hoopla is another good one!
I like the Hoopla format.
Library is great!! They have a lot more resources and more events. I used to think it was just books. I also got a dvd player from marketplace and have started renting DVDs I have been enjoying it quite a lot! 😁
I bought a DVD player in 2025 and love checking out DVDs from the library. They have an absolutely huge selection!
100%! The public library in the city I live in has nearly 100 branches and I can order any book from any branch for free, not to mention subscribe to more magazines than I could ever read, plus DVDs. It's been a revelation. I've saved a lot of money too.
Blackstone Audio!!! Free audiobooks through the library, no holds, unlimited checkouts.
I love both Hoopla and Kanopy, the two streaming services my library offers.
Kudos. I’m trying…
Yea BUT…
The library purchases books from * somewhere * and books that work on the kindle format, while “free “ (tax money is still your money) to you, are still funding Amazon.
By using kobo and putting the demand on epub and similar formats you are diverting that money and demand away from pushing someone else to do the buying from an evil corp on your behalf…
In Canada, Libby is on Kobo, not Kindle.
Fair. But of course it is…because Canada. Le sigh.
Wow, that was a massive amount of work and changeover. Inspiring. Congrats on seeing it through.
Dear Elle
I recognised myself in your description, in basically all aspects. I did almost exactly what you did. I add a piece of advice: go the extra mile and buy the Proton package. Mail, Drive, Authenticator, password protection and VPN are all included in 10$ per month ALL ENCRYPTED, no ads no NSA intrusions (its servers are in Switzerland, the strongest privacy legislation in the world).
Admittedly, migrating my 10k photos from GDrive to Proton was a bit of a challenge. But now it works fine, you just have to be patient and wait a few seconds for the system to encrypt your new photos or documents. I am still not there yet with the browser, I will try one of your alternatives. I used to be a Firefox user, but many banks or secure systems do not accept it any more.
I also subscribe to Proton for mail and other services. I hadn’t thought about migrating my photos from Google to Proton so thank you for the suggestion!
I migrated my photos to proton and I’m 69. It’s not hard
Moving from iPhoto to Proton
? How to do it?
if you don’t have proton yet start with a trial. You can export photos from iCloud and import into proton. I think proton has a help page for it.
How do you put photos on proton ?
Can I move them from my phone....I'm about your age but I can't figure it out!!!
You might be able to if you have the Proton app on your phone. Reply to me here and I will try it on my phone to see
I don't think I have the proton app but I have proton mail ….
Proton will still report your stuff to authorities if asked. VPNs are now being blocked by sites. See Reddit, Google (which has merged with Reddit), Meta, etc. If your bank doesn't accept Firefox, CHANGE BANKS.
“Proton will still report your stuff to authorities if asked” They have to if they want to stay in business. I use Reddit and meta every day without having to disconnect from VPN. I do occasionally have to disconnect for a site, but I do that then reconnect.
Yeah, for me it automatically gets a “connection is banned” warning.
Proton VPN allows you to specify which server, in which country to use. If you have that ability, try switching countries.
That doesn’t stop sites from blocking you. Even on streaming warnings are going up. I see this on HBO Max now all the time.
Ya I know there are ways of spoofing/masking VPN tunnels but I have never had the need. In general it isn’t a big issue for me.
Who?
I have proton....I didn't realize I could put photos there....my phone is full of photos and a few videos....I need to store them somewhere......and buy a new phone...
I'm a Luddite online and don't know how to do anything..for instance....I can't figure out why I can't upload photos to substack....I'm not sure if my phone is set wrong or too full or what....
But I've never owned a computer.....and I'm just lost....
Signed ...confused old guy.....
“But I've never owned a computer” The Substack app does not have all the features of the full site on a computer browser. What exactly do you mean by “upload photos” to Substack? What specifically are you trying to do ?
When I first signed up for my art website and GoFundMe I was able to upload photos from my phone….
When it said upload photos and I clicked it gave me options to use photos on my phone….now….it doesn't give me that option….I have tried to figure out why I can't do now what I could do 2 years ago…
I'm confused by technology and have migraines so it's not easy for me to figure out….
Oh goodness, so sorry. It may have simply been a design change to switched off that capability. Or made it more difficult to find.
I may have misspoke, there is actually a Proton Drive app that I imagine would do what you are describing. However, it comes separately from the email product. If you look at pricing here: https://protonvpn.com/ you can see that Proton Unlimited, which includes email, VPN, and cloud drive storage, is $7.99 / month.
You buy the package that includes several services including Pdrive. It’s 10 bucks a month, less than 2 beers
Actually $7.99 / month, I just looked
I don't know anything about Proton yet, but it seems the Proton Free 5GB account should provide you with "Encrypted cloud storage for files, PHOTOS and documents. Online document and spreadsheet editor."
https://proton.me/drive/pricing
Yes to Proton, it’s the first thing I did in the journey to reduce big tech in my life. It’s a great service.
A really wonderful addition to anyone's music stack is Radio Garden - a free streaming app for radio stations across the world with a globe interface.
I was just looking for a steaming app for radio with global options! Thank you!!
I appreciate the mention of replacing services instead of just getting rid of them. I feel many people don't consider that as an option and don't bother to try distancing themselves from mainstream because of the expectation to let so many things go.
As a young adult in gen Z, moving away from social media has been the hardest step so far lol. I've grown to heavily dislike social media in the last year but rely on it for communications and current information, especially as a Journalism student. I settled on using the select few sites I value via their websites on my browser, which I find I rarely open on anything but my PC now, and trashed the apps. For a while I struggled with Instagram since as much as I'd love to ditch it, most of my communications with close friends and with class groupchats are on there. For a while I used a distraction-free fork of it that let me turn off the feed and reels and whatnot until I found out abt Beeper, so I ditched Instagram (and Discord! Which is a tar pit of data violations!) and still get to access those chats without needing the apps. I plan to ditch them entirety when given the chance but it's been a lifesaver in the meantime.
After years of frustration (and wanting to get off Google drive for good), I finally found a good solution last year: German hosting company Hetzner offers a hosted NextCloud solution that is super cheap and so far is working great for me.
What I particularly love is that I now have personalised file sharing urls - I've hooked my own sub-domain up, so no more expiring wesendit.com links etc
https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-share/
Another rabbit hole I went down was linux. Not relevant to you because it's still well nigh impossible to run on a Macbook, but I'm a happy Ubuntu user for the last 15 years now. It empowered me to an unbelievable degree.
No more slow boot up times, no more endless "system updates". No more expensive licensed software. No bundled AI or snooping "assistant". Yes it occasionally requires a bit more tech-friendliness than running Microsoft or Apple. But less and less.
I actually bought a used ThinkPad this year and have some vague intention to try running Linux on it. Honestly my only reluctance is that I got it to run iTunes for Windows in order to run stable updates on my iPod...
But yes, so much of this experiment has been about taking back agency with my technology and feeling like I have alternatives, even if I don't immediately choose to adopt them. I don't hate my Macbook, but if that changes for some reason, I will be glad that I am prepared to run Linux on short notice.
Ubuntu is really easy, you just have to download it and make a bootable USB drive (lots of free software available to do this on all platforms)
You can always run a virtual windows server on Ubuntu, for emergency scenarios when you absolutely have to boot into windows.
Or you can turn it into a dual-boot machine - without needing to nuke your windows install.
This is a great approach. You identified a problem statement, you collected meaningful data, you researched and executed, you defined measurable ways to see what is working and what is not, and you cycled through continuous improvement to get better. This is what I do at work, but with different projects. This is an excellent approach to re-connecting to what matters. I never thought to approach my vices this way, either. I will certainly give this a try. Thanks for the great article and inspiration.
This is so good!!! And so insanely helpful. Thank you!!!
I’ve been looking to switch to Hey for gmail and calendar (I’m a big fan of the whole 37 signals tech stack actually!) The holdup is sharing a calendar with my husband and also Google Docs and Drive which is my whole business…. But it’s a process!!!
Starting with Kago and Orion to replace Google search and chrome. But I’ve already had some glitchy problems with the browser. We’ll see how it goes.
Amazon I’m off of, except kindle. This one is challenging because Libby uses the Kindle!!!! How do you get library books?? (And don’t say physical books haha, I love reading on my phone so much!)
For music I switched to Apple Music and just bought all my favorite albums rather than pay for streaming. So it’s effectively an iPod now!!! (Although now my husband got an Apple Music account so I also have access to that.)
I used to be very into the privacy of Apple and Siri and all of our products are that (including Apple TV, and Apple speakers, laptops and phones) so that will be too expensive to replace right now and I’m honestly hooked on all of them so we’ll have to see how the company goes…
Do you have a favorite AI LLM? I’m using ChatGPT now but starting to feel uncomfortable about all the access they have to me.
Anyway, thanks so much for doing this, it was really fun to read through your process and try to figure out mine!!!
Thanks, Elle!
I didn't come across Hey when I was looking for an email replacement but it looks great.
Kobo has Libby integration too! Though I don't think there's anything wrong with continuing to use the Kindle you own for library books, and you could use the Kobo store and the send-to-Kindle function to move the book purchasing side, especially since Amazon no longer lets you download ebook files. I'm with you though, I mostly buy physical books once I've read and loved something in ebook form now. My physical library has just gotten too big to be as wanton with book acquisition.
My LLM of choice has Claude for a while now, primarily because I find it more conversational and measured in how it handles queries. I'm not sure if it's accurate to say I "trust" any of these companies, but I worry less about Anthropic than OpenAI/Google.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the post.
I have successfully disconnected from Google and those people by taking much of my activity to proton which works really well and it is very safe. My computer is Apple and I’m happy to stay with them because they’re so privacy focused. The big problem is getting away from Facebook. I could with a bit of effort and a willingness to annoy a few people manage to keep in touch with old friends a good number of whom are on different continents to me, but Facebook is the main means by which community groups and the town authorities where I live, keep in touch with the public and the stuff I simply need to use Facebook to find out about. That one’s tough, but Google is easy to get rid of no great problems there at all. Start with the proton account and work out from there.
Elle, you can read Libby books directly on your phone without Kindle.
Kobo is actually easier to get library books on/from than kindle too!
Lumo ( made by proton) supposedly doesn't save your data
I’m a parent of elementary school aged kids and I am witnessing in real time their “awakening” to the tech and social stacks, so to speak. This is a really interesting context to consider what I do and don’t link them into.
I'm shocked! This is incredible! thank you for sharing your process and discoveries with the world. I am both inspired and overwhelmed, but you give me hope that I can tackle my tech stack in time.
Thank you for your kind words. It has really meant so much to hear from people that this has been helpful or empowering for them.
As I was reading this, I would take mini breaks to go delete apps and it felt amazing. Thank you for the walkthrough- I know it’s taken years for me to get this bogged down with tech madness, so it will take a while to delete/change things, but I love the little hits of dopamine I’m getting with each step forward!
This is fantastic! Thank you so much! I love your slowly but surely approach, and the idea of replacing not simply deleting. I’m going to use your article as a road-map for my family to do the same. Thank you so much for sharing!
I started with my phone last year. Deleting apps etc… which means I’m also off IG and FB… saw TikTok for what it is in the beginning and never got into it, and meta imitating it made it easier for me to drop it.
Everything else’s is going to require me to do a serious audit and I’m excited.
I loved this so much, thank you for taking the time to write and share it with us. And that watch is so cool, my Lord!
Thanks for all this information. It's really valuable and helpful for the rest of us who look at all the tentacles and think, "Where do I even start?"
I agree! I wish that his post could be turned into a guide of sorts, to help people start to make this transition themselves.
I have done this a few times. I know it is weird, but every service in the end looks to build a walled garden, and the main purpose of the whole exercise is lost.
I think diversifying the use of services is the best option. I have used Proton, Tuta, and others for email, and one problem I had with each one is that they either do not have enough essential features or try to sell more than what I need.
Fastmail is a good option, and I intend to try that next.
I have a pCloud lifetime plan, and it is enough for my cloud needs, which are syncing photos and documents from my Apple devices.
Social media has become the antithesis of what it was meant to do, and I try to limit the need to use multiple services. I have circled back to Substack, solely for the reason that the quality of content is miles ahead of X, Instagram, or Facebook.
It was a good read and all the best with your efforts :)
One of my friends uses the Light Phone. He's used it for over a year & enjoys it.
https://www.thelightphone.com/lightiii
But it comes down to what you use your phone for. I've seen people keep a cheap smartphone on hand for wi-fi for some apps but use a flip phone for regular use.
I was an early Light Phone III adopter as well. I still have it and still use it sometimes (I turn on call forwarding and leave my iPhone at home), but I haven't yet figured out how to fully integrate it into my life.
I've been keeping a close eye on tech in the dumb-smartphone space and the only reason I didn't say more about it is that I plan to write about it more extensively in my next piece.
Old lady here. Have started much of this with the help (& motivation) of my 25 year old daughter. I switched from iPhone to a Google Pixle on which she put the GrapheneOs. Got rid of all our Amazon Echos & such. Use an open source thingy (Hey Nabu) mostly just for lights now. Got rid of Amazon Prime a long time ago. Wiring on deGoogling now. Use Petition suite. Daughter is stung up NAS & served to a Kobo reader. We have different needs (or maybe wants?), so I started much more slowly than she did on some things. But the more we do, the better I like it. FB is my bugaboo. Local town stuff on it & far flung distant relatives... Used Signal with just s few, but more are coming in board. Doing library activities more. Or next big better is cutting the cord from Smart TV...