Most people I know use Gmail, Google Drive, Instagram, and Twitter. I use none of them.
Instead, I run my own Mastodon instance, my own Git server, and store files on my own NAS. It’s extra work, it costs money, and it requires maintenance. So why do I do it?
Privacy
When you use a service from Google, Meta, or any other big corporation, they own your data. They can analyze your photos, profile your behavior, and suspend your account without warning if their algorithms or moderators decide to do so.
When I host my own services, I own my data. No one analyzes my behavior, and if I decide to shut down or move, I can. The database is mine.
Vendor Lock-in
The biggest reason I self-host is that I don’t want to be locked into an ecosystem.
If Google raises prices, or if Apple decides to shut down a service, that’s their decision. Your data, their rules.
When you self-host, you can move. You can export your data and take it with you. You’re not locked in.
Sure, Google Drive is cheap, around 19 SEK per month for 100 gigabytes. But the price isn’t the whole story. What does it cost when you want to switch providers? What does it cost when they change their terms?
Cost
Self-hosting isn’t just about privacy; it’s also about money in the long run.
I run Nextcloud on a NAS. It was a significant initial investment, absolutely. But now I have several terabytes of storage for a fixed cost. No monthly fee that increases over time.
Learning by Doing
Setting up a Mastodon instance, deploying a Git server, configuring Caddy – it’s not just tedious work. It’s learning.
I now understand how certificate management works, how reverse proxies work, how systemd-units work. Knowledge that’s useful even in “regular” development jobs.
A Digital Presence That’s My Own
There’s also something satisfying about having a digital presence that’s my own. mastodon.jimmy-b.se isn’t just a service; it’s a small corner of the internet that belongs to me.
I’m not building infrastructure because it’s cool (even though it is). I’m building it because it gives me freedom, control, and a digital presence that I actually own.