I’m there as well.
I used to get so excited about the newest technology and tech gadgets, but that excitement gradually waned until now, I find myself trying to make my older, unintrusive devices last as long as possible. If it needs an account or an internet connection to function, I’m simply not interested anymore.
I switched to Graphene OS recently, after I discovered that an iOS software update had added a “consent” option (default opted-in) for Siri to learn from my interactions with my apps, which you have to opt out of for each individual app. It’s ridiculous but I felt so betrayed by Apple. I opt out of everything and have never used Siri, and they still sneaked it in and opted me in.
I live in Europe so safety isn’t an issue, but I can’t use the simplest things anymore, like the post office app, and the govt auth app. It’s madness - these are govt services that require me to share my data with American tech companies. Wth?!
I won’t pretend to understand what it’s like living in the Middle East right now, but I can relate a little. My family still live in South Africa. Fortunately the current govt is too incompetent for privacy tools to be dangerous. That could change though, and then their white skins will make them vulnerable.
Anyway, just wanted to say you’re not alone. Stay safe.
I’ve been following this community for a while now and have not yet found the courage to selfhost anything.
I find the answers generally either assume a lot of knowledge, or throw out a single solution provider (synology, nextcloud, yunohost). Neither of these approaches helps me advance the big picture overview that I’m lacking, or a way of evaluating what the best setup is for me. I’ve started drafting an overview document for myself with the vague idea of asking for feedback here but I’m not sure such a request would be welcome.
So, yes, I would be interested in a solution that makes self-hosting more accessible.