Privacy Isn’t Paranoia—It’s a Choice. And I Have Made Mine.
Diary: 31 March, 2025
Today, I closed my Notion account. After 5 years of daily use, I've decided to prioritise privacy.
I've switched to Joplin - a lean and solid open-source note-taking app based in Europe, that stores data locally, and puts privacy front and centre. It’s much simpler but as the US government expand its reach, with the help of Big Tech, it's becoming harder to ignore a troubling reality: the tools we rely on may no longer be working in our best interest.
In today's digital world, privacy is becoming a rare commodity. Many people are starting to realise that the convenience of popular US-based apps comes at a cost - our personal data. And when you learn that even American scientists resort to burner phones at conferences, you begin to realise: privacy isn’t a fringe concern — it’s a frontline issue.
Over the past few years, I’ve been gradually switching to privacy-focused European services—for email, search, browsing, and more. I deleted Facebook and Instagram back in 2016, I exchanged Twitter for Mastodon, and have continued making changes ever since. But now the urgency feels greater. In the coming months, I plan to move everything—yes, even this Substack.
I understand this might disappoint some of you. But I believe it’s a necessary step.
Choosing privacy-first tools isn’t just about safeguarding data. It’s a quiet act of resistance. A statement that convenience isn’t worth everything. That we still can choose what kind of internet we want to be part of.
Because privacy matters. And when privacy becomes the exception, it’s up to us to make it the rule again.
I understand your choices. I, too, am migrating slowly from corporate American services to non-American, open source ones.
I'm doing this for both privacy and data security reasons.
While off-topic for you, I'm sure a lot of your followers would like to hear the story of your migration; pros, cons, pitfalls and lessons learned. There must be a story there somewhere. I envision that there will be many people making the same changes as you and me, so your experience could be useful to them.