Is privacy on Internet an illusion?
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Whatever is said about Internet privacy, data protection, etc… workflows, user experience and integration possibilities end up prevailing in the choice of the tool, services or technologies we use.
Two perfect examples are the Google and Apple ecosystems.
A unified ecosystem
Who doesn't use a Gmail address?
Yet we know that Google is not a saint in terms of user privacy. But the most important thing that makes sticks to it (at least as far as I'm concerned) is the perfect integration of the suite of tools/services that Google offers.
I write my notes on Keep, I write my documents with Docs, my calendar is on Calendar, and my tasks are on Tasks. And I store it all online with Google One.
You see… these are all services/products from Google.
So why is that? Why when there are alternatives? Well, it's quite simple.
It's because it's all connected. It's not just services that work on their own. I can create my tasks from Gmail, and they'll appear in Calendar and Tasks. I can automatically accept a meeting invitation in an email and it will be added to my calendar.
And best of all, I can access all these services with a single email address, from any device, anywhere, as long as I have internet.
Does that mean I'm sacrificing data protection for a better user experience? Maybe. Possibly.
But it's all taken for granted, and we don't even think about it anymore.
Any alternatives?
Of course there are open source alternatives, more respectful of privacy and data protection. But name me one that offers such a high level of integration and intuitive integration of everyday tools/services… ??♂️. Or an open source alternative that doesn't use AWS or Google Cloud or any other great service/tool to run ?.
I don't know any.
I'm not saying don't use open source or "more ethical" solutions. I'm not saying don't use open source or "more ethical" solutions, I'm not saying don't use big companies. Just what's… Not necessarily what's right, but what's…
What do you think about all this?
After I wrote the French version of this, a friend of mine talked me about the Zaclys association which lists open source services that respect data protection and user privacy.
I'm currently looking at how NextCloud works. I will see what it will look like in the next few days.