PART 16 · ADVANCED SELF-DEFENCE · 🔴
Self-hosting
The ultimate level of sovereignty: host your services yourself. Your data lives on your hardware, under the jurisdiction you choose.
What it's for
Systems that turn an old PC or a Raspberry Pi into a personal server, with an app catalogue you
install in a few clicks.
Why it matters
Self-hosting sounds scary, but these tools do the heavy lifting. YunoHost even runs your
own email and single sign-on. Umbrel offers a 300+ app store, popular with privacy and
Bitcoin folks. Start9 encrypts backups and gives every service a Tor address by default.
For whom & when
Advanced profiles ready to spend an afternoon building their own cloud. It’s the most radical
structural counter to Chat Control.
Install & use
Get an old computer, a Raspberry Pi, or rent a small server (VPS) in a protective country.
- Install YunoHost, Umbrel or Start9 following their official guide.
- From the catalogue, install Nextcloud, a Matrix server, a photo gallery, etc.
Reach it privately with Tailscale (VPN section) rather than exposing the server to the public.
What it's for
Your own cloud: files, calendar, contacts, photos, notes and collaborative documents, on your
server.
Why it matters
It’s the full replacement for Google Drive, Calendar and Contacts, but at home. You choose the
jurisdiction and no one else controls your files. Note: it’s “your server” privacy, not
end-to-end encryption by default; you must keep it updated.
For whom & when
Self-hosters. The easiest path is to install it via YunoHost or Umbrel.
What it's for
Your own Matrix chat server, powering Element and encrypted calls.
Why it matters
By hosting the server, you also control the metadata (who talks to whom, when), Matrix’s
weak point in federation. It’s community chat that you alone own.
For whom & when
Communities, collectives, newsrooms that want their own independent federated space.
What it's for
A site of your own, on your own domain name, where your content depends on no platform.
Why it matters
The day a network deletes or suspends your account, all your work vanishes. A personal site is
your anchor: your posts stay there, archived and up to date, whatever happens. It’s exactly what
cautious information accounts do. A static site (built with Hugo, Astro or Jekyll) is enough and
publishes almost for free; for a dynamic blog, a self-hosted WordPress or Ghost does the job.
For whom & when
Information accounts, creators, activists, anyone who publishes and fears platform censorship.
Install & use
- Buy a domain name (ideally from a privacy-respecting registrar).
Choose a static-site generator (Astro, Hugo) and host the output, or install WordPress/Ghost
on your server.
Always point to it from your social accounts: your audience finds you even if one account
falls.
The jurisdiction pointSelf-hosting also means choosing where your data lives. A server at home or in a
protective country escapes the scanning duties imposed on big platforms. It’s the most radical
structural counter to Chat Control.