The install can be pretty tough with Qubes as the compatible hardware for it is quite narrow. But if this is what you go with, be sure to setup and play with Whonix!

This is a solid list, made me realize I need to give Disroot some loot, you’re a boss!

I’ve always donated to Signal, Bitwarden, and KDE. Lemmy got added to the list this year, plus I always try to support a quality project that’s between a rock and a hard place. I gave to the Oregon State University open source lab this year when I heard about their struggles. They’re why Mozilla is a thing along with many other foundational components of the open internet.

While Nebula is a creator‑owned ad‑free video service, it’s truly just a conventional centrally‑hosted platform collecting user data like most sites. So while ad‑free, it has no focus on privacy as its privacy policy shows standard analytics and tracking typical of most subscription services. This being the case, it’s not a privacy respecting alternative to YouTube like Peer Tube much at all unfortunately.

Well said!!

Cookies do not directly communicate your IP address, they’re just bits of data about your visit. Logging out of LinkedIn and closing your browser should clear them, unless they’re persistent cookies.

Using a VPN to create a new Spotify account maskes your actual IP address. Meaning spotify wont know your home IP address. But, if Spotify uses cookies from your previous sessions or if you log in with the same credentials, it may still serve targeted ads based on your previous activity.

So while cookies don’t transmit your IP address, they still influence the ads you see based on your browsing history and/or account information. For enhanced privacy, it’s usually recommended to set cookies to be wiped when you close the browser. I have a handful of sites I like to keep cookies for, but everything else is gone after each session.

For anyone new to the Linux world, I can’t recommend Learn Linux TV enough. He has a video walking through this exact process, here’s an Invidious and YouTube link for it.

As far as dual booting goes, issues can arise after updates. I recall this happening a few months back due to a Windows update. So just be aware of this possibly happening down the road. I need Windows for work at times too, but I strictly use a VM. I’ve hated Microsoft since Windows 8, their amount of user tracking is bonkers and a big part of why I just use a VM. This is just food for thought though.

JMP Chat works in the US even though they’re based in Canada. I highly recommend the service, it’s absolutely fantastic!

Definitely checkout JMP Chat, they’re actually based in Canada and offer super affordable alternative phone numbers. Using their Cheogram app even lets you incorporate it fully into your phone, so when you call, it’ll ask which number you’d like to use for the call. Calling has limited minutes each month, but the overage charges are very reasonable. It comes with unlimited texting as well. They encrypt everything on their end and it’s fully open source!

The add-on’s are solid. They have an elaborate curated list, plus you can access any of the mobile extentions by just searching for em.

Obsidian isn’t FOSS, but two fantastic replacements are Standard Notes and Notesnook.

A great paint option I don’t see listed is KolourPaint, plus Kdenlive for video editing. For audio editing, Tenacity is the better choice over Audacity. It’s an Audacity fork made after some questionable privacy policy changes.

CryptPad is an awesome Google Doc’s replacement, but Libre Office is actively working on their version too.

For your security section, adding some encryption software would be smart. Both VeraCrypt and Cryptomator are amazing. Also, Bitwarden/Vaultwarden are solid password manager alts for KeePassXC, with Vaultwarden being self hosted.

Here’s a great site for all sorts of Lemmy clients.

As far as Linux laptops go, System 76’s Darter Pro is also a solid choice. Tuxedo is probably System 76’s biggest competition, as they offer very comparable laptops. Their InfinityBook Pro is a great computer. Frameworks, Slimbook, and Star Labs are all also worth a mention.

Definitely recommend replacing Fennec with IronFox on mobile, it’s a fork of Mull, so it’ll be a solid privacy upgrade!

I ended that last chunck of text with /s. But at the same time, it wouldn’t suprise me at all if this was the case.

A virtual machine is the move, I’ve had a great experience with virt-manager. Strongly recommend debloating the windows VM if Microsoft is getting on your nerves. Here’s my go to software: https://github.com/raphire/win11debloat

Worksorks on both windows 10 & 11. It’ll allow you to remove telemetry, tracking, and even software Microsoft prevents you from uninstalling. I just can’t get it to remove Edge. But MentalOutlaw has a fantastic walk through of the process on his YT channel if you want some guidance with the debloating process.

Baby

NextDNS is the move, the clients are open sourced and they encrypt everything. Plus their free option covers all my devices, no problem. Highly recommended!

I’ve been really liking the KISS Launcher, it’s power is in it’s simplicity. It also looks relatively comparable with Smart Launcher. What’s super impressive about the KISS Launcher is that 93% of users that try it for a week are still active users after 3 years! So definitely worth a gander for sure.

You’re server’s #3 when it comes to monthly active users too!

When you sort by monthly active users, this is what you get:

What really jumps out to me is the fact .ml’s active users equals the total users. Not too sure what to make of it. I’d assume the mod’s delete nonactive accounts after a set amount of time or it’s just relatively small based on total users but everyone’s visiting at least once a month.

I just learned the dev of Phoenix forked Mull! It’s called IronFox (https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox) and has a F-Droid repo. I’m pumped on this, thanks a bunch for highlighting all this and to the original commenter for providing the link to Phoenix!