In our collective search for alternatives to big tech platforms, it's nice to be able to learn from each other. Waag helps you on your way with a few things to read, watch, and listen to, with practical tips for alternatives, interesting background stories, and experiences.
Read
We start with an overview of alternative apps. Here are fifteen apps that are better for your privacy and well-being.
Watch
During the State of the Internet 2025, Marleen Stikker explained how we can return to an internet where we have control over the technology and our data. We are not (only) looking for alternatives, but are working on an internet that is not centralized, but federated. We are looking for an internet where no single central player has power over social media, but where responsibility and ownership are shared. In her lecture, Stikker outlines five concrete proposals for regaining control over technology:
- Implement a Public (Euro)Stack
- Mandatory Randomised Controlled Trials for all AI
- Install Media & Culture AI Taskforce
- Control over social media by 'whole of society'
- Invest in a Sovereign Tech & Design Fund
The lecture and panel discussion were recorded and can now be viewed with English subtitles.
Listen
The American platform The Maybe created this interesting podcast about Rudy Fraser, who built an online infrastructure for the Black community: Blacksky. He explains why communities should be able to build their own algorithms. Listen to the podcast.
