taiga the cryptid guy

decentralize and clean up your life!!!

EDIT: THIS IS A CARRD NOW! it’s updated and organized!!

EDIT EDIT: this is on my website now! this is the version that will be somewhat regularly updated. the carrd will remain, but will no longer be updated.

• use overdrive, libby, hoopla, cloudlibrary, and kanopy instead of amazon and audible.
• use firefox or librewolf (open-source fork of firefox) instead of chrome or opera (both are made with chromium, which blocks functionality for ad-blockers. firefox isn’t based on chromium).
• use mega instead of google drive
• get rid of bloatware
• use libreoffice instead of microsoft office suite
• get free stuff with the help of r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH, r/piracy and r/roms
• use trakt (for shows and movies), letterboxd (just movies), or TMB instead of IMDB (owned by amazon).
• use storygraph instead of goodreads (owned by amazon).
• use darkpatterns to find mobile game with no ads or microtransactions
• use mediahuman or cobalt to download music, or support your favorite artists directly through bandcamp
• make youtube bearable by using mtube, newpipe, or the unhook extension on chrome, firefox, or microsoft edge
• use search for a cause, ecosia, or ocean hero to support the environment instead of google
• use thriftbooks to buy new or used books (they also have manga, textbooks, home goods, CDs, DVDs, and blurays)
• use flashpoint to play archived online flash games
• find books, movies, games, etc. on the internet archive! for starters, here’s a bunch of David Attenborough documentaries and all of the Animorphs books
• burn your music onto cds
• use pdf24 (available online or as a desktop app) instead of adobe
• use thunderbird, mailfence, countermail, edison mail, or tuta instead of gmail
• remove bloatware on windows PC, macOS, and iOS X
• remove bloatware on samsung X
• use pixelfed instead of instagram or meta
• use project gutenberg for free public domain books, and librivox for public domain books and audiobooks
• use the seal app (android only) to download video and audio
• use ellipsus instead of microsoft word or google docs
• use mastodon instead of twitter
• use peertube to create a network of small video hosting providers (disclaimer: not a 1:1 alternative to youtube)
• use threema and signal for encrypted communication, on mobile and desktop
• use qwant and startpage for secure internet browsers
• use syncthing to securely transfer files between devices
• learn how to jailbreak your kindle/ereader if you have one (wiki and video walkthrough)
• use riseup’s email and VPN for secure communication (aimed towards activists)
• use cryptpad and collabora instead of the microsoft office suite
• use google takeout to export the data on your google account
• use library extension to look for books on online stores and find them at your library
• remove paywalls with removepaywalls
• install the open-source adblocker ublock origin
• install sponsorblock to skip sponsored segments on youtube videos
• use bookfinder to look for the cheapest available listings of books, including textbooks
• learn a language through mango (duolingo laid off some of its employees and now relies on AI translations) for free with a library card or through your school
• edit photos with photopea
• edit pdfs with foxit and sumatrapdf
• download music with doubledouble
• take notes offline and collaborate securely with obsidian
• for android tv, use smarttube and cloudstream (ad-free, open-source)
• change your OS to linux

changelog:

• removed ground news (uses AI to summarize articles)
• removed unroll.me (sells your data)
• removed proton mail and drive (AI assistant feature, claims of CEO Andy Yen supporting Trump, please DM if you have proof I can add here)
• removed NCH suite (only has very basic free features, puts watermark on anything saved)

notes:

• this post blew up while I wasn’t looking (the end of my semester was hellish, and i recently came back from a 3-week family vacation). thanks so much for all the suggestions! <3
• i included Ecosia because of their financial transparency. It’s physically impossible that they plant a tree for every search, but their profits still go towards projects including reforestation and solar energy. i view their actions as a net-positive

feel free to add more alternatives, resources or advice in the reblogs or replies, and i’ll add them to the main post <3

last updated: june 14th 2025