Leaving Big Tech: A Practical Route Out
The moves I have made so far to take my practice off Big Tech, in the order I would suggest, from the easy wins to the ones that take a weekend. Each links to the full account, including what did not work.
Written from my own migrations · Trade-offs named · Updated as I go
Leaving Big Tech has not been one decision. It has been a sequence of small migrations, each with a trade-off.
These are the moves I have made so far, in roughly the order I would suggest: the easy wins first, the ones that take a weekend later. Each links to the full account, including what did not work.
- 1
Analytics
Google Analytics was on my websites while I wrote about data sovereignty. I moved to Fathom, then to Simple Analytics.
- 2
The browser
Chrome out, Brave in, and what changes for a small team when you switch.
- 3
Messaging
Why I left WhatsApp, the private messaging apps worth using, the ones to watch and the one to avoid.
- 4
Social media
Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn swapped for Mastodon and Pixelfed, and what happened when I posted for the first time.
- 5
Meta, properly
Exporting your photos, finding the apps that use Facebook login, and what Meta keeps after you have gone.
- 6
AI tools
I cancelled ChatGPT in February 2026 after OpenAI's Pentagon deal, then scored 14 alternatives to Perplexity and Comet.
Why I Cancelled ChatGPT · Ditching Perplexity & Comet · European AI Assistants Tested
- 7
Automation and data
Zapier, Airtable and form builders weighed against European tools, and the catch that decides whether switching changes anything.
Leaving Zapier Without Leaving the EU · SeaTable · GDPR-Compliant Form Builders
- 8
Google Workspace
Business email, calendar and 26 logins moved to Proton, step by step.
- →
Where it ends up
The tools I now run this practice on, and the catch behind each one.
The Ethical, EU-First Tech Stack · Building an EU-Residency AI Stack
Making these moves for a business is part of the work I do as a digital operations partner: the logins, the DNS, the imports and the order to do them in.