In February, I will disconnect from all Meta applications (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Threads…). In this article, I explain the alternatives I will use and the difficulties I expect to encounter.

Related:

Which alternatives am I going to use?

These are the tools I will use to replace Meta’s services.

Alternatives to WhatsApp

You can find me on:

Telegram

Telegram is a user-friendly messaging app that rivals WhatsApp in features. It was born with a strong focus on privacy, though it has run into trouble with authorities and has not always upheld its original principles.

Telegram to allow police more access to criminals’ data
www.politico.eu

Signal

Signal is an open-source project maintained by a non-profit organisation. Its messaging app is much simpler than WhatsApp’s, but it offers the highest level of privacy. You can even run your own server to have complete control over your data.

As an anecdote, I must confess that I use Signal thanks to my mother. After watching a documentary about Signal, she “forced” my sister and me to install the app to try it out. Months later, it has become my primary method of communication with her.

RCS

RCS is going to blow the minds of some of you. It is the evolution of SMS that mobile carriers have developed to bring it up to date. It uses your phone’s default messaging app and lets you communicate with any contact over the internet, just like any chat application.

This means that iMessage users on iPhone can use the same app to message and send photos to Android users. 🤯

On Android, it comes enabled by default. On iPhone, I believe it does too. In any case, on iPhone, the setting can be found under Apps → Messages → RCS Messaging.

Once enabled, when you open a conversation with an Android contact, you can see the text: “Text Message · RCS”. The messages you send will appear as green bubbles.

Likewise, when on Android, you start a conversation with an iPhone contact, you will see the text “RCS Message”.

Alternatives to Instagram

You can find me on:

Pixelfed

Pixelfed is a social network from the fediverse with functionality similar to Instagram. On the official servers, you have support for both photos and stories.

From Pixelfed, you can also follow Mastodon users, in which case you will only see posts that contain images.

YouTube

YouTube is one of the social networks that has resisted attempts at enshittification. YouTube accounts for half of my TV time, so I pay for Premium and avoid the advertising disaster that plagues the free version.

I plan to replace Instagram short videos (Reels) with YouTube ones (Shorts). I find that YouTube content is somewhat more polished, and videos tend to be longer, which makes it easier for me to disengage in time.

Even so, I am not very happy with the way Google keeps tightening the screws with YouTube, so I am considering replacing it with alternative services run by the creators themselves, such as:

I may not be able to afford all subscriptions at once, but I can rotate them, as I already do with streaming services.

On the other hand, I am also considering Qobuz as an alternative to YouTube Music. It is the streaming service that pays artists the most. I tried it for a few days and ended up reasonably satisfied.

Alternatives to Threads (Twitter)

You can find me on:

Threads was the social network Meta created to capture users disillusioned with Twitter after Elon Musk’s acquisition.

Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows | TechCrunch
techcrunch.com

Although it is part of the fediverse, most servers have blocked it.

Bluesky

Bluesky strongly resembles the old Twitter. Former Twitter employees created it, and it is the option chosen by most institutions and public figures. For now, it maintains an enjoyable user experience, and it is easy to adjust the moderation options to avoid unwanted content.

It is also interesting how they handle user verification.

If you own a web domain (such as capitangolo.net), you can validate it with Bluesky, and it becomes your username. They make money by selling these domains, but if you already have one, you do not need to pay extra.

The downside of Bluesky is that it is not entirely decentralised. Many features still depend on the main servers. If one day they change direction and enshittify the platform, it is not clear that we would be able to migrate to another server within the same network.

Mastodon

Mastodon is the flagship social network of the fediverse, and it also has features similar to Twitter.

It is populated by LGBTQ people, neurodivergent users, and furries, making it the most welcoming community on the internet. 💖 🦄

Mastodon is where I have found my home.

Like any open-source project, it has usability aspects to improve, especially regarding first impressions. At first, I felt a bit overwhelmed because there were too many options, but I quickly realised that in day-to-day use, you only rely on four things.

Mastodon verification is achieved by adding an HTML code snippet to a web page you own. On your profile, you can add several links, and you can verify yourself with more than one of them.

Another thing I like about Mastodon is that when you share an article, if the author has a Mastodon account, the preview card includes a link to their profile.

Mastodon is a fully decentralised social network, and it is very easy to migrate accounts between servers.

Alternatives to Facebook

I stopped seeing the point of Facebook a long time ago. It feels like it tries to be too many things and does none of them well. In addition, I do not have many contacts on this social network, so I will not look for alternatives.

How am I going to make the change?

Starting from scratch in the fediverse

On Mastodon, I started from scratch. Migration services stopped working when Twitter closed access to its API.

I did not have much trouble because at that time, we were all fleeing Twitter and sharing our new accounts everywhere.

Things seem simpler on Pixelfed. Although I cannot import contacts, I can import the posts I already have on Instagram.

Migrating from Twitter to Bluesky

I migrated from Twitter to Bluesky some time ago.

I used Sky Follower Bridge to find the Bluesky accounts of my Twitter contacts. It has a few odd steps, but everything is explained very clearly in the guides.

I decided not to migrate my posts:

  • Twitter represents the passage of time, and my tweets made sense in their moment. Years later, they add little value to anyone.
  • Mentions to other users are lost, and conversations are broken, meaning half of my posts would be meaningless.

So in terms of content, I decided to start from zero.

In fact, I remember using a Chrome extension to delete my tweets (although I cannot find it now). I did not want the new Twitter to use my content to train artificial intelligence, so I decided to delete everything.

That said, I did not delete the account itself, so that nobody could impersonate me.

Migrating from WhatsApp to Telegram and Signal

Fortunately, all messaging apps sync with your contacts. As soon as you sign up, your contact list is already there.

Nowadays, almost everyone has Telegram, and I use it almost as much as WhatsApp.

Signal has few users, so I mainly use it to talk to my mother and little else.

I am going to leave Facebook completely

My goal is to remove both Facebook and Messenger entirely.

I have also turned off the Instagram option that automatically republishes all my content to Facebook.

I do not use that social network for anything and only went in to see who had reacted to a post.

I have also deleted my Threads account.

I know I will not be able to leave WhatsApp entirely

WhatsApp is the standard communication tool in Spain.

Most of my group chats are there, and many companies use it as their main communication channel. If I want to stay connected, I will have to keep using WhatsApp for a while.

That said:

  • I will start new conversations on Telegram, Signal, or RCS.
  • I have buried the app in a folder to avoid opening it compulsively.
  • I have turned off notifications, so I do not reply immediately.
  • I will try to check new messages at specific moments during my day.

I will not get rid of Instagram completely either

Instagram is where everyone is. As the owner of a marketing business and a content creator, I have to bite the bullet and use Instagram to promote myself.

That said:

  • I will limit my posts to temporary stories, using them exclusively for self-promotion. I see a certain poetic justice in filling that network with rubbish content.
  • I will not watch the videos and memes people send me.
  • In the first few days, I will reply saying that I will no longer read those messages, redirecting my contacts to other channels.
  • As with WhatsApp, I have buried the app, disabled notifications, and will only open it at specific times of the day.

See you in a few weeks

Abandoning the places where you meet up with your friends is sad and difficult.

There is no other option once the square becomes unsafe.

I like to think that I am taking on the role of explorer, and that my experience will help make the journey easier for others.

In a few weeks, I will tell you how the experience went.