Facebook has lost its popularity in these past years, mostly because of data collection and all privacy issues. Since the Facebook CA scandal, many users are looking for other networks that respect their privacy and don’t sell their data to other companies. Facebook is still the dominant network, but there are other alternatives out there, other social apps that respect your privacy while you connect with your family and friends.
There are many different social networks if you are interested in finding other communities to join. These communities are allegedly more respectful and secure. Whatever your reasons are to search for a social network similar to Facebook, here are some alternatives that you can find:
VERO
Vero is an app with no adds, no algorithms arranging your posts, no data mining and chronological feeds. How do they do this? Well, Vero plans to be a subscription-based app. Their first plan was to grant free access for life for the first million subscribers. They reached this number after Facebook CA scandal so they decided to extend the free subscriptions till further notice.
For Vero the user is the customer, not the product, so users can control everything and not worry about their privacy. Vero tries to be more intuitive when sharing content, no matter if it’s a photo, text, music, Tv shows… everything is more visual! you can also purchase products without leaving the app, which makes this app more user-friendly.
Diaspora
Diaspora relies on three main principles: decentralization, freedom, and privacy.
Decentralization means that all the data isn’t held in the same server owned by a huge corporation, but in many independent servers all over the world, and you have the freedom to choose which one to join. By Freedom they mean that you don’t need to use your real identity in this social network, you can interact with others by being whoever you want to be. Privacy, you own 100% of your data.
In Diaspora you post using tags and mentions. You can also choose with whom to share your content, as you can create your groups or share it publicly.
MeWe
This social network was launched in 2012. It’s browser-based and also has an app for iOS and Android. In 2018 it hit 2 million users, most of them coming from Facebook and Google+. MeWe uses the hashtag #not4sale meaning our private lives are not for sale. By using MeWe, you can connect and interact freely as there are no ads, no spying or tracking and, you control your content and personal information. This network also includes a private 1:1 chat and group chats, whose members share some interest in common.
Mastodon
Mastodon is an open source social network and it works similar to Twitter or Tumblr that has over 2 million active users. It is also decentralized, so this means that there is no company o person running it. Anyone can create or run their own server of Mastodon.
You can share images, videos and the text is limited to 500 characters. There are lots of communities to join and there are many moderators that you can approach for help to protect yourself.
Minds
Minds is another open source social media site, but there is a big difference from others: you get paid in cryptocurrency! You get paid for using the site, posting messages, sharing pictures and videos, writing blogs…
Minds was a response to the censorship and data mining of sites like Facebook and Twitter. Minds claims that any opinions are welcomed and they don’t engage in user tracking or selling personal data.
Ello
Ello isn’t considered an alternative to Facebook, it never intended to be on although, after Facebook CA, lots of users signed up. Ello is a social network for creative people, a community of artist. It’s a place where you can share your creations, your art.
There are no ads, feed is chronological, you can post text, photos, and videos. I’d say Ello is more similar to Instagram than to Facebook (just as a reminder, Instagram is also owned by Zuckerberg) but a big difference is that you can upload images in any aspect ratio, even nude pictures, and you can sell your work easily.
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