Steps into a better IT future?

Today I want to tell the community about the steps I’ve taken as an individual customer to become less dependent on large tech companies.

Windows:

I only log into Windows using a local user account. OneDrive is blocked in Group Policy and uninstalled. The same goes for the Windows Store. I currently only have one UWP app on my computer, and that’s VLC UWP, which I keep up to date using Winget.

At the same time, I’ve disabled all services I don’t use via Winget and Group Policy:

– Edge

– Smartphone

– OneDrive

– Gamebar

– Xbox and Xbox Live and all inbox Apps

– Copilot and Recall (via Group Policies, thanks to the EU)

Email:

I’ve been using https://tuta.com, a German email service from Hanover, for about a year now. I switched from Proton because I wanted to support a young German company.

Internet:

I mostly use Firefox as my daily driver, in some small number use cases Chrome.

Subscriptions:

I’m currently consolidating my subscriptions again and trying to have as few subscriptions as possible at any one time. I currently have the following subscriptions:

Office 365 Single: expires on December 16, 2026, and will not be renewed

Strato HiDrive for backup into the german cloud

Waipu.tv: German IPTV provider, costs €18 per month

YouTube Premium Lite

Spotify Individual

NordPass

HideIP VPN

What do you think of my steps toward greater independence? I haven’t yet found a way to completely replace Windows. Linux doesn’t (yet) meet all the requirements I have for an operating system.