Episode Four: Selfhosting, my new hyperfixation
21-12-2025
I don't know if this happens to you too, but interests don't come to me like gentle breezes, but like hurricanes. I don't get interested in things, I fixate on things. Hobbies, people, interests, they enter slowly and end up occupying all my mental space.
Privacy and online security did the same thing, and it seems that the ultimate level is self-hosting: hosting your own streaming platform, your own Nextcloud, your own mail server seems like such an awesome thing!
It seems that way because actually managing and maintaining these services is difficult, requires time and knowledge, and dulcis in fundo, you really have to enjoy it.
But owning your own data also implies a whole series of new responsibilities: the security of the system depends on you, data backup too, maintenance as well. I've lost count of how many times I've broken something and had to reinstall everything from scratch. But each time I learned something new.
At the moment I'm experimenting with YunoHost on a VPS and I find it truly incredible. I've installed a photo app called "Immich," Nextcloud, and the mail service. I gave a personalized domain to all my family members and one to my bestie too. Sometimes I break things but then miraculously I fix them too.
For maximum control of my data, the best solution would be a home server that hosts photos, music, and videos and is accessible from outside the network too. Unfortunately, I live in the middle of nowhere and fiber doesn't reach here (and ADSL is slow and expensive). The only economically viable solution I managed to find was to use 4G via modem (portable hotspot style), which however doesn't allow me to have a fixed IP to connect to.
I solved this by using Tailscale. Setting it up on my family members' devices was fairly simple, but explaining to them how to use it... a real nightmare! Plus, the only machine I have to dedicate to this use is a 2012 Acer laptop.
I tried it and learned a lot of things, but I was pushing the poor old notebook to its limits in terms of health and battery, so while waiting for the perfect configuration I'm planning (I don't like making random purchases), I'm doing experiments on a second VPS with minimal specifications, to figure out what I need and what I want from my home server. It's become a real hobby.
One thing I'm sure of: self-hosting is not a necessary step for anyone seeking more technological independence. I like learning new things and my hyperfixations are often "nerdy": everything I'm learning I find interesting, but many of the people I know would be indifferent if not disgusted by the level of technicality of certain things. There are much softer approaches to achieve a good level of privacy (which then depends on each person and everyone's risk profile).
Many services are still on different paid services:
- My main email is on TutaMail. I have a personalized domain on the server too, but I want to be sure that, until I become proficient and competent, important emails will always reach me no matter what. I like their philosophy, they're a service based in Europe and have a reasonable cost.
- This site is hosted on Nekoweb and part of the blog also lives on Pagecord. Hosting a static site like this isn't too difficult, but I like the fact that Nekoweb isn't just a hosting service but also a community. A community I found welcoming and full of interesting and creative people.
- Mullvad: I could set up my own VPN but I find that Mullvad is an excellent service that defends anonymity and online privacy.
I once didn't understand the point of paying for something that many offer for free, now I do: if you don't pay (and it's not open source), you are the product. I would add that in the open source world, many programmers create useful and wonderful tools, investing so much time and energy, and they deserve compensation and support.
So for self-hosting it's not a matter of all or nothing, I've made and continue to make considerations about the tools I use. However, I'm very proud to say that now my family has a personalized email domain hosted on my server, along with a place to share photos away from data-hungry big tech. I haven't "forced" anyone to leave Google, but I offer a different opportunity (with the right warnings since I'm still learning).
Useful resources
I couldn't have learned so much in so little time if there weren't exceptional people online sharing their knowledge:
I have a long list of things I'd like to implement: a Raspberry Pi as a home server, a NAS to store all my digital collections. I'm still at a very basic level but I love getting my hands on the terminal and tinkering with my servers!
Thanks for reading this far! If you have tips or advice to share, write me!
Until the next episode!