In an era where Big Tech giants are increasingly consolidating ownership and governance of apps and online services, it's more important than ever to consider where you store your private data and records of your everyday activities. Fortunately, there are many open-source alternatives that can help you take back control and protect your personal data from prying eyes.

One such alternative is Wallabag, a read-later web-archiving service that allows you to save articles and web pages for later, similar to Pocket. The key difference is that Wallabag is open-source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. You can host Wallabag on a server you control, or opt for a low-cost cloud hosting solution.

For secure messaging, Signal is a highly-recommended alternative to popular messaging apps. This non-profit app knows nothing about you, and its security has been dubbed the "gold standard" by cryptography experts. Signal is free to download and use, and relies on donations to operate.

When it comes to file storage, Nextcloud is a Dropbox alternative that offers end-to-end encrypted access to your files from any device. You can host Nextcloud on your own server or opt for a specialized hosting provider, giving you full control over your data. This self-hosted approach ensures that you're not beholden to law enforcement or invisible file scanning.

Password managers are another essential tool for protecting your personal security. Bitwarden is a popular open-source password manager that securely stores your passwords, passkeys, credit cards, and other secrets. With Bitwarden, you can access your password manager from anywhere, and the open-source nature of the app ensures that its reliability and integrity are constantly being audited.

For note-taking, Joplin and Notesnook are two open-source alternatives to Google Docs and Microsoft 365. These apps keep your notes, thoughts, and scribbles encrypted and organized, and allow you to export your notes to use with other apps. LibreOffice is another open-source office suite that's private by design and free to use, offering a viable alternative to Microsoft Office.

Ente is an encrypted vault for your photos, designed to securely back up your photos and videos to the cloud. This privacy-focused photo storage app scrambles your data with a password only you know, protecting your memories from anyone else. Ente offers all the photo management and sharing features you need, and is free for basic accounts with reasonably priced storage options.

Home Assistant is an open-source smart home server that connects all your smart home devices, allowing you to control them from one place. This self-hosted approach ensures that you're not reliant on a single vendor, and can automate your smart home devices with ease.

Open Scanner is a simple document-scanning app that's incredibly easy to use. This open-source app can snap receipts, notes, textbooks, or anything else you can point your phone at, and is a great alternative to bloated and feature-heavy document-scanning apps.

Finally, FreshRSS is an open-source RSS reader that allows you to aggregate your news headlines in one place. This self-hosted approach skips the kind of sponsored posts and tracking that you see on hosted services, giving you a clean and customizable news feed.

Owncast is another open-source alternative worth considering, offering a self-hosted streaming system for setting up and hosting livestreams. This free and easy-to-use app works with your existing livestreaming gear, and is a great way to hedge your bets against relying on giant corporations like Amazon's Twitch.

Last but not least, Stirling PDF is a one-stop PDF editing shop that allows you to convert, edit, merge, split, sign, and more, without having to hand over your personal or sensitive files to a cloud giant. This self-hosted approach ensures that you're in control of your PDF documents, and is a great alternative to Adobe's software.

In conclusion, taking back control of your personal data is easier than ever with these 10 open-source alternatives to Big Tech's data-hungry services. By opting for self-hosted solutions, you can ensure that your data is protected from prying eyes and that you're not beholden to law enforcement or invisible file scanning. So why not take the first step towards regaining control over your digital life?