As the digital world becomes increasingly centralized, through cloud platforms, data harvesting, and ecosystem lock-in, I’ve been reflecting on how GhostBSD might offer a practical foundation for digital decentralisation.
GhostBSD, by virtue of being based on FreeBSD, already avoids many of the pitfalls found in mainstream systems. It is not bound to corporate telemetry, automatic data sync, or forced updates. With local control, ZFS, a reliable package ecosystem, and a transparent development model, it offers a compelling base for users who wish to take back control of their digital lives.
For example:
- You choose what gets installed and when.
- Your data remains local, with ZFS snapshots and backups on your own terms.
- No telemetry is sent by default, and network activity is entirely user-driven.
- You can self-host services and stay off large centralized platforms.
That said, decentralization is broader than the operating system alone. It includes email, cloud services, messaging, file sharing, backups, and how we interact with the web at large. GhostBSD can be a pillar in a decentralized setup, but it also needs to interoperate with tools and behaviors that support privacy, sovereignty, and resilience.
So I would like to ask the community:
- Do you see GhostBSD as part of your decentralization journey?
- Are you interested in reducing your dependence on large cloud platforms and services?
- Would it help to have more tools pre-installed or documented for that purpose? (e.g. Nextcloud clients, decentralized chat tools, local-first apps, etc.)
If others are thinking along similar lines, perhaps we can start compiling guides or recommend lightweight setups for those wanting to regain control over their digital presence.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
