---
title: Self-Hosting
meta_title: "Self-Hosting Software and Services - Privacy Guides"
description: For our more technical readers, self-hosting software and services can provide additional privacy assurances since you have maximum control over your data.
cover: router.webp
---

<small>Protects against the following threat(s):</small>

- [:material-server-network: Service Providers](../basics/common-threats.md#privacy-from-service-providers){ .pg-teal }

**Self-hosting** software and services can be a way to achieve a higher level of privacy through digital sovereignty, particularly independence from cloud servers controlled by product developers or vendors. By self-hosting, we mean hosting applications and data on your own hardware.

Self-hosting your own solutions requires advanced technical knowledge and a deep understanding of the associated risks. By becoming the host for yourself and possibly others, you take on responsibilities you might not otherwise have. Self-hosting privacy software improperly can leave you worse off than using e.g. an end-to-end encrypted service provider, so it is best avoided if you are not already comfortable doing so.

## :material-dns: DNS Filtering

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- ![AdGuard Home logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/adguard-home.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [AdGuard Home](dns-filtering.md#adguard-home)
- ![Pi-Hole logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/pi-hole.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [Pi-Hole](dns-filtering.md#pi-hole)

</div>

[Learn more :material-arrow-right-drop-circle:](dns-filtering.md)

## :material-email: Email Servers

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- ![Stalwart logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/stalwart.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [Stalwart](email-servers.md#stalwart)
- ![Mailcow logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/mailcow.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [Mailcow](email-servers.md#mailcow)
- ![Mail-in-a-Box logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/mail-in-a-box.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [Mail-in-a-Box](email-servers.md#mail-in-a-box)

</div>

[Learn more :material-arrow-right-drop-circle:](email-servers.md)

## :material-file-multiple-outline: File Management

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- ![PhotoPrism logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/photoprism.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [PhotoPrism](file-management.md#photoprism)
- ![FreedomBox logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/freedombox.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [FreedomBox](file-management.md#freedombox)
- ![Nextcloud logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/nextcloud.svg){ .twemoji loading=lazy } [Nextcloud](file-management.md#nextcloud)

</div>

[Learn more :material-arrow-right-drop-circle:](file-management.md)

## :material-form-textbox-password: Password Management

### Vaultwarden

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Vaultwarden logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/vaultwarden.svg#only-light){ align=right }
![Vaultwarden logo](../assets/img/self-hosting/vaultwarden-dark.svg#only-dark){ align=right }

**Vaultwarden** is an alternative implementation of [Bitwarden](../passwords.md#bitwarden)'s sync server written in Rust and compatible with official Bitwarden clients, perfect for self-hosted deployment where running the resource-heavy, [official service](https://github.com/bitwarden/server) might not be ideal.

[:octicons-repo-16: Repository](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden#readme){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://github.com/sponsors/dani-garcia){ .card-link title="Contribute" }

</div>

## :material-account-supervisor-circle-outline: Social Networks

Self-hosting your own instance of a social network software can help circumvent potential [censorship on a server level](../social-networks.md#censorship-resistance) by a public server's administrator or admin team.

### Mastodon

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Mastodon logo](../assets/img/social-networks/mastodon.svg){ align=right }

**Mastodon** is a social network based on open web protocols and free, open-source software. It uses the decentralized **:simple-activitypub: ActivityPub** protocol.

[:octicons-home-16:](https://joinmastodon.org){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/prerequisites){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }

</div>

Mastodon [integrates with the Tor network](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/optional/tor) for more extreme scenarios where even your underlying hosting provider is subject to censorship, but this may limit who can access your content to only other servers which integrate with Tor (like most other hidden services).

Mastodon benefits greatly from a large and active self-hosting community, and its administration is comprehensively documented. While many other ActivityPub platforms can require extensive technical knowledge to run and troubleshoot, Mastodon has very stable and tested releases, and it can generally be run securely without issue by anyone who can use the Linux command line and follow step-by-step instructions.

### Element

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Element logo](../assets/img/social-networks/element.svg){ align=right }

**Element** is the flagship client for the **:simple-matrix: Matrix** protocol, an open standard that enables decentralized communication by way of federated chat rooms.

[:octicons-home-16:](https://element.io){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://element-hq.github.io/synapse/latest){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/element-hq){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

</div>

## :material-flip-to-front: Frontends

Self-hosting your own instance of a web-based frontend can help you circumvent rate limits that you may encounter on high-traffic, public instances. It is important that you have other people using your instance as well in order for you to blend in. Je moet voorzichtig zijn met waar en hoe je host, omdat het gebruik van andere mensen zal worden gekoppeld aan jouw hosting.

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- ![Redlib logo](../assets/img/frontends/redlib.svg){ .lg .middle .twemoji } [**Redlib (Reddit)**](../frontends.md#redlib)

  ---

  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/redlib-org/redlib#deployment){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/redlib-org/redlib){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Invidious logo](../assets/img/frontends/invidious.svg#only-light){ .twemoji }![Invidious logo](../assets/img/frontends/invidious-dark.svg#only-dark){ .twemoji } [**Invidious (YouTube)**](../frontends.md#invidious)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://invidious.io){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.invidious.io/installation){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/iv-org/invidious){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Piped logo](../assets/img/frontends/piped.svg){ .twemoji } [**Piped (YouTube)**](../frontends.md#piped)

  ---

  [:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.piped.video/docs/self-hosting){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/TeamPiped/Piped){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

</div>

## More Tools...

Tool recommendations in other categories of the website also provide a self-hosted option, so you could consider this if you are confident in your ability to host the software after reading their documentation.

<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- ![Peergos logo](../assets/img/cloud/peergos.svg){ .twemoji } [**Peergos**](../cloud.md#peergos)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://peergos.org){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/peergos/peergos#usage---running-locally-to-log-in-to-another-instance){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/Peergos/Peergos){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Addy.io logo](../assets/img/email-aliasing/addy.svg){ .twemoji } [**Addy.io**](../email-aliasing.md#addyio)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://addy.io){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://addy.io/self-hosting){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/anonaddy){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![SimpleLogin logo](../assets/img/email-aliasing/simplelogin.svg){ .twemoji } [**SimpleLogin**](../email-aliasing.md#simplelogin)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://addy.io){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/simple-login/app#prerequisites){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/simple-login){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Ente logo](../assets/img/photo-management/ente.svg){ .twemoji } [**Ente Photos**](../photo-management.md#ente-photos)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://ente.com){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://ente.com/help/self-hosting/){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/ente-io/ente){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![CryptPad logo](../assets/img/document-collaboration/cryptpad.svg){ .twemoji } [**CryptPad**](../document-collaboration.md#cryptpad)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://cryptpad.fr){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/admin_guide/index.html){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/xwiki-labs/cryptpad){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Send logo](../assets/img/file-sharing-sync/send.svg){ .twemoji } [**Send**](../file-sharing.md#send)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://send.vis.ee){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/timvisee/send/blob/master/docs/deployment.md){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/timvisee/send){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![LibreTranslate logo](../assets/img/language-tools/libretranslate.png){ .twemoji } [**LibreTranslate**](../language-tools.md#libretranslate)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://libretranslate.com){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.libretranslate.com){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Miniflux logo](../assets/img/news-aggregators/miniflux.svg#only-light){ .twemoji }![Miniflux logo](../assets/img/news-aggregators/miniflux-dark.svg#only-dark){ .twemoji } [**Miniflux**](../news-aggregators.md#miniflux)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://miniflux.app){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://miniflux.app/docs/index.html#administration-guide){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/miniflux/v2){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Standard Notes logo](../assets/img/notebooks/standard-notes.svg){ .twemoji } [**Standard Notes**](../notebooks.md#standard-notes)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://standardnotes.com){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://standardnotes.com/help/47/can-i-self-host-standard-notes){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/standardnotes){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![PrivateBin logo](../assets/img/pastebins/privatebin.svg){ .twemoji } [**PrivateBin**](../pastebins.md#privatebin)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://privatebin.info){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/PrivateBin/PrivateBin/blob/master/doc/Installation.md){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/PrivateBin/PrivateBin){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![Paaster logo](../assets/img/pastebins/paaster.svg){ .twemoji } [**Paaster**](../pastebins.md#paaster)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://paaster.io){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/WardPearce/paaster#deployment){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/WardPearce/paaster){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

- ![SimpleX Chat logo](../assets/img/messengers/simplex.svg){ .twemoji } [**SimpleX Chat**](../real-time-communication.md#simplex-chat)

  ---

  [:octicons-home-16:](https://simplex.chat){ .card-link title="Homepage" }
  [:octicons-info-16:](https://simplex.chat/docs/server.html){ .card-link title="Admin Documentation" }
  [:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/simplex-chat){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

</div>
