Research and explore alternative social media platforms, messaging apps, and communication tools. Consider what you valued most about Meta products and look for platforms that offer similar or better features. There are options focused on privacy, specific interests, or different forms of interaction. Don't feel pressured to replace everything at once; start with what's most important to you.
Before fully committing to leaving Meta, create accounts on your chosen alternatives and experiment with them. Get familiar with the interface, features, and community. This trial period allows you to assess whether the platform meets your needs and preferences, and allows you to transfer valuable information before deleting your old account.
Invite a few close friends or family members to join you on the new platforms. This creates a small, familiar community to start with and makes the transition smoother. Sharing experiences and feedback can help everyone adjust and discover the benefits of the new platform together.
Most Meta platforms offer the option to download an archive of your data, including posts, photos, messages, and other information. This is a good way to preserve memories and important content before deleting your account. Be aware that this download can be quite large, so ensure you have sufficient storage space.
Instead of abruptly deleting your accounts, consider gradually reducing your usage. This can help you break the habit of checking Meta platforms and make the transition less jarring. You can start by limiting your time spent on the platforms each day or unfollowing/muting accounts that contribute to negative feelings.
Before deleting your accounts, give your friends and family a heads-up. Share your alternative contact information (phone number, email, other social platforms) so they know how to reach you. This helps maintain connections and prevents misunderstandings. You can make a final post announcing your departure, or reach out to close contacts individually.
Mastodon was founded in 2016 by German software developer Eugen Rochko. Unlike Twitter, Facebook, Reddit or any other popular social media site, Mastodon is a nonprofit, meaning that, ideally, its goal is to benefit the public, rather than shareholders.
Pixelfed is a free and open-source image sharing social network service. The platform uses a decentralized architecture which is roughly comparable to e-mail providers, meaning user data is not stored on one central server. It uses the ActivityPub protocol, allowing users to interact with other social networks within the protocol, such as Mastodon and PeerTube. Pixelfed and other platforms utilizing this protocol are considered to be part of the Fediverse.
Loops is a short video sharing platform. It's currently in beta, but you can sign up to be notified when it's ready.
Signal is a popular replacement of the Whatsapp messaging app.Signal
Another option is Element (Matrix protocol), which is open-source and has a strong focus on privacy.
For combining all your chats in one app you can use Beeper (signal, telegram, discord, linkedin etc.)