I bet the downvotes are because it’s not helpful to OP.

What software?

Anyway you can use QEMU https://computernewb.com/wiki/QEMU/Guests/Windows_11 or rent a VPS for the duration of your testing, assuming there is hardware related.

Historical context : it’s a 1yo post.

TPM itself isn’t the problem. TPM itself technically might be a good solution, what the FSF precisely put forward is “out of the user’s control”. They even mention how it’s not about theoretical ideas but how it’s actually used. If Microsoft gets to decide HOW your computers works DESPITE you wanting NOT to behave that way AND it makes Microsoft itself, or its partners, even more entrenched then it’s a serious problem, it means “your” computer is their computer.

What we have all witnessed is that bit by bit OSes like Windows, but also MacOS and Android, are not simply providing stores or tightly controllers channel (with fees for themselves) but ALSO removing entirely, or making it radically harder, to install software the user actually wants to install (not malware).

It’s not about TPM, it’s as usual about who control your computer.

Apple still has the most reliable out of the box experience for hardware.

Out of curiosity, did you try an equivalent, e.g. Framework or Tuxedo or a SteamDeck, or only generic hardware, like a PC, then slapped on it a random distribution?

I don’t want to presume of your experiences and only to highlight that Apple out of the box experience better be flawless precisely because they have very limited hardware to support. In fact I would argue any distribution, even an obscure one, could fare very very well if it only had well known hardware (even if hundreds of them) supported, as opposed to an open and thus endless ecosystem.

Fair enough but I think every single “I managed to leave the wall garden!” is a rally cry for others who are still on the verge of trying. It’s encouraging to see the success of others.

I believe the idea is that you run your own instance if none of the existing one fits your need.

If you do set one up for your own LUG you can, if you want, decide to then open it up for LUGs organizers elsewhere.

Yes but encoding isn’t cheap.

It sure is possible to embed invisible information into videos and images, it’s called metadata. Now you might think of other techniques, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography but most if not all are, AFAIK (and I won’t pretend I know the state of the art in the domain) if they are within the data itself (thus become data, not meta-data), e.g. a visible stamp in an image, are made to remain visible. Compression codecs are specifically targeting the visible or audible spectrum. One of the most basic way to “compress” lossy information (as opposed to lossless) is precisely to remove the ends of the spectrum that is not perceived by the average human audience.

So… AFAICT it’s either visible and thus can be spotted (and thus can be removed, even if by adding a black mark over) or not visible but then most likely will be removed by basic compression codecs even without trying to do so.

TL;DR: no and I wouldn’t be until I see this in the wild (not a research paper claimed it’s technically possible).

When you generalize your position about your available time and technical knowledge as the limiting factor for everybody you are not saying it’s impossible for you, you’re saying it’s impossible for anybody and everybody. That’s the problem. It’s like saying “I don’t like this food” versus “It tastes bad!”. For you they are equivalent, for others they are totally different. I’m not saying you, or anybody else, should learn about self-hosting (federated) social platforms then set some up, what I’m rejecting instead is giving up pre-emptively on the behalf of others because it’s giving power back to BigTech.

Your sarcasm and learned helplessness help BigTech. I didn’t say it was easy, I said it was feasible.

Fitting username at least.

No idea on iOS, specifically left the OS due to its lack of interoperability.

On Android I did test but https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.atharok.screentime/ or https://f-droid.org/en/packages/godau.fynn.usagedirect/ looks like good candidate. I’m not sure if they have export or publish to API functions but I image at this point would be relatively easy to add.

Interesting, I’d complete it with KDE Connect to add mobile usage.

Years some companies make virtual temporary cards.

Belgian Post does that, prepaid MasterCard with IBAN. They or the partner bank does KYC (no choice) but shops don’t get your data.

technology is coming for bicycles too

Went from e-bike to fixie and ironically enough this isn’t a joke. I’m happier and healthier now.

Is also dangerous to associate emerging technology with big tech, sure they make some and sell some at tempting discounted prices BUT they are not the only ones and when aiming so you leave then an open field.

the only realistic platform

you know of, I don’t know where you live (nor do I want to) but alternatives do exist and if not you can self host some.

Even if rooted and used without account via PrivateQuest?

Freedom to be exploited or exploit others even harder for “success”.

Sarcasm aside there are state equivalents, e.g. CCPA.

Worthwhile yet tricky. Companies like OpenAI, Google, Meta, etc are full of experts in statistics and they have access to a lot of storage space. If use a service from those companies, say 4hrs per day between 7am and 9pm, at a certain frequency, e.g. 10 requests / hour, then suddenly, when you realize you actually do not trust them with your data, you do 10000 req/hr for 1hr then that’s a suspect pattern. Then might be able to rollback until before that “freak” event automatically. They might still present you as a user your data with the changes but not in their internal databases.

So… I’m not saying it’s not a good idea, nor useful, but I bet doing it properly is hard. It’s probably MUCH harder than do a GDPR (or equivalent) take out request then deletion request AND avoiding all services that might leverage your data from these providers.