Let’s make the digital world more respectful, shall we?
At Fources, we start with a simple, maybe even naive belief: the digital world could be more respectful.
Respectful of privacy, freedom, working conditions, the environment in short, more in line with the human values we try to bring into our work every day.
And yet, today’s digital “norm” revolves around ubiquitous, often opaque tools built around data collection. We all use them sometimes without even realizing it: a font loaded from Google Fonts, an analytics tool connected to Facebook, a US-based cloud storage for sensitive files… and we barely blink.
But no, this isn’t about “throwing big tech in the trash” or starting a digital revolution.
What we’re proposing is a gradual shift, step by step:
Switching your browser. Hosting your fonts locally. Choosing local or open-source alternatives when possible.
Not out of dogma.
Out of coherence.
Why try to break free from Big Tech?
We often hear it’s impossible that we’re too dependent.
But that dependency isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of a system built to capture our attention… and, more importantly, our data.
Here’s why, as a web agency, we’re trying to do things differently:
- Tracking is everywhere: silent, invisible, but omnipresent and it makes us realize how privacy is being undermined.
- Laws like the US Cloud Act allow governments to access data stored on American servers, with little transparency. Many tools default to storing everything in the cloud and that makes us pause.
- A matter of coherence: we use open-source tools to build why not also draw inspiration from them to consume more consciously?
This isn’t an “anti-tech” stance far from it.
It’s an invitation to explore a more ethical, freer, lower-impact way of doing digital.
So where do you start?
Swapping widely-used tools for alternatives can feel daunting even pointless.
But every small step is a form of regained independence. (And yes, we care about that.)
Here are a few tools we’ve already replaced without flipping everything upside down:
| Mainstream Tool | Ethical / Open Source Alternative | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Brave, Firefox | Brave blocks ads and trackers by default (we use it at the agency). Firefox is open-source and maintained by the Mozilla Foundation. |
| Google Analytics | Plausible, Matomo | Privacy-first analytics that don’t track users without their knowledge. What is Matomo? |
| Google Fonts | Fontsource, self-hosting | Hosting fonts locally avoids sending your users’ IP address to Google. Why that matters. |
| Gmail | ProtonMail, Tutanota | End-to-end encrypted, hosted in Europe, and no ads or profiling. We already use our own mail servers at the agency. |
| Google Docs / Drive | CryptPad, Nextcloud Office | CryptPad doesn’t even have access to the content you write it’s end-to-end encrypted. |
| YouTube | Invidious, PeerTube | Invidious lets you watch YouTube content without ads or tracking. PeerTube is decentralized, French, and open source. |
| Figma | Penpot | A free, open-source design tool developed in Spain. We’re already testing it for our own workflows. |
| Notion | Joplin, Logseq, Anytype | Great for note-taking or project management. Joplin supports local encryption, and Logseq doesn’t require the cloud. |
| Facebook / X (Twitter) | Mastodon, Nostr | Decentralized social networks no ads, no algorithm. What is Mastodon? |
Quick glossary
- Self-hosting: running a tool (like cloud storage or a website) on your own server. It prevents third parties like Google from accessing your data.
- GDPR-friendly: compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation, a European law that protects user data.
- Open source: software whose source code is public, reusable, and modifiable meaning more transparency and independence.
- Tracker: a small piece of code used to follow users’ behavior online (clicks, time on page, location, etc.).
A real-world example from our agency
For new projects, we’ve decided to stop using Google Fonts by default.
Why? Because we learned that using their font service actually sends a tracker to Google and we realized we didn’t need it.
At first, we worried it would be a pain. In practice? It takes about 30 minutes:
- Download the font from Google Fonts (yes, that’s legal).
- Host it on our own server.
- Result: no more requests to Google.
(Assuming you’re not using any other Google service on the page.)
Bonus: the site loads faster, fewer external requests!
It’s a small step. But it’s a real one.
A more respectful web starts here
We’re not saying changing your tools will change the world overnight.
But it’s a start.
A concrete way to take back control of your digital life, reduce your reliance on tech giants, and choose services more aligned with your values.
And the best part? You don’t have to be an expert to begin.
A browser. A font. An email service.
Every small step matters.
Let’s reimagine the web together
At Fources, we build websites using open-source tools that’s always been our foundation.
But we’ve come to realize that the tools around those tools (fonts, analytics, hosting…) also deserve more attention.
That awareness is pushing us further for us, for our clients, for the projects we care about.
We want to put even more emphasis on building a web that’s respectful, transparent, and lighter.
So if you’d like to:
- assess the tools you currently use,
- eliminate ad cookies,
- switch to local hosting,
- or adopt ethical analytics tools…
Contact us via our contact form and let’s discuss your possibilities!
Credits for the main picture : Tobias Tullius on Unsplash
