Facebook alternatives aplenty

There are options out there for those fed up with Facebook, but they are not everyone’s cup of tea.

Alternative social network Path

So you’re considering quitting Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal?

You might be happy without any social networks. You might declare it time to get outside and kick the footy or go surfing.

If you’re a Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn or Pinterest user, you might be happy just staying with them. Good luck, because they mine data, too. Mark Zuckerberg is not the only miner in town.

Online you can find individuals seeking, say, Pinterest data scrapers to collect owner information. Nothing is sacred. Even Flickr is subject to data mining. People have used algorithms that create travel itineraries from ­others’ photos.

There are Facebook substitutes where you own your data, but your friends won’t be members. The best solution is to first host a discussion inside Facebook with friends to decide which network to swap to, and migrate together. You’ll turn swapping into a social, rather than solitary act.

Instead of deleting Facebook entirely, you could delete all your content and leave a reference to your new network. Let Facebook tell everyone where you’ve gone.

Some alternatives offer the basic photo and video swapping, messaging, and commenting. Some are distributed networks with no central control to reduce global data mining. Some are ­organised around blockchain. Instead of you being sold as information, you gain wealth.

Here are some options.

Vero

Alternative social networks - Vero

You share photos, places, books, music, and movie choices and pick an audience to connect to: close friends, friends, acquaintances or followers. Unlike Facebook, it promises no advertising, no data mining and no algorithms. That’s great idealism for now. Eventually Vero will have to secure an ongoing income steam, like the others. Site: vero.co

Path

Alternative social networks - Path

Again you can share music, movies, books, trips and photos. But Path says you are always in control with settings that are easy to understand. You can direct shares to friends or your inner circle. There’s private messaging too. Path had issues with personal privacy in 2013 but hopefully now is on the right path. There’s apps for iOS and Android. Site: path.com

Diaspora

Alternative social networks - Diaspora

At 1 million users it’s small, but clever as there’s no central control. The network is organised into “nodes”, each hosted by a different person/body. Each runs its own copy of the Diaspora software. Individual nodes link to form the global social network. Users retain ownership of their data. It need an Australian node, so for early adopters. Site: diasporafoundation.org.

Telegram

Alternative social networks - Telegram

It started as a messaging app, but with 200 million monthly active users, you’re more likely to find some of your friends on Telegram. One of its biggest draw cards is end-to-end encryption and tight security. You can send selfdestructing messages and photos that disappear in time, a la Snapchat. You can also share photos, videos and other media. There are apps for IOS, Android and a web portal. Site: telegram.org

Signal

Alternative social networks - Signal

Signal is another highly secure messaging app with end-to-end encryption that supports sharing photos and other media. It even supports the setting and searching of animated gifs. It’s available as an app and, in recent time, there is a desktop version. Again, security is its prime concern. Again, because it’s popular, some of your friends might already be using it. Site: signal.org

Indorse

Alternative social networks - Indorse

This is a professional network for the skills economy where you share skills which are formally validated. Companies also can showcase themselves to potential employees and partners. It’s worth listing as it’s another example of a decentralised network. It’s based on the Ethereum blockchain.

Others

There are loads of specialist social media sites, that offer some of Facebook’s services, such as discussion forums such as Quora and Reddit, SmugMug, shutterBy and a host of other photo sharing sites, Github for programmers and microblogging sites.