Why I Self-Host: Taking Control of My Digital Life

There's something satisfying about running your own services—from uptime monitors to personal cloud storage. For me, self-hosting is more than a hobby. It's a way of life, a statement that I want to own my digital footprint.

What Is Self-Hosting?

Self-hosting means running apps and services on your own hardware (like a home server or VPS) instead of relying on third-party platforms.

What I Self-Host

• Uptime Kuma: Keep track of services and devices at home or work
• Pi-hole: Network-wide ad-blocker
• Vaultwarden: Self-hosted Bitwarden for password management
• Ghost: This website you're reading now

Why I Do It

• Privacy: No big tech tracking or data selling
• Learning: It's the best way to truly understand systems
• Flexibility: Customize and control everything
• Cost-effective: Cheaper than monthly subscriptions (in the long run)

Challenges

Sure, self-hosting comes with headaches—backups, updates, downtime, and the occasional late-night debug session. But that's part of the fun, right?

Final Thoughts

If you're curious about self-hosting, start small. Maybe a simple file server or a dashboard. Once you dive in, it's hard to go back.

Want to see my setup? Check out my public status page for a peek behind the curtain.