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How To Self Host All Kinds Of Apps And Why You Should

Leo Migdal
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how to self host all kinds of apps and why you should

In so many ways, privacy is dead—or at least a lot more challenging to maintain than it used to be. In public, you’re probably seen by dozens of cameras every day just as you go about your business. At home, almost everything we do online—from social media posts to the shows we watch on our screens—is tracked, packaged, and sold. The apps we use are some of the worst offenders—especially if they’re free to use, which just means you’re paying either with your eyeballs (on advertisements) or with the data the app is hoovering... The problem is simple: We don’t own or control the apps we use. But you can change that, to an extent.

There’s a growing list of “self-hosted” alternatives to commonly used apps. A self-hosted app is just what it sounds like: Instead of relying on a third party’s servers for an app’s functionality, you host your own server. That means you control all your data, and your privacy score shoots up exponentially. It’s understandable that “running your own server” might sound intimidating, but it’s often a lot easier than it sounds. Here’s how self-hosted apps work, and which ones you can start using today to give your online privacy a boost. The standard apps we use every day—provided by companies like Google or X—are extremely convenient.

You can get them up and running in minutes, and they usually work pretty seamlessly. The downside is the mountain of your private data that they absorb and use in mysterious ways. Even if it’s anonymized, it’s still disconcerting—and since those companies can change their terms of service (ToS) any time they want, there’s no guarantee how your data will be used in the future. A self-hosted app makes everything local. You provide your own storage and your own functionality, and only you can decide how your data is used. The benefits are obvious.

Control over your data and privacy is number one. There’s also potentially lower cost (since you’re not paying a subscription), and you won’t be subject to the whims of a corporation that might decide to discontinue an app you love or force you... Plus, you can decide the features and add-ons you want to use instead of having unwanted features forced on you. There are some potential downsides, too, of course. Self-hosting means you’re responsible for security and keeping your software updated. Hardware can fail, and if you don’t have a recent backup of your data there’s no one to turn to.

You’re also your own customer service, and your tech support is essentially a Google search. Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more. Lately, there’s a lot of hype around self-hosting and running your own apps on a home lab or NAS. But you might be wondering what you stand to gain from it? After all, Google, Apple, and many others offer perfectly competent app suites.

That’s what I thought too. But for the last few years, I’ve dived deep into the world of open source and self-hosting. And if you’re curious why, saddle up — I’ve got some thoughts to share. When I first dived into self-hosting, it was less about control and more about finding apps that filled the gaps left by commercial applications, and devs that actually listened to feedback, feature requests, or... That evolved into wanting more control over the apps I was using every day. It started small with a basic notes app, a self-hosted password manager, even a media server.

But all too soon, I was running half a dozen services on my own hardware. While today I might stand behind the open-source ethos, back then I was just tired of depending on apps that kept changing to meet commercial targets, subscriptions that kept stacking. Over time, I came to the obvious realisation — this wasn’t just a matter of convenience, I preferred the approach of open-source apps even if it sometimes meant a less-than-polished user experience. Hosting my own tools has helped me build a better relationship with data privacy, my user habits, and even my technology stack. Here’s why I’m all in on self-hosted apps and why I think more people should give it a shot. There’s something incredibly frustrating about using a service for years only to wake up one day and find out your data is locked behind a paywall.

Or worse, that the service is shutting down and your stuff is disappearing unless you jump through a dozen hoops. Or how about a service losing the license for your favorite movie, and you not being able to stream it anymore. That’s what pushed me to self-host my first app. Media servers tend to be a very popular first foray into open-source apps for a good reason — we’ve all faced the annoyance of Netflix losing a license for a favorite movie. It’s been a while since my last blog post! If you’re an old subscriber you might remember that during my first blog post I said I’d build 12 startups in 12 months… and then I just kind of disappeared around month 7.

I bet you’re sitting here expecting some kind of elaborate explanation in terms of why I was gone, but the reality is that around month 7 I had a couple of my ideas start... The “12 startups in 12 months” thing isn’t meant to be taken literally: you build new ideas until something starts to show some promise, then you focus. Which is what I did. I also got a bit burned out of blogging. I’ve decided I’m going to keep blogging, but only when I feel like there’s something truly interesting to share related to my journey of building startups. This month, I do have something interesting to share: a “buyers guide” and how-to on self-hosting!And it’s going to be a long one because I put a lot of research into this, so if...

This month’s post is all about self-hosting for people building software startups, otherwise known as the “cloud exit,” cancelling your Vercel account and buying a low cost VPS instead, or whatever else you’d like... Learn how to self-host open source alternatives to popular services. Our comprehensive guides will help you deploy and maintain your own infrastructure. Keep your data private and secure on your own servers. No third-party can access or monetize your information. Customize your services exactly how you want them.

No feature limitations or restrictions imposed by service providers. Free yourself from subscription fees and service shutdowns. Your services run as long as you want them to. Containerized deployments with Docker and Docker Compose for simple setup Self-hosting has quietly become a power move for developers who want more control, privacy, and resilience in their workflows. Whether you're running your own blog, email server, or full-stack web app, managing your own infrastructure sharpens your skills like nothing else.

Self-hosting means running software or services (web apps, APIs, databases, etc.) on infrastructure you control—typically your own machine, a VPS, or a home server. It’s the opposite of SaaS. Instead of using Gmail, you run your own mail server. Instead of Notion, maybe you use something like AppFlowy or Logseq on your own box. Instead of relying on Heroku or Vercel, you spin up your own Docker stack on a DigitalOcean droplet. Level-Up Your DevOps & SRE Skills You can read about Docker, Nginx, or systemd all day—but until you deploy and debug services live, it’s just theory.

All the stuff you’ll be expected to know on a senior team. If you're worried about handing your data to third-party apps, or you're not sure what servers your data is being sent to, self-hosting is an excellent way to make sure your data is safe... There are several apps and services that you can self-host, that, too, without complex setups. You can use a NAS or a similar device to run an Immich server, or run a Docker container to self-host Jellyfin. The possibilities are endless. However, self-hosting is a deep rabbit hole that, once you enter, is difficult to escape.

Owing to this, you may want to self-host a ton of apps and services on your own machine. While that's certainly a fantastic idea, it may not be wise to have all your self-hosted services on a single machine. You may not face any major issues at first, but you may start encountering performance bottlenecks or thermal throttling issues in the long run, accompanied by several other problems. If you're a self-hosting enthusiast and all your services are on the same machine, here are a few factors to rethink the decision. You can save a lot of money by switching from these services to self-hosted solutions. Running all or multiple self-hosted services on a single machine can lead to all of them competing for finite resources like CPU, RAM, and network bandwidth.

A media server like Plex, while transcoding 4K video, can require much more resources compared to lighter services like an ad blocker. By distributing services across multiple machines, you can dedicate appropriate hardware to each service’s needs. For example, Immich’s AI-based facial recognition system requires a machine with a powerful CPU and GPU. So, allocating a machine with those specs for this purpose makes sense. Don't club it with another task that also requires raw performance, since that could lead to both services not getting adequate resources. In today’s digital world, we often rely on third-party cloud services to store data, collaborate with teams, and access applications.

While these services are convenient, they come with trade-offs, such as privacy concerns, limited control, and recurring subscription costs. For those looking to regain control over their digital environment, self hosting provides a compelling alternative. 👉 New to self-hosting? Read The Complete Guide to Self-Hosting to learn everything you need to get started—from setup to security. Self hosted apps allow individuals, businesses, and organizations to run software applications on their own servers, putting them in complete control of their data, security, and infrastructure. Whether you’re looking to host personal projects, collaborate with a team, or create your own cloud storage solution, self hosting offers a level of customization and privacy that third-party cloud services cannot match.

In this article, we’ll explore what self hosted applications are, the many benefits they provide, the common challenges of self hosting, and some of the most popular self hosted solutions available to help you... Self hosted apps refer to software applications that are hosted on your own server rather than relying on a third-party service provider. With self hosting, you own and control the infrastructure where the application runs. This could involve setting up a local server or renting a Virtual Private Server (VPS) to run your apps. In contrast to cloud-based apps like Google Drive or Microsoft 365, which store your data on their servers, self hosted apps give you the ability to store your data locally or on your private... From file storage and media streaming to project management and communication tools, the range of apps you can self-host is vast.

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