If you’re in the market for a computer these days, expect to be sold some form of AI. Windows computers come with a CoPilot button. Chromebooks advertise Gemini during setup. Like many of you, I’m tired of all of it, so I’ve decided to build my own privacy-oriented PC instead.
Privacy starts with Linux
I’m going with Fedora
With Windows and ChromeOS already shipping AI features, and Apple having signed a deal with Google to help them figure out how they will do the same, there isn’t a commercial operating system you can buy currently that isn’t trying to sell you on AI features.
Fortunately, there’s desktop Linux—an operating system made of code that anyone is freely able to view, modify, and share. When people have such power over their computer, they remove the bits they don’t want. I’m not even saying this task is up to you or I. Rather, this happens before the code even gets to us. Many Linux developers are volunteers, and what they choose to work on isn’t driven by investors. They don’t want to be spied on, and they don’t want to spy on others.
I’ve opted to reinstall Fedora Linux, my preferred version of desktop Linux. I’ve taken a break these past few years, ditching Linux for Samsung DeX, but the AI encroachment is only getting worse. I like Fedora in part because even among the various versions of Linux (most of which have a great track record for respecting user privacy), this project has a stricter preference for only shipping open source software, and users must opt in to installing proprietary code. Over the years, I have developed trust in Fedora’s developers and project leaders.
Choosing a sandboxed desktop
It’s time to pay more attention to what apps can access
I have decided to return to Fedora Silverblue, a variant that’s harder to break due to it being an immutable version of Linux. Once installed, adding new software feels comparable to using the Play Store. By default, only free and open source apps are available, but during setup you have the option to enable software from third-party sources like Flathub, which includes mainstream apps like Steam, Discord, and Slack.
These apps are sandboxed from each other in a way that tightens security compared to the traditional approach of building a Linux desktop. While the implementation isn’t perfect, it’s a permissions-based approach similar to what we encounter on phones. The use of permissions makes it easier to see when software is up to something shady, if the developers choose to present this information in a helpful way.
Consider how the GNOME Software app store informs me when an app might violate my privacy. Even an open source office suite is described as “potentially unsafe” because it would have access to my entire home folder, my microphone, and the internet. With this kind of information, I’m not merely picking apps based on reviews, but on what degree of risk I’m willing to expose myself to. It’s a far cry from AI services trying to suck up as much information as possible, hoping that we don’t think too deeply about how we’re handing someone else a record of every word we say.
Private ways to stay connected
No one’s trying to lock me in and mine my data
When I booted up my PC, there was no mention of AI anywhere in the OS. I didn’t see the words until I opened Firefox, where it was tucked away somewhere nonintrusive, and I have the freedom to remove it entirely. To the browser’s credit, it now offers a free VPN to anyone with a Mozilla account. It also has more extensive tracker blocking than you find in Google Chrome.
When I open up the “Online Accounts” section of System Settings, the first option isn’t some corporate cloud like Google Photos or Apple iCloud. It’s Nextcloud, an open source suite of cloud-based tools that I can either self-host myself or pay someone else to do for me. When I created a Murena account for my Fairphone 6, that came with Nextcloud-based apps for taking notes, synching tasks, and cloud storage.
Flathub has numerous apps for sharing files with others without paying for corporate cloud storage, like Warp, Share and LocalSend. Apps like Newsflash can connect to an online account or operate locally, and Geopard is a reminder that the internet can still feel small and personal.
Knowing the components that go into my PC
Open source and trusted hardware drivers
I’ve been a long-time Linux user who has taken the occasional break to dabble with Chromebooks and Android-based desktops. My first computer was a laptop, and I’ve largely stuck to mobile devices ever since. This time around, I wanted to try my hand at building a PC.
The timing isn’t the best, I know. RAM and storage prices are through the roof. Fortunately, a family member gave me his hand-me-down graphics card and bought me RAM to get me started. That’s the beauty of building a PC. You can budget for it piecemeal, obtaining one piece at a time until, lo and behold, you eventually have everything you need.
Another perk of building a PC is that you know exactly what is going in. Many of these components have proprietary binary blobs that serve as black boxes, but the beauty of Linux is you can at least interact with most of these components using open source drivers. The nouveau driver managing the NVIDIA RTX 2070 in my PC isn’t up to anything shady, and it’s functional enough that I don’t yet feel compelled to seek out NVIDIA’s proprietary one. I’ll probably install the NVIDIA driver at some point if I decide to play games on this machine, but I appreciate that the default choice is the more private and open option.
Building a privacy PC isn’t about hardening myself against any type of online attack or deluding myself into thinking my every action is private. I am still using Slack, after all. But I’m tired of having to view my PC, my phone, and my apps with suspicion. This new PC is one that respects my privacy and nudges me toward apps that I can trust.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
