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I don't fully understand how/why you guys selfhost some apps (alien.top)
submitted 2 years ago by [B] to c/main@selfhosted.forum
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I don't have a home server yet but I'm exploring and sometimes I get confused about some posts here.

For example I saw a post asking for recommendation for a "self hosted budget management app". Can't you just install this type of app to your phone or pc? What's the purpose here, will you host it and access it from a browser? Or do you only want to backup its data to your server?

I hope I don't sound stupid please enlighten me.

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[–] [B] 2 points 2 years ago (14 children)

Can't you just install this type of app to your phone or pc?

For one instance of app, it's possible to install it onto a single machine.

Things get tricky when you want to access the data from multiple devices. Even trickier, when several people want to access it. After a certain point, it's easier to have a "cloud" solution. And since "cloud" is just somebody's else computer, why not make this a computer YOU own?

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago

    Exactly- I have a desktop and a laptop and want the same experience on both. I do have file sync setup with Nextcloud so that is handled, but for some things a hosted version makes sense. I’ve come a long way from using briefcases on a 3.5 floppy to have my data where I want it.

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago (4 children)

    I think for a lot of people as well, a big factor is when you share that data between multiple devices, if you use your own solution, then you don't have to trust other companies with your data.

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago (3 children)

    No, but now you have to trust yourself with security.

    It seems to me to be a bit of the fly vs drive debate. Flying is objectively safer, but lots of people get more freaked out by it because they have zero control over the outcome.

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Flying is only safer than driving until the fuel runs out, then you're much safer in a car 😉

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago

    actually when a plane runs out of fuel it doesn't drop out of the sky, a trained pilot can glide the plane down (eg Hudson River landing ) mow if u r on a highway and u run out of fuel the car behind u might hit u

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago

    I think the threat model is sufficiently different enough for self hosters versus commercial offerings that it is possible to maintain a comparable level of security to what you'd enjoy elsewhere with significantly less technical training. E.g., I run a home server using a point-to-point Wireguard configuration such that only devices I've explicitly set up with Wireguard can access any of its services. My ports are very quiet.

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  • [–] [B] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    This is exactly it - storage is the best example

    Could I run all of my stuff using a cloud service? Of course, but it would be very expensive and only available if my internet works (and there's a lot of hops between me and my data in the cloud)

    I can buy a 2TB HDD for £64 - most cloud providers charge that much per year for 1TB

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