Resource Guide

Unfriend Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Facebook still holds a lot of what people actually use it for — staying in touch, organizing groups, buying and selling locally. Here's where that stuff can live instead.

Privacy and Data Concerns: Users are often alarmed by Meta’s practices of sharing private user data with third-party advertisers and partners without explicit consent, viewing the platform as a data-harvesting tool rather than a social network.
Mental Health and Well-being: Studies and personal anecdotes highlight that Facebook can exacerbate anxiety, depression, and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), as users compare their lives to the curated, often unrealistic highlights of others.
Algorithmic Manipulation: The platform’s algorithms are designed to keep users engaged for longer periods by promoting divisive content, misinformation, and sensationalist posts, which can warp one’s perception of social reality and political discourse.
Decline in Authentic Connection: Many users report that interactions have become boring or superficial, with friends acting more like celebrities posting professional photos rather than sharing candid, genuine moments, leading to a sense of isolation rather than community.
Political and Ethical Stances: Some individuals quit as a political statement against election interference, the spread of hate speech, and the platform’s role in enabling ethnic clashes or propaganda, feeling that their presence inadvertently supports these harmful outcomes.

Alternatives by category

Here's How - Step By Step

Turn off the algorithms!

On Facebook, adjust your feed to Friends, On Instagram, select Following. Both settings default to the algorithm every time you close and reopen the app.

Start Crossposting

Every time you post on Facebook or Instagram, start crossposting to a decentralized open-source platform like Bluesky or Mastodon as well.

Explore the Fediverse!

The Fediverse is a decentralized network of interconnected social media platforms. Watch this video and you will get the idea.

Create your own pod.

Are you on Facebook to find out what your friends are doing? Invite them to join a group chat on Signal or Bluesky. And ask them to post regularly for at least a month.

News & Updates

Following organizations directly through email newsletters or an RSS reader skips the feed entirely and shows you everything, in order.

Pixelfed instead of Instagram

Pixelfed is functionally similar to Instagram in its core photo-sharing features but with no ads, and no algorithms. Like Instagram before it got enshittified.

Getting started

You don't have to do this all at once

Start with one group chat

Move your closest circle to Signal first — it's the easiest habit to build, and the one you'll notice most.

Find your local groups elsewhere

Check whether the organizing groups you follow already have a presence off Facebook — many do.

Set a wind-down date

Rather than deleting everything at once, pick a date to stop checking, then delete once it's actually easy.

Bring people with you

The hardest part of leaving is losing touch — invite the people you'd miss to wherever you're moving first.

Know a better alternative?

This list only stays useful if organizers keep it current. Tell us what to add.

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