We live in an age where the internet is ubiquitous. These days, people do just about everything online, putting complete trust in big tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Many of us have woken up and realized these companies are spying on us all and have attempted to take back our digital privacy by replacing their products with "privacy-respecting" ones. Want to replace Google search? Try DuckDuckGo. Sick of Google Chrome? Use Firefox. Don't want Google reading your emails? Switch to ProtonMail. You may have tried some of these products only to soon realize that they aren't as "privacy-respecting" as you thought, or maybe the company engages in unethical behavior or sells out to a privacy violator. The problem here is that we're still trusting others with our data instead of cutting off the real violator: the internet itself.
The internet is inherently privacy-unfriendly. As soon as you connect to the internet, anyone monitoring your traffic (whether it be your ISP or a VPN provider) and any website you connect to can see what you're doing. When using any online service like a search engine, email, or messaging, you're trusting a provider with all your data relevant to that service. "Privacy-respecting" services can only shift trust from one provider to another. They can't prevent data from being transmitted to begin with because that isn't how the internet works.
You can encrypt the data you send over the internet using GPG or other encryption software, and most websites use HTTPS for encryption, but this is at best delaying the inevitable because the encrypted data is still being transmitted through servers meaning adversaries can still see the data regardless. All they have to do is harvest the encrypted data now, then decrypt it later once their computers become powerful enough to decrypt it.
A better approach would be to cut our dependence on the internet by doing as much as possible without it. By disconnecting and storing everything locally, you avoid having to trust any provider by ensuring your sensitive data never leaves your devices. Therefore, your data is never harvested to begin with.
Instead of cloud storage, use USB drives for backups and your phone's USB charger for transferring files between your phone and computer. Use local storage password managers such as KeePassXC instead of cloud-based ones. Communicate in-person when possible, preferably away from any devices, instead of always texting. Buy a paper calendar, a paper notebook (or use an offline text editor), and paper maps (or use a tool to download maps for offline use). Collect physical media instead of streaming everything. Read actual books instead of "ebooks". These are all things that can be done without an internet connection.
I'm not suggesting giving up the internet entirely and living out in the woods. There are still things that do require the internet that we do need, like search engines, email (only for creating accounts on sites which require it), and instant messengers (for contacting people you don't know). And just because the internet isn't private doesn't mean you shouldn't take measures to protect yourself, such as not sharing personal information or using end-to-end encryption online (which, again, won't protect you forever). And although no provider can be fully trusted, that doesn't mean you shouldn't seek alternatives to Google and other mainstream providers.
The point is, because the internet is not private, it's important not to be dependent on it. Instead of simply trying to replace big tech products with "privacy-respecting" ones, try to replace the internet with offline solutions whether it be locally on your computer or a physical version of something. That is the key to digital privacy.