EverMail.nl started as a project to replace Gmail and Google calendar with alternatives, away from BigTech (BT)
This project marks the beginning of my journey to reclaim my digital independence gradually.
My non-BT mail provider —the EU-based mijn.host— includes web space alongside mail and contact services.
I use this webspace to host this site and lightly document my approach and progress.
Perhaps others find inspiration from this.
My objectives of the evermail.nl project:
Replacement: Swap BT platforms for open, more privacy-respecting alternatives.
Sovereignty: Move data back into my own hands and onto European soil.
Responsiveness: Keep everything simple and effective to use (not necessarily to set up).
Project info
Total visits to this site since Feb 6, 2026: 1578.
Counting is anonymous and just out of interest — no tracking, no cookies (and no cookie banner!).
Last update of the website: October 20, 2026.
Email, calendering and contacts: software
I want to be able to access contacts, calendar en email access from anywhere, anyhow.
Therefore Evermail uses open standards like IMAP, CalDAV, and CardDAV for full interoperability among my devices.
Contacts: Fossify Contacts. Requires DAVx. DAVx⁵ isn't complex, but too complex for my setup. Works, but looking for an alternative.
Calendaring KashCal via F-droid. Works very well so far.
iOS: I do not use Apple products.
Developing into a deeper project: the 'Why'
Privacy (why it matters), security, independence, and digital control matter.
Big Tech’s “free” tools use personal data to sell ads (and more) and train AI systems without explicit consent and/or transparency, and no easy way to opt out, if any.
Users give up their privacy in exchange for the use of BT's products.
Their products are designed like games to lure us into using these products, e.g. by "offering free AI"".
Not my piece of cake.
Privacy is not important because I have something to hide (I think I have nothing to hide).
Privacy is about my right to explicitly choose who gets to see what about me.
Do you allow any company into your house unknowingly?
Read Proton’s article to understand the value of your data.
Google's security is said to be good, but their privacy not so.
This means Google are very good at keeping your data to themselves and monitize it.
Likewise,many websites and adds harm our privacy.
But the internet is payed for by ads!
Partly true.
I understand that adds help pay for costs.
And I am willing to accepts adds, to a certain extend.
BUT:
Adds should not be tracking me without prior and explicit warning and an easy way to reject prior to any tracking. I haven't researched, but my wild guess is that 90%+ of the adds are tracking us.
Adds should never block or shift contents.
Adds should (and can) be relevant to visitors without tracking them.
Similar things can be said about cookies.
In EU we have cookie warnings.
These warnings are vague at best and cookies are very often simply not needed.
I do understand that there are a few good reasons to use cookies.
Placing any cookie without prior and explicit warning should be forbidden.
Sounds like a useful browser extension (a cookie sinkhole)!
The underlying principals
Where evermail.nl started as a small project on email, calendering and contact away from BT, it has developed as a broader initiative.
I rely on open‑source tools, open standards, and repairable hardware — avoiding closed source “free” products that harvest data.
I do not dispose of hardware before the end of technical/economic lifetime, or I give the hardware a second life giving/selling it to someone else.
I financially support FOSS projects I depend on. Not all of them, not all the time, not a lot of money, but as a matter of principal. I do not have the technical skills to contribute otherwise.
I take the journey step by step. I made and will make mistakes, but I always recover (so far) and learn a lot along the way. I enjoy the learning!
I do apply these principals wherever possible and practical. I try to be pragmatic and keep things simple.
My evolving IT landscape
End nodes
1 phone, 1 repairable laptop, 1 tablet and a small server for me. The children bring their own set of nodes...
Network attached storage (NAS)
I have been running a small server (Synology) at home for storage (photo's, backups and my business documents) since around 2015.
Recently (2025) I've started using docker for self-hosting some services I used to rely on in the “public” cloud.
Works wonderfully well, although some projects tend to stretch my technical understanding to the limit, and beyond (learning every day). Good support sources (like Marius Hosting) are available online (and donated to 😇).
However, not everything is worth hosting yourselves.
Either my server is not powerful enough (but efficient) and/or the hosting is too complex and ISP restrictions apply (email hosting for example).
However, self hosting has changed my IT landscape in a positive way.
The added complexity is limited; most is 'document, set and forget'.
Big step was using pi-hole to stop a lot of unwanted and unnescessary internet traffic. As were Syncthing and kopia (replacing Synology's propriety Hyper Backup).
Improving computer experience.
When email and contacts were running well (so far), I started exploring the OS on my laptop (NixOS).
Until then I was using NixOS with the Gnome desktop almost like I used any other Linux distro.
But NixOS can do so much more!
Home manger allows you to manage home settings declaratively.
Flakes allow you to use other peoples advances in software packaging while remaining a stable desktop.
Agenix can store passwords encrypted.
Replacing gvfs with Rclone to access remote shares gave a nice speed and responsiveness bump.
Replacing the Gnome desktop (always enjoyed it until I discovered more modern alternatives) with niri/noctalia, which gave me a massive responsiveness boost, granular control of fractional scaling, effective use of external monitors, ... You don't know what you have been missing until you experience the difference.
And I started using less GUI software and more TUI, less word processing and more text-files (like markdown).
Tools like yazi alone gave me an efficiency boost like no hardware improvement will ever give me.
Other frequently used TUI tools are the fresh editor, btop.
Read more about TUI/GUI
Perhaps less 'shiny' in the eyes of some, but so much better at getting things done (for me).
(W)LAN
My LAN/WLAN is modest: a SDN (software defined network; Omada) with a router/switch and 2 wired access points.
I know little about networking.
The WAN side is connected to 100Mbs fibre.
I used almost only default settings, although I always paid attention to security.
Here is what I have now exprienced moving to a more stable and functional LAN/WLAN:
Setup basic security (duh...), including separated VLANS for guest access and IoT. I have mirrored the VLANs in separate SSIDs.
2.4GHz is fine for most clients (incl. audio/video streaming). 5/6GHz are faster, but their reach is (very) limited. IoT and guests are on 2.4GHz only. Nobody complains.
Keep access points out of each others way:
Limit channel width (20MHz on 2.4GHz, 40MHz on 5GHz) and use different channels per access point (your own and your neighbour's);
Limit transmission power. More is not better when it comes to WLAN;
Living near (<20km) anything to do with the militairy or an airfield: stay away from DFS-chanels (5GHz channels 100-140).
With this setup, I experience stable (W)LAN performance throughout the house: it has reasonably good throughput, low ping times and low jitter. Test it with Waveforms Bufferbloat and Internet speed test.
Achieved so far
Microsoft is completely gone
G-drive, Gmail, Google calendar, Keep: gone and replaced with good functionality. Some G-components still left. Working on it.
Good protection against web-tracking. Fingerprinting to be solved.
Very responsive desktop computing experience with an efficient workflow.
Good data protection and privacy (backup scheme).
Very limited exposure to vendor lock in.
And improving (almost) every week.
Links to related initiatives
Links relate to non-commercial initiatives to reduce the influence of big tech.
In the Netherlands, almost everyone seems addicted to big tech—Google, Microsoft, AWS, Meta and the like. From the government and schools to private companies and individuals, these platforms are deeply embedded in our daily lifes.
Most people grow up within these ecosystems, largely unaware of how it compromises their privacy, hampers their productivity, and stunts their digital literacy. However, with the shifting geopolitical landscape —accelerated by recent political changes in the U.S.— the need for better privacy, digital independence and self-reliance slowly entering the public consciousness.
Change is beginning to take root; France (ditching Windows), certain German states and cities, and Austria have all started making strides toward digital sovereignty.
Even the Dutch have initialised a souvereignty project DAWO which includes the potential use of... NixOS.
While most governments struggle to adapt, it are the more tech-savvy individuals that have started on their own with available tech and tools.
Real change starts small. By taking action, I am learning, progressing. My goal is simple: to protect my privacy, sharpen my digital skills, and reclaim my independence.
When will you take the first step toward reclaiming your own digital sovereignty?
