https://itzgee.com/blog/ Plain-English writing about self-hosting, privacy and keeping custody of your own data. en-GB https://itzgee.com/blog/moving-your-photos-off-icloud-and-google-photos// https://itzgee.com/blog/moving-your-photos-off-icloud-and-google-photos// Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT guides Your memories, on your own hard drive. What the subscription really buys, what happens when an account is locked, and how to get a copy of it all out. https://itzgee.com/blog/your-car-is-a-smartphone-on-wheels// https://itzgee.com/blog/your-car-is-a-smartphone-on-wheels// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy A jargon-free look at what a modern car records during an ordinary commute, who ends up holding that data, and what it has already cost some drivers. https://itzgee.com/blog/why-an-ad-blocker-is-not-enough// https://itzgee.com/blog/why-an-ad-blocker-is-not-enough// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy What a browser extension can and cannot protect, why that protection is shrinking, and what changes when the blocking moves into the network itself. https://itzgee.com/blog/what-your-isp-sees// https://itzgee.com/blog/what-your-isp-sees// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy What your broadband and mobile providers can actually see now the web is encrypted, what happens to the logs, and what a VPN genuinely changes. https://itzgee.com/blog/the-loyalty-card-illusion// https://itzgee.com/blog/the-loyalty-card-illusion// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy What supermarkets really get for those points, how the scheme earns its keep, and why the card is oddly the most honest trade in the whole data economy. https://itzgee.com/blog/locking-down-social-media// https://itzgee.com/blog/locking-down-social-media// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT guides What a private account really hides, what your profile photo gives away, why stories leak your routine, and the settings worth changing per platform. https://itzgee.com/blog/how-to-request-your-data-under-gdpr// https://itzgee.com/blog/how-to-request-your-data-under-gdpr// Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT guides How to send a subject access request and an erasure request under UK GDPR, with email templates, the one-month deadline, and what to do if ignored. https://itzgee.com/blog/why-privacy-became-something-you-pay-for// https://itzgee.com/blog/why-privacy-became-something-you-pay-for// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy There is now a monthly fee to not be profiled. Paying it is reasonable, but it buys a promise rather than a guarantee — and that is worth noticing. https://itzgee.com/blog/where-should-your-passwords-live// https://itzgee.com/blog/where-should-your-passwords-live// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT guides Your password manager opens every other account. What Google and Apple's built-in options actually do, and when running your own vault is worth it. https://itzgee.com/blog/where-does-your-data-actually-live// https://itzgee.com/blog/where-does-your-data-actually-live// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT self-hosting Your photos, files and messages are somewhere. Three questions decide how much say you have — and most people get the same answer to all three. https://itzgee.com/blog/what-a-vpn-does-not-hide// https://itzgee.com/blog/what-a-vpn-does-not-hide// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy VPN adverts promise invisibility. What you actually get is narrower, and worth understanding before you pay for one. No jargon, and nothing to sell you. https://itzgee.com/blog/what-happens-when-an-app-shuts-down// https://itzgee.com/blog/what-happens-when-an-app-shuts-down// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT self-hosting Services close, hardware is switched off remotely and terms change without warning. What the record shows, and why software you run has no end date. https://itzgee.com/blog/is-a-server-at-home-safe// https://itzgee.com/blog/is-a-server-at-home-safe// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT self-hosting Is self-hosting less secure than using a big provider? A straight answer on where you are genuinely safer, where you are worse off, and why. https://itzgee.com/blog/free-apps-are-not-free// https://itzgee.com/blog/free-apps-are-not-free// Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT privacy What actually gets exchanged when a service costs nothing, why the profile outlives your account, and what changes if you run the tools yourself.