Many people have begun looking for alternatives to Meta, especially Facebook. Below are some reasons why people are looking for something else, followed by some non-Meta and non-X platforms and apps that can replace or partially replace Facebook and/or Instagram.
Reasons for Leaving
1 – Privacy concerns: There have been some high-profile scandals and revelations about how user data is collected, stored, and shared, which have led to mistrust. There have been court cases regarding the sale of private Facebook information to Cambridge Analytica and similar companies. There have been some exposés that document Facebook is spying on you and profiling you. Even your private messages. In October 2024, Facebook began reviving their facial recognition system. Many people are now looking for platforms that emphasize transparency, data protection, and user control.
2 – Tired of ads: Ads are so prevalent on Facebook that many people are really tired of them. Ads can become overwhelming to people and clutter up their feeds.
3 – Algorithm issues: Many people are tired of being fed information and posts based not on their friends and preferences, but by a nebulous algorithm that is controlled by Meta and is considered to be manipulative. Researchers also say that Twitter changed its algorithm to promote Elon Musk and Republican posts leading up to the election. And now that Meta has removed fact-checking, misinformation and disinformation will spread even more quickly.
4 – Conflict: Another problem is the generation of weird hostilities and the amplification of divisive narratives that happens on Facebook. It likely happens everywhere, but Facebook seems to encourage it. Facebook used to be a place for staying in touch with family and friends, but in recent years it has become just as much a place for combativeness, arguing, ads, and misinformation. As one online comment said, “Facebook has become a place for cowardly, agenda driven people & merchants to hide behind, chest beat, recruit, & troll for targets & victims.”
5 – Supporting Mark Zuckerberg: He stole the idea for Facebook from his friends and took full ownership of it. Early on in Facebook’s history, he covertly attempted to benefit from selling personal data without people’s consent. He uses the Facebook algorithm to control what people see and hear, and it is broadly accepted that his decisions about Facebook have focused on what would make him richer. “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” He’s already a billionaire over 200 times. Many people no longer want to help make him richer by participating in Facebook. And he’s using his fortune to support Trump and maneuver himself to be part of the power behind the throne, one of the major players in the oligarchy.
“Summing up ‘The Facebook Files,’ the Wall Street Journal notes: ‘Facebook’s own research lays out in detail how its rules favor elites; its platforms have negative effects on teen mental health; its algorithm fosters discord; and that drug cartels and human traffickers use its services openly.’ The newspaper adds, ‘The documents show that Facebook has often made minimal or ineffectual efforts to address the issues and plays them down in public.’
“The repeated pattern the documents show is that, in an attempt to assuage public anger, Facebook would make periodic gestures at reform, mainly by conducting internal research into the impact it was having on its users. The researchers would come back with extremely negative reports and suggestions for wholesale reform. Zuckerberg and other top executives would then reject those recommendations because they would dampen the company’s growth.” – The Nation
Here are some alternatives to Facebook:
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/ (Mobile and desktop) Open source
Seen mostly as an alternative to X, which has its own issues and reasons for leaving it, Bluesky is a decentralized social network that allows you to have more control over what you see and prioritize your specific interests rather than having a “rage-baiting” algorithm do it for you. It’s a kind of micro-blogging platform with posts limited to 300 characters. It is more focused on privacy and relies more on community moderation than a single company (or CEO). The blocking function actually works. There are no ads and a chat function is built in. Its number of users has soared, especially since the 2024 presidential election. Bluesky is also widely seen as an environment of accountability, diversity, and empathy that prioritizes free speech and democratic values over corporate interests.
Mastodon – https://joinmastodon.org/ (Mobile and desktop) Open Source
Mastodon is a decentralized network with no single owner. It allows you to join independent servers that have their own custom moderation policies. Mastodon uses community-based moderation, where you choose the server you want. Each server can limit or filter out undesirable types of content, enabling you to find communities that align with your values. Each server can also set the character limit for posts, which defaults to 500. No central company collects user data.
Vero – https://vero.co/ (Mobile, with desktop in beta) Not Open Source
Vero is seen as more of a replacement for Instagram, allowing you to share original content with your community, like photos, links, videos, music, and more. The biggest selling points are the lack of ads and algorithms. Also, Vero supports high-resolution images and won’t crop the photos you upload, like Instagram sometimes does. Their goal is as follows: “In a world over-run with fakes, deep fakes, trolls, and bots, we commit to truth, transparency, and meaningful connections.” Vero recently added a “Discovery” page that allows you to explore new photographers and content creators or be discovered yourself.
Telegram – https://telegram.org/ (Mobile and desktop) Open Source
Telegram is more of an instant messaging program that is especially popular in India. It is very private and anonymous if you like, and doesn’t even show your phone number to people you talk to, which is different from Facebook that collects just so much information. You can also create groups for discussions and chats have no limits on size of media or characters. “Secret” chats are even an option, so no eavesdropping is possible and the chats are not stored on their servers. On the negative side, there is minimal moderation and the absence of strict oversight makes it a safe space for criminals and scammers.
Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/ (Mobile and desktop) No longer Open Source
Reddit is a social media platform that offers a wide range of communities focused on specific interests like almost any hobby, interest, or profession. It is more text focused than media focused, with its most popular functions being entertainment, news, and discussion. It focuses heavily on user-submitted content and the upvote/downvote system helps highlight the most relevant and valuable content. Many subreddits aggregate news stories and provide detailed analysis from various viewpoints.
MeWe – https://mewe.com/ (Mobile and desktop) Not Open Source
MeWe is a decentralized social network with no ads, targeting, or newsfeed manipulation. It is advertised as the most private social network with safeguards in place to protect your information. It also has interest groups you can join, based on your passions and interests. You also have complete control over who sees your posts and who can contact you. I have seen some articles saying it is more of a right-wing extremist site, group with Parler and TruthSocial.
Moving Forward
To see when your Facebook account was created, type “your information” in the search box in the top left, then click “access your information.” In the left sidebar, click on “personal information.” I’ve been on Facebook since July 15, 2005. That’s almost 20 years. Given all the issues above and my general feeling of a need to move on, I think I’ll be leaving Facebook soon. I’ve already started building a profile on Bluesky.
To download your Facebook data, go to your Facebook settings, click “See more in Accounts Center” then click “Your Information and permissions”. Select “Download your information” and click the “Download or transfer information” button to choose which data you want to download and initiate the process; you can select specific categories like posts (which includes photos), messages, and more, and you can choose the date range, including “All time”.
Sources
“Why I have finally quit Facebook (it’s not just about fact-checking)”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/14/why-i-have-finally-quit-facebook-its-not-just-about-fact-checking
“Mark Zuckerberg Knows Exactly How Bad Facebook Is“ https://www.thenation.com/article/society/facebook-whistleblower-mental-health/
“10 Best Facebook Alternatives in 2025”
https://fourthwall.com/blog/10-best-facebook-alternatives
