1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,240 welcome to the deep dive. So you've come to us looking for something specific, 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:05,040 haven't you? A way 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:09,300 to share your life, online photos, updates, all that stuff, but without handing 4 00:00:09,300 --> 00:00:10,160 over control to 5 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,550 the big tech companies. You're basically tired of that trade-off, right? Convenience 6 00:00:14,550 --> 00:00:15,920 versus privacy. 7 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,130 Well, today we're digging into a potential solution. We're looking at an 8 00:00:19,130 --> 00:00:20,400 application called 9 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:25,680 Haven. You can describe it simply as a self-hostable private blogging system. 10 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,580 And the big question we're tackling is, can we get that easy, almost instant 11 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:30,720 posting experience we 12 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,960 like from social media, but, you know, totally ditch the tracking, the ads, and all 13 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:35,760 that spam. 14 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,840 Now, before we really dive into the why behind owning your data, just a quick word 15 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:40,080 about the 16 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,570 supporter making this deep dive possible. This show is brought to you by Safe 17 00:00:43,570 --> 00:00:44,640 Server. They handle the 18 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,200 hosting side of things for software like Haven, and they support your digital 19 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:49,600 transformation journey. 20 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,560 Basically, they make sure you've got the reliable foundation you need to run your 21 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:53,520 own stuff. You can 22 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:59,120 find out more at www.safeserver.de. Okay, yeah, let's get into it. Our sources show 23 00:00:59,120 --> 00:00:59,520 this whole 24 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,760 project, Haven. It started from a really human problem, which is often where the 25 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:04,400 best ideas 26 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,280 come from, right? The mission here for you, the listener, is about shifting gears, 27 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:10,320 moving from 28 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,450 being, well, the product online to actually owning your little corner of the 29 00:01:14,450 --> 00:01:15,200 internet. 30 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,760 So, we'll start with a philosophy like why bother? Then we'll look at the features 31 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:20,160 that make it 32 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,360 private. And finally, and this is key, we'll break down how easy or maybe difficult 33 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:25,920 it is to 34 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,680 actually host this yourself, even if you're, you know, not super technical. Okay, 35 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:30,320 so the origin 36 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:34,520 story. This is where it gets really interesting, I think. It didn't start as some 37 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:35,200 big software 38 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,640 venture. Not at all. It came from pure frustration, actually. The founder just 39 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:40,480 needed a safe, 40 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,480 private place online to share photos of his newborn daughter, just with close 41 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:45,600 friends and family. 42 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,670 That's literally it. Which sounds incredibly simple, like something that should be 43 00:01:49,670 --> 00:01:50,400 easy to do. 44 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:56,510 Exactly. But that simple need immediately ran into walls. If you try using 45 00:01:56,510 --> 00:01:57,840 something established, 46 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:04,270 like WordPress, you suddenly find yourself lost in this maze of privacy plugins and 47 00:02:04,270 --> 00:02:04,800 settings, 48 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,160 just trying to lock it down properly. Right. Spend all this time configuring it. 49 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:13,360 And what happens? Spam. The founder's private family-only site was immediately 50 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:13,840 getting hit 51 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:19,360 with sign-up requests from bots and random people. It just completely undermines 52 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:20,000 the whole point of 53 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,530 creating that private intimate space. So the realization kind of hit hard. The way 54 00:02:24,530 --> 00:02:24,800 things 55 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,860 are set up now online, it's all built for public sharing, for eyeballs, for monetization. 56 00:02:29,860 --> 00:02:30,160 Not really 57 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,030 for genuine privacy. People needed their own little walled garden, you know, fully 58 00:02:34,030 --> 00:02:34,880 controlled by them. 59 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,480 And that really nails the core difference, doesn't it? We're so used to thinking 60 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,480 social media is free. 61 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:45,920 But it's not free. We pay with our attention, our data. That's the invisible cost. 62 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:46,720 And it chips away 63 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,360 at our privacy and ultimately our ownership over what we share. That's the trade-off. 64 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:52,320 Haven directly 65 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,500 challenges the big platforms. They make money from ads. And to make those ads 66 00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:57,280 effective, 67 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,640 they track everything. They read your posts. They figure out your interests. They 68 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:01,440 target you. 69 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,390 Haven just flips that whole model. You decide who sees your stuff. There are no ads. 70 00:03:06,390 --> 00:03:06,720 There's no 71 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,970 tracking. Built-in Google isn't crawling your private posts. You get total control 72 00:03:10,970 --> 00:03:11,440 back. 73 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:16,480 It's really about reclaiming ownership, isn't it? Moving from being the data point 74 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:17,440 to being the owner. 75 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,380 Precisely. It's a deliberate step away from just consuming platforms to actually 76 00:03:21,380 --> 00:03:22,560 owning your content 77 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,760 and, importantly, the connections within your own social circle. 78 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,880 Okay. So the goal was clear. Maximum privacy, zero spam. How did that translate 79 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:31,200 into the 80 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,250 actual design choices for Haven? What makes it tick under the hood to support that 81 00:03:35,250 --> 00:03:36,320 privacy focus? 82 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,690 Well, the design choices are really intentional and, honestly, quite minimalist. 83 00:03:40,690 --> 00:03:42,320 First off, 84 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,480 they're very upfront about what Haven is for. It's specifically designed for 85 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:47,440 sharing with that 86 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,920 close circle friends family. If you need a company blog or something to drive 87 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:53,280 traffic and make money, 88 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:58,190 they actually suggest using something else, like WordPress or Ghost. This is for 89 00:03:58,190 --> 00:03:58,720 personal, 90 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,400 private use. And it's open source, which feels important here. 91 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:08,140 Absolutely vital, yeah, for trust. It's under the MIT license. That means the code, 92 00:04:08,140 --> 00:04:08,800 the blueprint of 93 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:13,840 how it works is totally open. Anyone can look at it. Security experts can audit it. 94 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:14,160 There are no 95 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,320 hidden bits, no secret tracking. You can literally see how your data is handled. 96 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,800 The sources also mentioned some clever things around keeping it lightweight, 97 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:22,400 especially with 98 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,400 bandwidth. Yeah, that serves a couple of purposes. Speed, mainly, but also keeping 99 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:27,280 things simple. 100 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:31,260 Images get automatically downscaled a bit, so pages load faster, especially on 101 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:32,160 slower connections. 102 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,180 Crucially, they've avoided bloating it with lots of external code. No heavy 103 00:04:36,180 --> 00:04:37,440 JavaScript frameworks 104 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,770 that can sometimes be exploited, definitely no ads, and absolutely zero tracking 105 00:04:41,770 --> 00:04:42,480 scripts. 106 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,900 So it's lean. Very lean. It's designed to be a focused, private tool. And it's 107 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:48,400 built on 108 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:53,580 Ruby on Rails, which is a mature, well-regarded framework. So it's solid, not just 109 00:04:53,580 --> 00:04:54,720 some quick hack. 110 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:59,060 Okay, that makes sense. A solid foundation for a simple goal. But what about that 111 00:04:59,060 --> 00:04:59,920 original pain 112 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:04,350 point? The spam signups that drove the founder crazy. How did they eliminate that 113 00:05:04,350 --> 00:05:04,960 threat? 114 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,960 Ah, yeah, that's maybe the most elegant part. The main defense is super simple. 115 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:10,800 There is no 116 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,530 self-signup feature at all. The only way someone gets access is if the 117 00:05:15,530 --> 00:05:16,480 administrator that's you, 118 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:21,360 the owner, explicitly invites them and creates an account for them. 119 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,560 So no random bots can even find a signup page. 120 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,360 Exactly. No bots, no strangers, no unwanted traffic can get in and mess with your 121 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:29,280 private space. 122 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:33,200 And managing those users, changing the look of it, writing posts, which uses Markdown, 123 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,400 by the way, with a nice live preview. It's all done through a straightforward web 124 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:37,040 interface. 125 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,680 That is elegant. Just remove the open door entirely. 126 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,480 And it still functions like a modern blog for the people you do invite. 127 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,480 Oh, yeah, absolutely. It handles images, videos, audio files, 128 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,520 and it has a neat feature, private RSS feeds. 129 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,520 Private RSS. How does that work? 130 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:56,000 So the friends you invite can follow your updates using their favorite RSS reader 131 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:56,400 app 132 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,840 without needing to log into your Haven site all the time. It just pushes the 133 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:00,480 updates to them 134 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,690 privately. And what I think is really cool, Haven also has its own built-in RSS 135 00:06:05,690 --> 00:06:06,320 reader. 136 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,000 So you can follow your friends' Havens or even public blogs you like, 137 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,320 all from inside your own secure space. Consolidates things nicely. 138 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,980 Okay, this sounds really promising, but now we hit the big question mark for many 139 00:06:17,980 --> 00:06:18,320 people. 140 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,160 Self-hosting. That term alone can sound intimidating. 141 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,520 It definitely can. 142 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,040 For anyone listening who's maybe new to this, self-hosting just means you're 143 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:27,440 running the 144 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,510 website's software in this case, Haven on a server that you control, or at least 145 00:06:31,510 --> 00:06:32,400 rent space on, 146 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,240 not on Facebook servers or Googles. And yeah, traditionally that sounds like you 147 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:36,800 need to be an 148 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,500 IT pro. But the sources suggest Haven actually offers different levels of 149 00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:41,760 difficulty, right? 150 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,440 Exactly. And that's the crucial part for making this accessible. The question is, 151 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:50,160 okay, if I'm just starting out, how much technology and effort are we talking about? 152 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:55,760 We really need to start with the absolute easiest ways in. The simplest, hands down, 153 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,920 is what's called fully managed hosting. Basically, you pay a company maybe as 154 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:01,360 little as say $5 a 155 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,600 month, maybe a bit more. Okay. And they handle all the technical stuff, setting up 156 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:05,120 the server, 157 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,420 maintaining it, keeping it updated. You get the control over Haven itself and your 158 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:09,760 data, 159 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,480 but you don't touch the underlying server operating system. You're essentially outsourcing 160 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,320 the IT admin job. Right. So you trade a small monthly fee for basically zero setup 161 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:19,920 hassle. 162 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:21,840 That sounds like the fast track for a lot of users. 163 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:28,080 It is. Then the next step down in terms of direct control, but still very beginner-friendly, 164 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:32,620 are these assisted platforms. Think of them as easy buttons for deploying apps like 165 00:07:32,620 --> 00:07:33,200 Haven. 166 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,390 Peekapods, as mentioned, is a good example. They often give you some free starting 167 00:07:36,390 --> 00:07:36,800 credit, 168 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,640 like $5, so you might be able to run Haven for just a couple of bucks a month. 169 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,360 You can try it without even putting in a credit card first. 170 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,680 Oh, nice. Low risk to try it out. 171 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,920 Yeah. And then there are platforms like CubeSale. They specialize in making it 172 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:50,800 simple to run web 173 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,560 apps, and they actually have a specific template ready to go for installing Haven. 174 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,840 These services kind of hide the complicated command line stuff and just give you a 175 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:00,560 nice interface. 176 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,280 These are really tailored for beginners who want low cost and minimal fuss. 177 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:11,150 Okay, so fully managed is pay and forget. Assisted platforms are like point-and-click 178 00:08:11,150 --> 00:08:12,160 deployment. 179 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,930 What about people who are a bit more technical or maybe just curious and want to 180 00:08:15,930 --> 00:08:16,240 run it on 181 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,080 their own hardware, like, say, a Raspberry Pi sitting at home? Right, the DIY route. 182 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,760 For those comfortable with, say, Linux or who just like tinkering, 183 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,230 the sources point to Docker as the main way. So think of Docker like a self-contained 184 00:08:28,230 --> 00:08:28,960 package. 185 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,920 It bundles up Haven and everything it needs to run so you can launch it pretty 186 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:33,520 easily, 187 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,290 often with just one or two commands, regardless of what specific Linux setup you 188 00:08:37,290 --> 00:08:37,760 have. 189 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,650 You usually configure it by setting some simple variables, like your initial 190 00:08:41,650 --> 00:08:43,040 username and password. 191 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,080 It's the recommended method for Linux or a Raspberry Pi. 192 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:51,360 And then for the real pros, or maybe small businesses wanting rock-solid stability, 193 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:56,560 you can deploy Haven onto big cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, AWS. 194 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:57,680 That sounds complex. 195 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,040 It involves more steps. Yes, setting up an AWS account, 196 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,200 maybe buying a domain name to their service. But they provide specific Ruby 197 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:06,080 deployment scripts 198 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,240 that automate most of it. The sources say it can actually be deployed in about 20 199 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:10,480 minutes 200 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,800 if you follow the steps. The main point is there's a path for pretty much everyone, 201 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,560 from total beginner to seasoned developer. 202 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:20,400 Oh, and just a quick side note, the source has mentioned Heroku. 203 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,040 It used to be a popular free option for hosting things like this. 204 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:24,320 Right. I remember that. 205 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,320 But it's not really free or practical for something like Haven anymore. 206 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,920 Apparently, uploaded images tend to disappear after 24 hours, 207 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,160 which is obviously not great for a photo blog. 208 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,680 So probably best to stick with the managed or assisted options 209 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:42,080 or Docker, AWS, if you're going DIY. 210 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,160 Okay. So let's sort of pull this all together. 211 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,240 What's the big picture takeaway here? 212 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,680 I think the essential thing is that Haven isn't just another piece of software. 213 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:51,680 It's really an intentional tool. 214 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:57,360 It's built specifically to address this modern problem of who owns your data online. 215 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:01,840 It effectively cuts out that corporate middleman, the social media platform, 216 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,840 and puts the keys to your content, your photos, your social circle directly back 217 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:06,640 into your hands. 218 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,720 It really feels like a shift in thinking. 219 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,960 Instead of just signing up as a user, as a tenant on someone else's platform, 220 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,360 you're choosing to be the owner, the architect of your own little online space. 221 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,520 Exactly. And the cost, that may be $5 or $10 a month for hosting, 222 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:22,720 you have to see it differently. 223 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,160 It's not just paying for server space. 224 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,400 It's like a subscription fee for independence. 225 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,720 It's the price you pay for genuine privacy, for zero tracking, 226 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,840 for knowing that no company can suddenly change the rules 227 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,040 or delete your account because you violated some obscure policy. 228 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:38,240 You get total control. 229 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,560 So we've definitely seen the tech is there. 230 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:43,360 It's possible to build these private online spaces 231 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,560 and get away from the issues of the mainstream platforms, 232 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,600 which leads us to that final provocative thought for you, 233 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,400 the listener, to chew on as you think about this. 234 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,160 If your digital life, all those photos, your personal thoughts, 235 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,320 your family updates, if it was completely private, 236 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,960 totally untracked, unmonitored by any company, 237 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,680 what would you start sharing that maybe you hold back right now? 238 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:07,040 Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into Haven 239 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,680 and the whole idea of self-hosting for privacy. 240 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,400 We definitely encourage you to check out the source material yourself 241 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:13,840 and explore this concept more. 242 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,080 And one last reminder, this deep dive was supported by Safe Server. 243 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:20,480 They're the ones who help provide the kind of infrastructure needed 244 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,520 for tools like Haven supporting your digital transformation. 245 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,800 You can find out more about what they offer at www.safeserver.de. 246 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:30,640 Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time.