Sustainable Substitutes for Facebook

Facebook is a legacy social media platform by Meta full of manipulative content.

Reasons to avoid Facebook

Avoid Facebook due to its systemic privacy violations, including unauthorised data sharing, tracking users across the web and secret collection of browsing logs.

The platform’s misinformation spread, racist ad targeting and its support for authoritarian regimes further damage user trust. Choose ethical, privacy-focused social networks instead.

Ethical and Sustainable Facebook Alternatives

Copied!
  • Feasibility: How easily can the average user switch to this substitute? Higher feasibility results in a higher ranking.
  • Editor's Rating: How sustainable is the substitute? The more sustainability attributes it fulfils, the higher it is ranked.

Mastodon

A decentralised, open-source social media microblogging platform and alternative to Twitter.

Mastodon does not track users for ads or data mining and instances can enforce strict privacy policies.
Mastodon is open-source, with its code publicly available for transparency and community collaboration.
Mastodon is headquartered in Germany. Many Mastodon instances (servers) are located in Europe, ensuring compliance with GDPR and strong privacy laws.
Mastodon is ad-free, relying on donations and community support for funding.
Mastodon is free to use, with no subscription or usage fees.
Mastodon can be installed and managed on your own server.
Mastodon allows viewing public content without requiring user registration on most instances.
Mastodon supports the ActivityPub protocol, enabling interoperability with other Fediverse platforms.
Mastodon is decentralised, meaning no single entity controls the platform, reducing the risk of monopolistic practices and data exploitation.
Website

Lemmy

Lemmy is a federated, open-source Reddit-style social media platform.

Lemmy is ad-free, ensuring a cleaner and more private user experience.
Lemmy can be installed and managed on your own server.
Lemmy is free to use, with no subscription or usage fees.
Lemmy supports the ActivityPub protocol, enabling interoperability with other Fediverse platforms.
Lemmy is open-source, with its code publicly available for transparency and community collaboration.
Lemmy does not track users for ads or data mining and instances can enforce strict privacy policies.
Lemmy is decentralised, meaning no single entity controls the platform, reducing the risk of monopolistic practices and data exploitation.
Website

Friendica

Friendica is a decentralized social media platform and alternative to Facebook.

Friendica is decentralised, meaning no single entity controls the platform, reducing the risk of data exploitation and monopolistic practices.
Friendica does not track users for ads or data mining and instances can enforce strict privacy policies.
Friendica is open-source, with its code publicly available for transparency and community collaboration.
Friendica is ad-free, ensuring a cleaner and more private user experience.
Friendica supports open data standards and protocols like ActivityPub, enabling seamless communication with other federated platforms.
Friendica is free to use, with no subscription or usage fees.
Friendica operates as a federated network of independent servers (nodes).
Friendica supports third-party plugins and themes for extended functionality.
Website

The 7 main issues with Facebook

Support of Authoritarian Regimes - Companies actively supporting, financing and legitimising regimes and unethical policies.

Trumps was not even inaugurated when Meta showed hasty obedience to his political agenda by removing fact checks. Meta has also manipulated search results and spread propaganda on its social media platforms.Sources:Wired: No Fact-Checking and More Hate Speech: Meta Goes MAGA (2025)

Big Tech - Big Tech companies do not nourish people and planet. This is especially true in times of political tension.

Facebook is a core part of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), one of the largest Big Tech companies globally. Meta’s infrastructure and business model—rooted in data collection, targeted advertising and integration with other platforms—reinforce its status as a Big Tech giant.Source: Centre for International Governance Innovation: How the Free Market Incentivized Facebook’s Harmful Monopoly (2021)

Privacy Concerns - User data is likely to be stored and used against users' best interest.

Facebook has a long history of privacy issues, including data breaches, unauthorized data sharing and weak controls over user data. The platform collects vast amounts of personal information, which it uses for targeted advertising and sometimes shares with third parties.Source:Wikipedia: Privacy concerns with Facebook

Misinformation / Manipulation - Spread of false or misleading information, often through algorithmic amplification, which can harm public discourse and trust.

Meta retired fact checks for user generated content on their social media platforms. The company also profits from scam ads that harm its users. Sources: Techspot: Meta knowingly took in billions from scam ads (2025)ArsTechnica: Meta axes third-party fact-checkers in time for second Trump term (2025)

Exploitative Labour Practices - Poor working conditions and low wages for workers involved in production or services.

Facebook’s content moderation workforce, often outsourced to third-party companies like Sama in Africa, has faced allegations of exploitative labour practices, including poor working conditions, low pay and psychological harm. These workers are responsible for filtering harmful content but are frequently treated as disposable labour.Source:Sigrid Rausing Trust: Facebook hit with legal threat over unlawful labour practices and union-busting in Kenya (2022)

Lack of Transparency - Opacity in operations, data handling, or supply chains, making it difficult for users to understand practices.

Meta has been criticised for its lack of transparency in content moderation, algorithmic changes and government takedown requests. The platform’s transparency reports are considered insufficient by watchdogs and its tools for users to understand content restrictions are often described as opaque or performative.Sources:Pro Publica: Facebook Lets Advertisers Exclude Users by Race (2016)EFF: Facebook, Instagram Lack Transparency on Government-Ordered Content Removal Amid Unprecedented Demands to Censor User Speech, EFF's Annual Who Has Your Back Report Shows (2018)

Monopoly - Market dominance that stifles competition and limits user choice.

Meta has faced antitrust scrutiny for its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, which were seen as anticompetitive. While a US judge ruled that Meta does not currently hold a monopoly in social media, the acquisitions and integration of Instagram into Meta’s ecosystem have raised concerns about reduced competition and user choice.Source:BBC: Judge rules Meta doesn't have monopoly after Instagram, WhatsApp acquisitions (2025)