Hey folks, We have been working on a project called InlineStyle
A European, open-source, fediverse based alternative to the Google ecosystem.
It’s a single platform with these services:
- 📧 Email address @inlinestyle.it
- 📹 Video sharing via PeerTube
- 🎵 Music streaming with Funkwhale
- 📝 Docs and Drive via Collabora/NextCloud
- 📒 Markdown based notes
- 🎮 Browser-based FOSS games (Celeste Classic, Tyrian, SuperTux, etc.)
- 🌍 Static personal site hosting
All hosted in Europe. No telemetry, no ads, no corporate BS.
It’s not a startup pitch, just something we built because we got tired of being locked in.
The idea is to keep it sustainable with a simple support plan (€1.90/month) that unlocks upload features and personal email/webspace. Free tier available too, no login needed to browse.
🔗 https://mastodon.social/@inlinestyle
Would love your thoughts. What should I improve? What’s missing for you to consider switching?
Our goal is to try to build a real #DeGoogle fediverse based path that doesn’t feel like a downgrade. It will take time, but we are willing to try and stay committed to the mission.
Great idea! Two things
- E2EE is a default in privacy by design so consider CryptPad for docs instead
- change the name. Inline Style is terrible (sorry but to a native English speaker it sounds lame). How about just Inline?
I agree on the name, the further you get with this the harder it will be to change it so i feel adding a comment is worth the insult. Good thing you’re not jumping on the ‘eu first’ bandwagon with the name though, the more universal the service is the more value it has on a global scale. I think this is part of the reason why I dislike the name, as it is a bit of an inside ‘joke’. Don’t have a better suggestion though
This is very interesting! I will keep an eye on this, and will most likely get a plan in the nearby future. Google is very convenient and fora while now I’ve been looking for something akin to the Google ecosystem but less… American.
XMPP chat accounts on the same address as Email would be nice.
We’ve been exploring the idea of adding a chat service. But we haven’t yet decided which protocol would provide the most value for most people.
Right now, we’re considering XMPP and Matrix — both are solid, privacy-respecting options. Our goal is to offer something that lets people communicate with their existing contacts, not start from scratch.
We’d love your input: what would you actually use? What works best in your daily setup?
Not sure I’d use either, but may I suggest both, with a clear caveat that one or both may disappear or change ? Throw stuff at the wall, see what sticks…
I find XMPP much more useful for day-to-day communication with people I know. Matrix has more IRC like public channels, but only a few are sufficiently active compared to Discord or even IRC.
But running an XMPP server is also extremely hassle free and uses little server resources, while running a Matrix server is quite involved and will likely need a beefy dedicated server just for it alone.
Matrix!
Sounds interesting, what’s the state on E2EE?
Nextcloud’s E2EE support isn’t great. It does exist and is mentioned on their site but it has a lot of issues.
I see that .it domain 👀 siete italiani? Regardless it looks like a fantastic project, kudos! Especially interested in the static site hosting since right now I use an American service (Porkbun) for my own site, $30/year for 1 gb which is enough for me, but if I could switch to a European host for a similar price I totally would!
What’s the encryption situation for personal side of the service ie email, docs etc?
What’s the encryption situation for personal side of the service ie email, docs etc?
Currently, InlineStyle uses encryption in transit (TLS) across all services. We’re working on implementing encryption at rest, to ensure data remains inaccessible even in the event of a server breach.
As for end-to-end encryption (E2EE):
- Email: Not E2EE by default, but we support GPG for users who wish to secure their messages independently.
- Docs: Currently no E2EE, and we don’t plan to add it for collaborative editing (due to the technical limitations it brings).
- We are planning to introduce a dedicated “Locker” feature, where users will be able to store files with stronger protection, albeit without collaboration features.
If strong E2EE is essential to your workflow, tools like Proton Mail and Proton Drive are great choices. Our focus with InlineStyle is more on access to fediverse content and everyday convenience: a suite that works out of the box for people looking for alternatives without giving up too much convenience.
Where possible I think E2EE should be the default. So if you want to collaborate on documents you have to explicitly check a box that might say, “By checking this box I understand that I am opting into additional features at the cost of encryption.”
I think encryption should be at the core of this project because it (1) protects the admins from some liability if/when a breach occurs and (2) the whole point of trying to get away from Google and similar hosts is to keep them from using our own data against us.
Absolutely. End-to-end encryption will always be high on our roadmap.
At the same time, we believe in a world where users shouldn’t have to encrypt everything just to protect themselves from the platform they’re using. Privacy should start with ethical intent, not just technical features. We don’t scan, monetize, or analyze user data. Not because it’s difficult, but because it’s wrong.
They’re hosting Nextcloud, it’s not realistic to expect them to fix/implement E2EE when the upstream project hasn’t been able to for the past few years.
This all sounds great, but everyone should keep in mind that we have NO way of verifying that the OP does not work for an intelligence agency.
