Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has described 2026 as a turning point for restoring computing self-sovereignty, beginning with changes to his own personal technology setup.
In a post shared on Friday on X, Buterin outlined how he has reduced dependence on centralised, data-driven platforms in favour of privacy-focused alternatives.
He said the shift reflects a broader effort to reclaim control over personal data, software, and digital autonomy from large technology firms.
Buterin highlighted two major changes made during 2025, starting with a near-complete switch to Fileverse, a decentralised and open-source document platform.
He described Fileverse as a privacy-preserving alternative to Google Docs that avoids centralised data storage.
The second major change involved moving decisively to Signal as his primary messaging application.
Signal provides default end-to-end encryption for individual and group conversations while retaining minimal metadata.
Metadata stored by Signal is limited to basic information such as account creation dates and last connection times.