Hi there, I’m looking to get into self-hosting for privacy reasons and I wanted to ask y’all: how inadvisable is it to utilize an ISP-owned router/modem? I feel like they’re able to track everything I do online with their more than likely integrated spyware.

  • devtoolkit_api@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    0·
    6 days ago

    Owning your own router is important, but I would prioritize it differently depending on your threat model:

    High priority (do first):

    • Use your own router running OpenWrt or pfSense — ISP routers often have remote management backdoors
    • DNS-level privacy (Pi-hole + encrypted DNS upstream)
    • VPN on the router level for devices that cannot run their own

    Medium priority:

    • Your own modem matters less for privacy and more for reliability/speed. ISP modems work fine for most people.
    • The bigger privacy win is what runs BEHIND the modem: your DNS, firewall rules, and network segmentation.

    The real wins for self-hosting privacy:

    • Self-host your DNS (Pi-hole/AdGuard Home)
    • Self-host your email (hard but high impact)
    • Self-host your dev/productivity tools so sensitive data never hits third-party servers
    • Use E2EE messaging (Matrix/XMPP self-hosted)

    Start with the router and DNS — those are the highest ROI changes.