Why wallabag.it chooses European services

A few words about choosing European services, funding wallabag.it through subscriptions, and keeping it accessible to as many people as possible.
By Nicolas Lœuillet (@wallabagit) |

When I created wallabag.it in 2016, the idea was simple: offer wallabag to people who did not want to, or could not, host it themselves.

wallabag already existed as open-source software. You could install it on your own server, run updates, manage backups, fix things when they broke. That is great when you have the time and knowledge to do it.

But not everyone wants to spend a Sunday afternoon debugging a PHP application just to save an article to read later.

So I created wallabag.it: a hosted version of wallabag, with updates, backups and support.

I also wanted the service to remain affordable for as many people as possible. That is still the case today: the yearly subscription starts at 11 euros.

There was one point I did not hesitate about for long: the service had to be hosted in Europe.

Your reading list says something about you

At first glance, a read-it-later service seems harmless enough. You save links. You read them later. That is it.

But a reading list can say a lot about you.

It can contain articles about your work, your health, your political views, your hobbies, your doubts, your plans.

One saved article says nothing about you. Over several years, a whole list can draw a fairly accurate profile.

For that reason, I did not want wallabag.it to rely on advertising or data reselling.

You pay for the service, and that allows it to keep existing.

Why Europe?

First, because I am French.

Then, because I know its legal framework and service providers better.

Hosting in Europe does not solve everything. A badly managed European service would still be a badly managed service.

But it is a clear choice. For wallabag.it, it means using European providers when possible and keeping the service in an environment I understand.

I also have to be honest here: for payments, wallabag.it uses PayPal and Stripe too. That is not perfectly aligned with what I just wrote, but today it is the simplest way to let as many people as possible, all around the world, subscribe to the service.

In short

I chose to make wallabag.it a European service because it matches the way I want to run it: simply, with providers I know, without advertising or data reselling, and with a price that stays accessible.

If this approach speaks to you, you can try wallabag.it for 14 days, with every feature included and no credit card required.

Create a wallabag.it account
(14-day free trial, no credit card required)

See you soon,

Nicolas