Community Alternatives to Exploitative Apps

This section documents commercial applications with exploitative business models and provides practical guidance for building community-driven alternatives. Each category includes exploitation analysis, existing alternatives, and step-by-step implementation paths.

Why Community Alternatives Matter

Many of today’s most popular apps extract value from workers and communities while concentrating wealth and power. Community alternatives can:

• Return value to workers and users
• Prioritize safety and wellbeing over profit
• Build local economic resilience
• Demonstrate that another tech is possible

Categories

Food Delivery Platforms

Replace DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub with worker-owned delivery cooperatives that keep money in your community.

Ride Sharing

Alternative to Uber and Lyft with driver cooperatives and community-owned transportation platforms.

Freelance Marketplaces

Worker-owned alternatives to Upwork, Fiverr, and TaskRabbit that don’t extract excessive fees.

Social Media

Federated and community-controlled alternatives to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that respect privacy and mental health.

Messaging Apps

Private, secure messaging without data harvesting or corporate surveillance.

Housing & Accommodation

Community-based alternatives to Airbnb and VRBO that don’t drive up local housing costs.

Grocery & Shopping

Cooperative alternatives to Instacart and Amazon that support local businesses and fair wages.

Dating Apps

Community-oriented alternatives to Tinder and Bumble that prioritize genuine connections over engagement metrics.

Music & Entertainment

Artist-owned platforms as alternatives to Spotify and YouTube that fairly compensate creators.

News & Media

Reader-supported and journalist-owned alternatives to corporate media platforms.

Getting Started

1. Identify Your Community’s Needs: Which exploitative app causes the most harm in your area?
2. Find Allies: Connect with others who share your concerns
3. Learn from Existing Models: Study successful alternatives in other communities
4. Start Small: Begin with a pilot project to test your approach
5. Build Democratically: Ensure community ownership and control from the start

Resources

• Implementation Guides - Technical blueprints for building alternatives
• Case Studies - Learn from successful community tech projects
• Safety Systems - Essential protections for community platforms
• Governance Models - Democratic structures for community control

Contribute

This catalog is a living document. If you know of exploitative apps or community alternatives not listed here, please contribute to the project.