Three years ago, a journalist for Gizmodo removed five of the biggest tech companies from her life—restricting her from using services and hardware developed or owned by Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft. The experiment, according to the reporter, was "hell." 

But in 2022, cybersecurity evangelist Carey Parker, who also hosts the podcast Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons, wanted to do something similar, just on a smaller scale, and with a focus on privacy.