IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Leaving Google has actively improved my life

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. De‑googling is a viable, often life‑changing, strategy
Many users report that leaving Google’s ecosystem has improved their privacy, productivity, and mental health.

“I switched to Proton mail 2 years ago. Now I'm in this weird limbo where I want to go back but I can't because Proton’s email search is so bad…” – neya
“I’ve been using Fastmail for a decade. It does the job.” – bawolff

2. Search‑engine choice matters – DuckDuckGo, Kagi, Brave, etc.
The discussion centers on whether Google still delivers the best results, or if privacy‑focused alternatives can match or beat it.

“I still scratch my head how DuckDuckGo has made people excited for Bing search results in a way Microsoft never has.” – xnx
“Kagi has been an upgrade compared to DuckDuckGo for me.” – tombert

3. Gmail’s “smart” features and privacy are a double‑edged sword
Users debate whether Gmail’s AI‑driven sorting and suggestions are useful or intrusive, and how to disable them.

“My wife turned this off because she didn't want typing suggestions or even grammar correction.” – kyrra
“Gmail is fine, but I don’t let them algorithmically sort my email – I use filters & such.” – pavel_lishin

4. Ads vs paid services – the economics of privacy
A recurring theme is whether the internet can be free without ads, or whether users should pay for privacy‑friendly alternatives.

“I think people are actually more willing to pay for things if they actually like those things.” – tombert
“The problem is that people want a ‘free internet’ without ads, and without any form of data harvesting.” – warmwash

These four threads capture the bulk of the discussion: the drive to leave Google, the search‑engine battle, Gmail’s feature set, and the broader debate over how the web should be monetised.

🚀 Project Ideas

Unified Email Search & Hygiene Hub

Summary

  • Centralizes search across Gmail, ProtonMail, Fastmail, Outlook, and self‑hosted IMAP accounts.
  • Provides advanced filtering, tagging, and automated hygiene rules (e.g., auto‑unsubscribe, spam scoring).
  • Core value: eliminates the need to switch between providers and keeps critical emails easily retrievable.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Power users, small teams, privacy‑conscious individuals
Core Feature Unified, privacy‑preserving search & hygiene automation
Tech Stack Go (backend), React + TypeScript (frontend), PostgreSQL, ElasticSearch, OAuth2, Docker
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue‑ready: $9/month per user or $80/year per team

Notes

  • HN commenters lament “searching your email is a nightmare” and “ProtonMail’s search is terrible” (e.g., “I have to forward to Gmail just to search”).
  • A single interface would satisfy users who “switch between Gmail and Proton” and want “better digital hygiene”.
  • The tool could integrate with existing email clients via IMAP and provide a web UI for quick access.

Niche Domain Search Engine (Recipe & Academic)

Summary

  • Dedicated search engine that indexes only recipe sites, academic papers, and Stack Exchange, with customizable ranking weights.
  • No ads, no AI hallucinations, and instant indexing of new content via webhooks or RSS feeds.
  • Core value: solves the frustration that “DuckDuckGo is worse for recipes” and “Google is missing academic depth”.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Home cooks, researchers, students, hobbyists
Core Feature Domain‑specific crawling, weighted ranking, no‑ads UI
Tech Stack Python (Scrapy), PostgreSQL, ElasticSearch, Flask, Vue.js
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby (open source) with optional paid API for enterprises

Notes

  • Users repeatedly complain about “searching recipes” and “Google’s SEO spam” (e.g., “I use !g for recipes”).
  • A focused index can deliver higher precision and faster results than generic engines.
  • The project could start as a community‑driven crawler and later offer a paid API for publishers.

Multi‑Engine Search Comparison Tool

Summary

  • Browser extension that runs the same query on multiple search engines (DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, Brave, Kagi) and displays results side‑by‑side.
  • Allows users to rate each result set, build a personal preference profile, and automatically choose the best engine for future queries.
  • Core value: addresses the pain of “I have to use !g” and “I’m frustrated with search quality”.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Curious users, researchers, developers
Core Feature Parallel search, result comparison, preference learning
Tech Stack JavaScript (WebExtension API), React, IndexedDB, Node.js for background sync
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby (donations)

Notes

  • HN users like “Kagi” but still “use !g” 80% of the time; this tool would reduce that friction.
  • The extension could log which engines perform best for specific query types, providing actionable insights.
  • The comparison UI would spark discussion and help users discover better alternatives.

Self‑Hosted Privacy‑First Email Service with Catch‑All

Summary

  • Open‑source, Docker‑ready mail server that supports catch‑all, domain aliases, advanced spam filtering, and IMAP/SMTP access.
  • Includes a web UI for managing aliases, auto‑unsubscribe, and bulk forwarding rules.
  • Core value: solves the “Proton lockout” and “no catch‑all” pain points for privacy‑focused users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy advocates, small businesses, developers
Core Feature Catch‑all, alias management, spam filtering, web UI
Tech Stack Postfix + Dovecot, SpamAssassin, Rspamd, Docker Compose, React
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue‑ready: $5/month per domain or $50/year for managed hosting

Notes

  • Commenters mention “Proton locking me out” and “no catch‑all” (e.g., “I need a catch‑all to avoid spam”).
  • A self‑hosted solution gives full control over data and avoids the “big‑tech lock‑in” that many users fear.
  • The managed hosting option would appeal to those who want privacy but lack the technical skill to run their own server.

Read Later