When I realized this, this was pretty much the reason I got so into self-hosting everything I  possibly can and have taken large efforts to de-Google myself and not use large corporate tech. It's also why at the bare minimum I'm always using a VPN or other sort of privacy technologies to connect to the general internet.

I understand that some people won't go to the same extremes that I have done. That's fine, but at least be aware of this fact. So many people act so blasé about it that it's genuinely concerning for me as I see the landscape of mainstream tech getting worse and worse. 

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 I have the desire to do this.

Question is where does one start?

What minimum hardware do I need to get something like this going?

Other questions I can't think of now.  

 You can get started on any hardware you have collecting dust. Install start9 on an old computer. or buy a cheap desktop from ebay you'll spend maybe a bit over $150 on a computer and an SSD. 

there are other oneclick install platforms like yunohost and sovran systems that help you get started selfhosting. 

Also start small mabey just spin up something like a password manager or some picture backup like immch. get used to using it and keeping it updated. no need to dive off the tech deep end and host 100 things until your ready.