Hey,
I know it sucks to rely on cloud services but it is what it is. I use Apple iCloud, Bitwarden and GitHub.
Technically, I could self-host all three but I want my backups not at my place or at least have them in both places cloud/at home.
I do have two spare Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and one small computer with an old i5 / 8 GB RAM.
What do you personally self-host?
Some don’t have the capital or spare parts lying around to build their own on premises server. A VPS is an easy, secure way to get started in the hobby. No need to gatekeep.
That don’t stop others seeing what you do on their computers. If you don’t care, no one’s stopping you.