De-Google your life

[king1]

well I set up a Seafile server awhile back for dropbox like photo backups and storage, works pretty well.

What I would like to find is a way to self host the browser sync functionality, chrome doesn't seem to have anything available, Firefox does but i'm still trying to wrap my head around it...

There is an extension called xbrowsersync or some such for which you can self host a server but that only syncs bookmarks, no history or passwords etc

what do we use in place of the Google photos app for android? that annoys with "you're missing out" constantly

If you don't mind running a NAS there are a few options which involve port forwarding. 
I think synology have a service you can use which uses their gateway from memory but never messed around with it. Can be a good option if you are on CG- NAT.
Western digital have "my cloud" but again you are reliant on their services.
I eventually want to set up my own cloud server.
Can find heaps of spare rack mount NAS units easily enough. Would not mind trying out some of the Linux options too.
Problem is the average user will find these things too difficult to implement. 

Firefox has a way to synchronize with a Firefox account but never used it.
I've always stuck with Firefox and for the most part, it's been OK. Brave browser looks a good alternative too.
Chromes market share may have reached its maximum point I'm thinking. 
As far as youtube goes, web 3.0 may be the best option.
Lots of blockchain based storage mediums coming out I see.
There is D-Tube and odysee to name a few. I see a few big youtubers have at least tried uploading some content to them.

I run several Storj nodes on the subject of cloud storage, basically renting out spare storage capacity 
https://docs.storj.io/node/get-started/setup

they have recently cut back the payout rates but not enough to make me chuck it in as yet, you get paid in USD converted to their STORJ crypto token - it's a hobby...