Networked applications often adopt a client/server architecture, in which client software takes care of user interaction, while servers hold data and application logic. Maintaining and securing server software are challenges for home and small business users. Third parties do so with economies of scale that make them nearly irresistible for users. Adopting a different networked application architecture could protect users from such threats as censorship, Service as a Software Substitute (SaaSS), and loss of autonomy, and avoid the risks of (re)centralization.
“SaaSS is equivalent to using a nonfree program with surveillance features and a universal back door” — Richard Stallman
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html
Free Software history is full of examples of server software that users could install and run autonomously on their own computers, developed to promote server-side user autonomy and decentralization, but that third parties install and run for multiple users, defeating these motivations.
It has happened to such widely-used communication and publishing services as instant messaging, email hosting, blogging, social media, and source code hosting, and to domain-
— source fsfla.org | Alexandre Oliva | Aug 22, 2021