This is a list of various ‘free’ services whose business models are to collect as much personal data about you as possible and alternatives you can use to them if you care about not losing control of your data and your privacy.
The list is separated into topics and each service or software stated gives support for why you may want to stop using the service. As well as show alternatives to these services and why you may want to switch to them. (Source: Github & choosetoencrypt)
Search Engines
You are the product:
- Google – By 2030, You’ll Be Living in a World That’s Run by Google.
- Bing – Owned by Microsoft.
- Yandex – Russia’s version of Google.
Alternatives:
- DuckDuckGo – DuckDuckGo privacy policy.
- StartPage – How we protect you.
- Searx – Why use Searx?
- Qwant – Qwant privacy policy.
Social Networks
You are the product:
- Facebook – What should you think about when using Facebook?
- Instagram – Owned by Facebook.
Alternatives:
- Scuttlebutt – Scuttlebutt principles.
- Mastodon – What is Mastodon? Mastodon instances.
- Diaspora – What is Diaspora?
- Steemit – What is Steemit?
- Indieweb – Why run your own website?
- Minds – Anonymous & open-source social network with encrypted conversations. How Minds.com Protects Your Privacy.
- Chttr – Politically unbiased, privacy respecting social network.
- Pleroma – Pleroma instances.
- Cent – Democratized social network built on Ethereum. What is Cent?
Messengers
You are the product:
- WhatsApp – Uses Signal Protocol thus chats are E2E encrypted. However it sends entire user’s contact books to FB servers. Owned by Facebook.
- Facebook Messenger – Owned by Facebook.
Alternatives:
- Signal – Uses Signal Protocol.
- Silence – Fork of Signal based on SMS instead of a server.
- Riot – Secure decentralized chat powered by Matrix protocol.
- Threema – FAQ.
- Keybase – Open-source end-to-end encrypted chat and Dropbox alternative.
- Ring – About Ring.
- Ricochet – Anonymous instant messaging.
- Telegram – Uses MTProto Mobile Protocol. However group channels cannot be E2E encrypted, and private chats default to non-E2E. Telegram states that generating profit is not the end goal of the app.
- Briar – Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging and forums.
- Tox – Peer-to-peer serverless IM platform.
- Wire – Open-source Projet based on End-to-end encryption (server in Switzerland).
- Conversations – Built on XMPP/Jabber. List of XMPP clients for any operating system.
- Public XMPP services – Choose one, talk to any, or run your own with Prosody.
- Wickr – Encrypted Ephemeral Platform Trusted By Millions Worldwide.
- Semaphor – Encrypted, decentralized authority team chat and file sharing.
Cloud Storage
You are the product:
- Google Drive – Centralized and owned by Google.
- OneDrive – Owned by Microsoft.
Alternatives:
- IPFS – Open source
- Syncthing – Open source.
- Seafile – About Seafile.
- Nextcloud – About Nextcloud. Self hosted + encryption app available.
- ownCloud – ownCloud Features. Self hosted + encryption app available.
- Keybase – Open-source end-to-end encrypted Dropbox and GitHub alternative.
- CozyCloud – Privacy and CozyCloud. Open Source + self hosted.
- SpiderOak ONE – End-to-end no-knowledge encryption, Edward Snowden endorsed!
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Tahoe-LAFS – Capability-secure, end-to-end encryption, provider-independent privacy. Storage providers cannot read stored data.
- Least Authority – Paid personal Tahoe-LAFS grids.
- Matador Cloud – Free global Tahoe-LAFS grid, paid services.
- Tresorit – Swiss based end-to-end encrypted cloud storage.
VPN
You are the product:
- Any VPN that is free or keeps logs.
Alternatives:
- ProtonVPN – As a Swiss VPN provider, Proton does not log user activity or share data with third parties. Tor is also supported.
- Mullvad – Swedish based VPN provider that retains no logs, and uses a mostly open source and transparent infrastructure available to the public. Accepts Bitcoin, anonymous cash payments via envelope, PayPal, and more.
You are the product:
- Gmail – Owned by Google.
- Outlook – Owned by Microsoft.
- Yahoo – Multiple data breaches.
Alternatives:
- Mailfence – Secure and private email-suite (About, Privacy policy, Transparency report).
- ProtonMail – Security of ProtonMail.
- Tutanota – FAQ.
- Posteo – About Posteo. Transparency Report.
- iRedMail – Be your own email provider.
- CleanEmail – Manages your mailbox – group and organize, remove, label, and archive emails. Full Privacy Policy.
- Fastmail – Email, calendars, and contacts. Privacy Policy.
- Kolab Now – Online service providing personal Kolab Groupware on desired level. Privacy Statement.
Operating Systems
You are the product:
- Windows – Microsoft shares Windows 10 telemetry data with third parties.
- Chrome OS – Owned by Google.
- Android (preinstalled) – Google collects meta data (phone calls, SMS) from Android phones.
Alternatives:
- Linux – Open source kernel.
- Tails OS
- Qubes OS
- iOS – iOS 10 security white paper.
- Android with LineageOS
- Android with Copperhead
- Android with /e/ – Fully ungoogled mobile phone OS. Privacy Facts
- macOS – Apple privacy.
- FreeBSD – Privacy Policy.
- PureOS – Secure and freedom respecting. Soon also on smartphone: Librem5.
Browsers
You are the product:
- Google Chrome – Owned by Google.
- Edge Browser – Owned by Microsoft.
Alternatives:
- Firefox – Firefox privacy.
- Brave – About Brave.
- Tor Browser – Tor (anonymity network) wiki.
- Vivaldi – DuckDuckGo Collaboration.
- Ungoogled Chromium – More about Ungoogled Chromium.
Video Sharing
You are the product:
- YouTube – Owned by Google.
Alternatives:
- DTube – What is DTube?
- Peertube – Peertube instances.
- BitChute – Peer to peer video sharing platform.
AI Assistants
You are the product:
- Amazon Alexa – Owned by Amazon.
- Google Home – Owned by Google.
- IBM Watson – Owned by IBM.
Alternatives:
- Snips – AI assistant platform.
- Mycroft – Open-source AI assistant, range of hardware options.
- Apple Siri and HomePod – Apple Privacy.
Happy learning!
