degooglizzazione/README.md

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Cutting Google out of your life

I don't have anything to hide, but I don't have anything to show you either.

Updated

GitHub GitHub stars GitHub issues GitHub pull requests

Index

  1. Contributing
  2. Browser extensions
  3. Replacements/alternatives
    1. Disclaimer
    2. Web-based products
    3. Operating systems
    4. Desktop applications
    5. Mobile applications
    6. Hardware
  4. Useful links, tools, and advice
    1. Resources
    2. Books
    3. Blog posts
    4. News articles
  5. The lighter side
  6. Closing remarks

Contributing

If you want to help out with the project, here are some ideas (submit Issues & Pull Requests on the GitHub page):

  • iOS app alternatives! I don't have an iOS device to find alternatives with. I would highly appreciate any help with this.
  • Clean up/improve the Markdown.
  • Provide more information on services with little info or where help requested! is shown.
  • Suggest new services or provide info for removing existing services.
  • Host a mirror or clone the repo. If you host a mirror, let me know and I can add it to the mirrors list.
  • Anything else relating to any part of this guide, whether it's Google related or not.

When contributing, please follow the rules outlined in CONTRIBUTING.md.

Browser extensions

Name Description
uBlock Origin Mozilla Add-on uBlock Origin is not an "ad blocker", it's a wide-spectrum content blocker with CPU and memory efficiency as a primary feature.
Privacy Badger Mozilla Add-on Privacy Badger automatically learns to block invisible trackers. Instead of keeping lists of what to block, Privacy Badger learns by watching which domains appear to be tracking you as you browse the Web.
HTTPS Everywhere Mozilla Add-on Many sites on the web offer some limited support for encryption over HTTPS, but make it difficult to use. For instance, they may default to unencrypted HTTP, or fill encrypted pages with links that go back to the unencrypted site. The HTTPS Everywhere extension fixes these problems by rewriting all requests to these sites to HTTPS. Note: EFF is preparing to deprecate the HTTPS Everywhere, check out this blog post.
Cookie AutoDelete Mozilla Add-on Control your cookies! This WebExtension is inspired by Self Destructing Cookies. When a tab closes, any cookies not being used are automatically deleted. Whitelist the ones you trust while deleting the rest. Support for Container Tabs.
DDG Privacy Essentials Mozilla Add-on Privacy, simplified. Our add-on provides the privacy essentials you need to seamlessly take control of your personal information, no matter where the internet takes you: tracker blocking, smarter encryption, DuckDuckGo private search, and more.
I don't care about cookies Mozilla Add-on This add-on will remove cookie warnings from almost all websites! You can report any website which still warns you about cookies: make a right click and choose 'Report a cookie warning' from the menu.
minerBlock Mozilla Add-on MinerBlock is an efficient browser extension that focuses on blocking browser-based cryptocurrency miners all over the web. This extension uses two different approaches to block miners. The first one is based on blocking requests/scripts loaded from a blacklist, this is the traditional approach adopted by most ad-blockers and other mining blockers. The other approach which makes MinerBlock more efficient against cryptojacking is detecting potential mining behavior inside loaded scripts and kills them immediately. This makes the extension able to block inline scripts as well as miners running through proxies. Source code available on GitHub.
ClearURLS Mozilla Add-on This extension will automatically remove tracking elements from URLs to help protect your privacy when browse through the Internet.
Cloud Firewall Mozilla Add-on Block connections to pages and web resources hosted in major cloud services if the user wishes to do so. Supports blocking Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Cloudflare.
CSS Exfil Protection Mozilla Add-on CSS Exfil is a method attackers can use to steal data from web pages using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This plugin sanitizes and blocks any CSS rules which may be designed to steal data.
Disconnect Mozilla Add-on Visualize and block the otherwise invisible websites that track your search and browsing history.
Don't touch my tabs! (rel=noopener Mozilla Add-on Prevent tabs opened by a hyperlink from hijacking the previous tab by adding the rel=noopener attribute to all hyperlinks (excluding same-domain hyperlinks).
Firefox Multi-Account Containers Mozilla Add-on Firefox Multi-Account Containers lets you keep parts of your online life separated into color-coded tabs that preserve your privacy. Cookies are separated by container, allowing you to use the web with multiple identities or accounts simultaneously.
Google search link fix (also Yandex) Mozilla Add-on This extension prevents Google and Yandex search pages from modifying search result links when you click them. This is useful when copying links but it also helps privacy by preventing the search engines from recording your clicks.
HTTPZ Mozilla Add-on HTTPZ is meant to be unobtrusive and lightweight, it respects your privacy, and is free of trans fats. Additionally, it is very configurable, and should be slightly more secure than some of the alternatives out there, since it has a couple of built-in defenses against SSL-stripping attacks.
Link Cleaner Mozilla Add-on Clean URLs that are about to be visited: removes utm_* parameters; on item pages of aliexpress and amazon, removes tracking parameters; skip redirect pages of facebook, steam and reddit
Privacy-Oriented Origin Policy Mozilla Add-on Prevent Firefox from sending Origin headers when they are least likely to be necessary, to protect your privacy.
Skip Redirect Mozilla Add-on Some web pages use intermediary pages before redirecting to a final page. This add-on tries to extract the final url from the intermediary url and goes there straight away if successful.
Temporary Containers Mozilla Add-on Open tabs, websites, and links in automatically managed disposable containers. Containers isolate data websites store (cookies, storage, and more) from each other, enhancing your privacy and security while you browse.
TrackMeNot Mozilla Add-on An artware browser add-on to protect privacy in web-search. By issuing randomized queries to common search-engines, TrackMeNot obfuscates your search profile and registers your discontent with surreptitious tracking.
Redirect AMP to HTML Mozilla Add-on This web extension enables users to choose to opt-out of using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and choose to use the standard web instead.
user.js This is not an extension, instead it is a Firefox user.js config file. This file is a template which aims to provide as much privacy and enhanced security as possible, and to reduce tracking and fingerprinting as much as possible - while minimizing any loss of functionality and breakage (but it will happen).

Replacements/alternatives

Disclaimer

  1. Only privacy/security focused alternatives will be suggested.
  2. Many replacements are based off this Wikipedia article (List of Google products)
  3. Products from companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Amazon, etc. will not be recommended unless there is a very good reason to. This includes companies/apps/services they own.
  4. Controversial services will have a disclaimer attached if needed.
  5. 5-eyes, 9-eyes, and 14-eyes services will be listed and marked as such. Both the location the company is registered and the server IP are taken into consideration.
Eyes Countries
5 Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, USA
9 Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway
14 Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Spain

Web-based products

Back to top

Search (Web & Images)

Name Eyes Description
Search Engine Party
Repo
An open-source comparison table of popular search engines. It was made by a former team member at PrivacyTools, though is not affiliated with the site.
DuckDuckGo 5-eyes One of the best privacy-focused search engines. Domain is hosted in USA which could potentially be problematic for some.
Startpage 9-eyes Another privacy search engine that claims to not track any of your data. They operate servers in both USA and Europe. Note: Startpage was recently acquired. See Issue #12. Thanks @pydo, @ThijsRay, and @DatAres37. Also see this comment in Issue #99 from @danarel on Startpage.
searx
Repo
Open-source (thanks for clarification u/Sheezdudeln) privacy search engine. Domain hosted in Germany.
MetaGer 14-eyes MetaGer is the search engine project from the registered nonprofit organization SUMA E.V. in Germany.
Qwant 9-eyes Major improvements since 2018's guide. would prefer better info other than an outdated reference
Swisscows A Swiss search engine that offers a unique search experience for the web, images, videos, music, and more. They are currently funding a mail service. Read through their datacenter about page, it's really interesting.
Mojeek 5-eyes Unlike other privacy search engines which act as a "middle man" between you and Google/Bing/Yahoo, Mojeek has their own crawler and index. The results aren't as complete as some of the others, but it is still impressive and they are actively building their index to include more results with better accuracy.
Ekoru Privacy focused search engine that also aims to clean up the oceans. Thanks @mynamesleon
Cyberd
Repo
Decentralized Google. A web 3 alternative for the Google search engine. In Beta testing mode. Uses IPFS and Tendermint consensus for security and economic incentives. Please see their ELI-5 FAQ for more info.
Infinity Search
Repo
5-eyes Infinity Search is a privacy metasearch engine that does not log any information about its users. In terms of privacy, it works the same way as DuckDuckGo. It is free to use and is funded by non-tracking advertisements and affiliate links. It is also completely open-source.
Runnaroo 5-eyes "Runnaroo was built from the ground up to provide an all around better search experience." Thanks @codingepaduli
Brave Search Brave Search doesnt track you, your searches, or your clicks.

YouTube

Name Eyes Description
PeerTube Decentralized, federated video hosting network. Still quite small, but is growing and has a dedicated community. Although there is no central database/server, all the separate instances can still talk to one another. This allows for data exchange and a way to view anyone's videos while only associating with one instance. Thanks @kdkasad for clarifying federation.
BitChute 5-eyes Also P2P, but not decentralized. Due to it being proprietary, if BitChute goes down then the whole thing goes down (unlike PeerTube). (thanks u/up-sky-7)
DTube Looks very similar to YouTube. Advertised as "first crypt-decentralized video-platform". Built on Steemit and IPFS.
Bit.tube Appears to be a crypto-powered decentralized video sharing service. (thanks u/rudolf323)
Invidious
Repo
An open-source front-end alternative to YouTube. Seems to work pretty well from my experience so far, and it hasn't triggered anything on my adblocker/privacy extensions. Also offers downloads in many formats for videos (including .vtt subtitles).
Hooktube A slightly better way to use actual YouTube. (Use as a "last resort")
LBRY
Repo
A decentralized platform for distributing and supporting creators's work. It aims to be Open, Community driven "digital marketplace". It can be used in a similar way to YouTube: browsing, subscribing to channels, there is a mechanism to send "tips" to creators. Looks up videos based on a blockchain and is open-source and uncensored. It already has some "larger" creators like Minutephysics, Veritasium, Barnacules and Lunduke.
US.TV PeerTube instance hosted by Epik.com.
FreeTube
Repo
Open-source desktop YouTube client that uses the Invidio.us API to serve content.
youtube-local
Repo
Open-source browser-based client for watching Youtube anonymously and with greater page performance. Non-video requests can be routed through Tor. Optionally the videos can be routed through Tor as well. Can be used without Javascript. No server software installation required. Uses self-hosted subscriptions and playlists.

News

Name Eyes Description
Local newspaper Support independent and qualitative journalism in your community.
AllSides Unbiased news source (primarily for US politics). Thanks @jeanofthedead
Miniflux
Repo
Miniflux is a minimalist and opinionated feed reader. Completely open-source, along with automatically removing pixel trackers.

Groups

Name Eyes Description
Sympa
Repo
Sympa is an open-source mailing list manager. It provides advanced features with a rich and secure web interface.
GNU Mailman Mailman is free software for managing electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists. Mailman is integrated with the web, making it easy for users to manage their accounts and for list owners to administer their lists. Mailman supports built-in archiving, automatic bounce processing, content filtering, digest delivery, spam filters, and more.
Discourse
Repo
5-eyes Discourse is the 100% open-source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet. Use it as a mailing list, discussion forum, or long-form chat room.
Groups.io 5-eyes a privacy focused email list system that does not track you, nor your members. It is not open source. Data is hosted on one central server but the server is encrypted. It has modern email group features such as a wiki, integrations, and RSS import support.
  • Use other forum sites relating to specific topics. This is a very broad service.

Translate

Name Eyes Description
DeepL 14-eyes DeepL is an artifical intelligence translation service. Please keep in mind DeepL tracks the text you translate unless you purchase Pro. See sections 4 & 5 of their privacy policy for more information. Thanks u/TheCy-FiJuggernaut
Apertium
Repo
A free, open-source translation system.
LibreTranslate
Repo
A free and open-source machine-translation API which can be self-hosted.

Google Ads/AdMob/AdSense

Name Eyes Description
EthicalAds
Repo
A developer-focused, privacy-obsessed ad network from the fine folks at Read the Docs. Source code can be found on GitHub.

Google Alerts

Name Eyes Description
F5Bot 5-eyes Emails you when your selected keywords are mentioned on Reddit, Hacker News, or Lobsters.

G Suite (enterprise cloud)

Name Eyes Description
Nextcloud Nextcloud 19 now has Community Document Server and ONLYOFFICE apps integrated which allows self-hosted instances of docs/sheets/slides. Users are able to edit documents in real time. Thanks @k3tan172 and @plutocrat
Open-Xchange A secure hosted email and productivity platform, designed for providers of all sizes to offer their customers email, calendar, storage, encryption and more.
Sandstorm
Repo
An open-source self-hosted web hosting platform for a wide set of web applications, including Etherpad (collaborative text editing), Radicale (calendar), Lychee (image hosting), Wekan (Kanban)

Blogger/Sites

Name Eyes Description
Joomla
Repo
Self-hosted and open-source content management system (CMS).
WriteFreely
Repo
An open-source platform for building a writing space on the web.
Write.as Free & paid hosting for WriteFreely, which is developed by the folks at Write.as.
WordPress self-hosted
Repo
The open-source version of WordPress. A very popular tool and a recognized name.
concrete5
Repo
5-eyes Open-source CMS.
Noblogs 9-eyes A privacy/security focused blogging platform.
Ghost
Repo
Open-source modern CMS. Boasts "over 19x faster than WordPress". Thanks @peterge1998
Bear 5-eyes Free, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging. No javascript, no stylesheets, no trackers. Just your words.
Simpleblogs FLOSS blogging platform with a focus on privacy. Easy to self-host (standard rails app, ships with AWS deployment scripts. AWS is not required). Access restricted to accounts which you create and hand out. Good for private blogs but not for commercial/public blogging.

Analytics

Name Eyes Description
Matomo
Repo
9/14-eyes (Matomo/parent company) - Open-source analytics platform. (thanks u/Newblik)
Fathom 5-eyes Simple analytics for bloggers & businesses
Plausible
Repo
5-eyes Open-source, privacy-focused web analytics.
GoatCounter
Repo
14-eyes Simple web statistics. No tracking of personal data. open-source and may be self-hosted. Free for non-commercial use; paid plans available.
Simple Analytics 9-eyes Great analytics with privacy and simplicity in mind. Paid plans only (with free trials).
Alpina Web Analytics 5-eyes Simple, privacy-friendly analytics with event tracking, real-time dashboard and filters. No cookie or localstorage usage. Servers in EU. Paid only (with free trial)
Shynet
Repo
Shynet is a self-hosted analytics tool that doesn't make use of cookies. It is privacy focused and fully open-source. Thanks @woutfeys
Supabase
Repo
Supabase is an opensource alternative to Firebase. As of right now you can use their hosting plan for free as it's in alpha, or you can self host (note on self hosting). Thanks @woutfeys
GoAccess
Repo
An open-source web server analysis tool. Installs on your web server (ideally), but works just as well if you download your logs someplace else. Interactive; cursor around in the report and see what's going on. Can generate HTML reports. Can also generate realtime interactive HTML reports if you run it in server mode. Lightweight, only requires UTF-8 support and ncurses (ncursesw, if you want a UTF-8 enabled console). Available in the default package repositories of multiple Linux distros. Thanks @virtadpt
Offen
Repo
Open-source and self-hosted, Offen is a fair and lightweight web analytics alternative that treats operators and users as equal parties.
Umami
Repo
A simple, easy to use, open-source/self-hosted web analytics solution.
Kindmetrics
Repo
5/14-eyes An open-source analytics tool. Landing page and company is based in Sweden, CDN in EU, Servers on Digitalocean (USA) datacenter in Germany.
userTrack Self-hosted alternative to Google Analytics, similar to Matomo but cheaper for premium features. Includes user segments, heatmaps, session recordings and A/B testing.
Piwik PRO 5-eyes An analytics suite with a focus on user privacy and data security.
Panelbear 14-eyes Privacy-focused analytics + web performance monitoring.
HockeyStack 5-eyes Offers cookieless tracking and no PII collected.

Photos

Name Eyes Description
Photoprism
Repo
Self-hosted and open-source Personal Photo Management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow.
ownPhotos
Repo
Self-hosted and open-source Google Photos alternative.
Piwigo
Repo
9-eyes Self-hosted and open-source cloud photo manager. You can also sign up for an "as a service" account.
JottaCloud 9-eyes Norway based cloud storage provider with free and paid plans. Thanks @mynamesleon
Cryptee Encrypted photo storage in a simple solution similar to Google Photos.
PhotoStructure Self-hosted photo and video manager. Cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux, Docker). Scales to millions of assets, with automatic organization, auto-transcoding, and advanced de-duplication.
Lychee
Repo
An open-source self-hosted photo-management tool that includes built-in support for videos. Thanks @m0yP
ente
Repo
5-eyes A paid, cloud-based, open-source photo storage app with a focus on security and privacy. Apps are available for iOS, Android, web and desktop.

Calendar

Name Eyes Description
Lightning Calendar (Thunderbird)
Repo
Developed by Mozilla Foundation and open-source. Integrates into Thunderbird and SeaMonkey.
ProtonCalendar Developed by ProtonMail. Free plan only supports 1 calendar. Allows importing of other calendar files. Has an Android app.
Tutanota Calendar 14-eyes Developed by Tutanota. Free cross-platform encrypted calendar. Allows importing of other Calendar files. Can't be synced to other calendar software.
Fruux
Repo
14-eyes Open-source calendar using "sabre/dav" (FOSS WebDAV, CardDAV, and CalDAV). They mention privacy quite a bit on their site. Very large number of features, and supports nearly every device: Windows, iOS, Linux, Android, BlackBerry, SailFish, and also a webapp for browsers.
Baïkal a lightweight CalDAV+CardDAV server. It offers an extensive web interface with easy management of users, address books and calendars. It is fast and simple to install and only needs a basic php capable server. The data can be stored in a MySQL or a SQLite database. Thanks @mahdi1234
Nextcloud Nextcloud also offers a calendar solution using CalDAV and CardDAV. Thanks @mahdi1234 for pointing this out.
Radicale Self-hosted calendar server written in Python. WebUI for desktop, CalDav/CardDav for mobile sync. Can use a reverse proxy with Nginx for HTTPS.
Mailfence Calendar 14-eyes Supports vCal/iCal import, export and can be accessed by using CalDAV. Users can share their calendars with group members and can also create polls.

Docs/Sheets/Slides (cloud)

Name Eyes Description
CryptPad
Repo
9-eyes Open-source "zero knowledge" collaborative cloud editor. They offer Rich Text, Code, Presentation, Sheet (beta), Poll, Kanban, Whiteboard, and CryptDrive. 100% Client side encryption. Tons of useful features.
Etherpad
Repo
Self-hosted collaborative editor. Does not use the browser. Not the greatest interface, but it's open-source and you have full control over who can see your data.
Cryptee
Repo
Open-source and privacy focused photo and document storage/editing. Based in Estonia, so your files are outside the reach of any 14-eyes country. They don't even require an email address to sign up.
LibreOffice Online 14-eyes Self-hosted instance of LibreOffice that you can run in your browser. Thanks @flubberding
ONLYOFFICE
Repo
Open-source private cloud replacement for Google Docs'suite and Office 360. Also available as a self contained rich application.
Arcane Office A decentralized office suite with high-security and zero-knowledge on your data. With Arcane Office, you have maximum control on your personal stuff. Full-featured online document and spreadsheet editor. Secure storage to save your photos. All free for personal use. Thanks @taraletti

Docs/Sheets/Slides (offline)

Name Eyes Description
LibreOffice
Repo
Open-source offline document suites.
LyX
Repo
It's an open-source (and offline) document processor using TeX/LaTeX. It's different than Docs or Word but amazing, once you get used to it.
ONLYOFFICE
Repo
Offline version of ONLYOFFICE, an open-source private cloud replacement for Google Docs suite and Office 360. Also available as a self contained rich application. Thanks @PalmoliveDev
Cryptee Offline version of Cryptee for web. Runs as a progressive web app. Works most modern phone browsers (Chrome, Opera or Firefox on Android; Safari on iOS). Also works in desktop browsers that support PWA (the website lists that only Chrome works, but others will work too.
Calligra
Repo
Calligra Suite is an office and graphic art suite by KDE. It is available for desktop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones. It contains applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, vector graphics, and editing databases. (Free and open-source Software)

Domains

Name Eyes Description
Njalla 14-eyes Privacy-focused domain registration. Competitive pricing and a large list of available domain extensions. They also offer VPS hosting. Built by people who built The Pirate Bay among others. (thanks u/brais33 and u/HumbleBasis6). Note: some users may have issues with them legally owning your domain.
Orangewebsite An Iceland-based freedom of speech web hosting provider. They never actually ask for your name, at least when you pay in Bitcoin.

Public DNS

Name Eyes Description
LibreDNS 14-eyes A public encrypted DNS service that people can use to maintain the secrecy of their DNS traffic, but also circumvent censorship. It already supports DNS over HTTPS & DNS over TLS. They also operate a number of open-source projects

Drive

Name Eyes Description
ownCloud
Repo
Open-source and self-hosted. Provide your own storage.
Nextcloud Also self-hosted. Spin-off of ownCloud. Also offers Calendar and Contacts (thanks @chribre)
Syncthing
Repo
9-eyes An open-source continuous file synchronization program. It synchronizes files between two or more computers in real time, safely protected from prying eyes. Your data is your data alone and you deserve to choose where it is stored, whether it is shared with some third party, and how it's transmitted over the internet.
Sia Fully decentralized cloud storage.
Tresorit Primarily meant for businesses, but offers a free version for individuals as well. Thanks u/xNick26
Sync 5-eyes End-to-end encrypted Google Drive/Dropbox replacement.
JottaCloud 9-eyes Norway based cloud storage provider with free and paid plans. Thanks @mynamesleon
seafile
Repo
Open-source and self-hosted file sync&share solution.
Cozy Cloud
Repo
9-eyes French based cloud storage provider with free and paid plans. Can also be self-hosted and is open-source. And it also offers a collaborative notes editor.
Mailfence Documents 14-eyes Documents can be accessed using WebDAV or edited online. Users can drag and drop files in folders and categorize them with tags.
Filecloud Community Edition Powerful, secure Dropbox-like enterprise class file sharing and sync solution for home or business.
Diode For individuals and organizations who want to safeguard their digital sovereignty. It is a high security, end-to-end encrypted solution for file sharing, collaboration, and backup that prioritizes security and confidentiality.

Hangouts (text/video messaging)

Name Eyes Description
Signal
Repo
5-eyes Open-source secure messaging. Whistleblower and privacy advocate Edward Snowden recommends Signal.
Tox Tox is unique as it uses P2P technology to ensure the network never goes down, as long as there are users to keep it alive. They specifically say on the website "Tox has no central servers that can be raided, shut down, or forced to turn over data".
Wire 5-eyes Uses end-to-end encryption. Looks to be more of a corporate service with tiered plans.
Element
Repo
5-eyes Open-source privacy-focused chat service with end-to-end encryption. They offer webapps, desktop apps, iOS, and Android (Play Store and F-Droid). Uses the "Matrix" protocol for decentralized communication.
Threema Swiss-based GDPR-compliant instant messenger. Has apps for both iOS and Android. Unlike Signal, no phone number is required (nor is an email) to sign up. End-to-end encrypted. Thanks to @nathanvogel
Keybase 5-eyes Encrypted chat like Signal with features like Slack. Does not require a phone number to sign up. Also has file storage. Note: Keybase was acquired by Zoom, Inc. in May 2020 (Keybase blog, Zoom blog). Thanks @notpushkin & @multimob.
Jitsi
Repo
5-eyes Jitsi is an open-source secure video conferencing platform. No account is needed to use it, simply enter a Room Name to join or host a meeting. The host is able to kick rogue users from the call. Works directly in your browser, with apps available for iOS and Android. It is not necessary to self-host, but self-hosting is an option for those who wish to. Very low latency and easy to set up. A free public server is available at meet.jit.si. (5-eyes server)
Jami 5-eyes Audio / Video Calls, Conferences, Messaging app with peer-to-peer and end-to-end encrypted communications.
Mumble
Repo
A free, open-source, low latency, high quality voice chat application.
Session
Repo
Open-source. It is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that removes sensitive metadata collection. No phone number required to create an account.
  • See this article for why I didn't include WhatsApp and why you should NOT use it (if someone has a better Outline link, that would be much appreciated).
  • I have also removed Telegram. See Issue #29 from @arsv.

Gmail (mail service)

Name Eyes Description
Forward Email
Repo
A free and open-source email forwarding service focused on a user's right to privacy.
Protonmail One of the top privacy-focused email providers. Servers are in Switzerland in an underground guarded bunker that they claim can "survive a nuclear attack". Privacy note: Please see Issue #258 for info on ProtonMail privacy & integrity concerns.
Tutanota
Repo
14-eyes Open-source and one one of the top rated privacy-focused email providers. Located in Germany.
Posteo 14-eyes Completely anonymous mail provider located in Germany.
mailbox.org 14-eyes Paid email provider, also located in Germany.
Disroot 9-eyes Decentralized email service.
StartMail 9-eyes Operated by the same people who run StartPage.
SimpleLogin
Repo
Open-source, self-hosted, and privacy focused email forwarding service.
Migadu 9-eyes Paid email provider, located in Switzerland. Focus on privacy.
Fastmail 5-eyes Paid email provider, located in Australia and US.
Runbox 9-eyes Privacy focusued email provider. Thanks @petertorelli
NextCloud
Repo
Nextcloud provides a webmail interface that can be used to access email from various providers. Thanks @je-vv
Anonymize.com Email Paid secure email service provided by Epik.com.
Thexyz 5-eyes Thexyz is a Canadian company offering privacy-conscious business email. Premium webmail costs USD $2.95 per month.
Mailfence 14-eyes A secure and private email provider much like Protonmail and Tutanota. There are no google analytics nor hidden cookies. There are options to pay anonymously via cryptocurrency. It features a wide array of collaboration tools, such as groups, calendar, contacts, documents with editing space. Offers free, paid, and freemium plans. Can pay with cryptocurrency and has a warrant canary. Thanks @resto1231
CTemplar Privacy-focused email provider located in Iceland.
Anonaddy
Repo
9-eyes Open-source Anonymous forwarding email service. Forwarded email can be encrypted (OpenPGP) to prevent Google from reading it. Accepts cryptocurrencies (including Monero).
Mail-in-a-Box
Repo
Open-source self-hosted easy-to-deploy mail server in a box.
  • This is just for the Gmail service, not a client

Keep

Name Eyes Description
Joplin
Repo
Open-source notes/todo app. Available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Also offers a terminal version. It can import Evernote .enex files if you use that. It can also sync with Nextcloud (mentioned above).
Standard Notes
F-Droid
Encrypted note storage with loads of features. Offers a web app as well as downloads for most operating systems. Has a paid plan, but the free tier has many useful features as well.
Turtl Encrypted collaborative notebook with possibility of running your own server.
QOwnNotes
Repo
Open-source file editor with Markdown support. (thanks u/maqp2)
GitJournal Your Markdown notes stores in any Git Repo. Available for both Android (Play Store) and iOS.
Nextcloud Notes A distraction free notes taking app for Nextcloud. It provides categories for better organization and supports formatting using Markdown syntax. Notes are saved as files in your Nextcloud, so you can view and edit them with every Nextcloud client.
TiddlyWiki
Repo
An open-source personal note-taking system that can run in the browser as a single HTML file or as a NodeJS application. It can be stored locally on a hard drive or removable drive, self-hosted on one's own server, or use various web-based storage options.
Notesnook A truly zero-knowledge note taking app, encrypted using XChaChaPoly1305-IETF & Argon2. It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and has browser extensions too. It is not self-hostable and follows a freemium model.

Play Music, Movies, & TV

Name Eyes Description
Jellyfin
Repo
Open-source alternative to the Play media services. You do need to provide your own content, however. In active development with frequent updates (to the source, that is).
Funkwhale Self-hosted, decentralized music service. Provide your own audio. (thanks u/DashEquals)
Airsonic
Repo
Self-hosted open-source media streamer. Has features for transcoding audio on-the-fly for "virtually any audio format". You can also set bandwidth limits if you need to. Looks very powerful.
Music Player Daemon A "flexible, powerful, server-side application for playing music".
Popcorn Time
Repo
Open-source software for desktop and mobile that let you easily stream movie/TV torrents. Be careful if your country or ISP has policies against torrenting, a VPN is recommended. Thanks @je-vv
Nuclear Music Player Streaming music player that finds music from free sources automatically.
Tribler
Repo
Open-source peer-to-peer file sharing that provides a "Youtube"-like streaming experience. Tribler uses Tor-like onion routing to protect the privacy of its users.
Ampache
Repo
Open-source and self-hosted web based media manager and media server. API available to allow usage on various platforms. On-the-fly transcoding available. Supports both music and video.
  • I can no longer recommend Emby as they are no longer open source.
  • Thanks to u/eA8KESARaW6iqCpHsbE4 for suggesting Jellyfin and pointing out that Emby isn't open source.

Fonts

Name Eyes Description
Open Font Library 5-eyes Lots of Serif and Sans-Serif fonts that can be directly embedded into a website.
google webfonts helper
Repo
5-eyes Hassle-free way for webmasters to self-host open-source fonts from Google Fonts
Brick
Repo
9-eyes Open-source fonts that work in a very similar way to Google fonts. Most of the fonts render nicer than Google Fonts.

Classroom

Name Eyes Description
Moodle
Repo
Self-hosted open-source Classroom software for schools. Very powerful. Thanks @jankapunkt
ILIAS
Repo
Another self-hosted open-source classroom software. Thanks again to @jankapunkt
Canvas
Repo
Paid service by Instructure. Also available as a self-hosted, open-source option. To ensure privacy, use the self-hosted option.

Maps/Street View

Name Eyes Description
OpenStreetMap 9-eyes Collaborative project to create a free, editable map of the world (from Wikipedia). Completely crowdsourced. Very strong alternative to Maps.
Qwant Maps Maps from the makers of Qwant search engine. Thanks @mynamesleon
Benmaps Another maps alternative based on OpenStreetMap. Thanks @dimqua

Transit

Name Eyes Description
Transportr
Repo
An open-source Transit app on Android that takes information from several providers (e.g Deutsche Bahn in Germany) and enables you to use them in the app. Visualises the routes on an online OpenStreetMap map. Works in most of Western-Europe, as well as the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the UAE and Ghana. Beware: most information-providers only have beta or alpha support, it may be a good idea to keep a second app as a fallback option

No known alternatives.

Forms

Name Eyes Description
BlockSurvey BlockSurvey enables digital rights (identity and data ownership) to users using Blockstack's blockchain. Users truly own their data with BlockSurvey. All your data is protected using your key and only you can access it. There are no trackers, cookies, or fingerprints on the forms of data providers. Thanks @compressstudio

Bulk Services

Name Eyes Description
EteSync
Repo
For Calendar & Keep. Secure, end-to-end encrypted, and open-source sync for your contacts, calendars, tasks and notes.

Operating systems

Back to top

Android/Fuchsia

Name Eyes Description
Ubuntu Touch Ubuntu, but for phones.
LineageOS
Repo
5-eyes Open-source and based on Android, but without the crap.
SailfishOS
Repo
Privacy-focused mobile OS by Jolla with a proprietary UI and Android compatibility layer on top of an open-source Mer GNU/Linux base.
CopperheadOS
Repo
5-eyes Secure Android built for encrypted and secure phones by a privacy focused company. Paid product that combines the best-in-class hardening and privacy protections from various projects.
GrapheneOS
Repo
Open-source Android-based OS with an emphasis on security and privacy. Features advanced hardening and privacy protections throughout the system.
postmarketOS
Repo
Open-source mobile Linux OS. Can install different user interfaces such as Plasma Mobile. Thanks @okias
Replicant 5-eyes Free Android distribution. Puts the emphasis on "freedom and privacy/security".
CalyxOS
Repo
Open-source Android-based OS with an emphasis on security and privacy. Provides good combination of privacy and security together with usability. Optional support for MicroG.
  • You'll either need a rooted device with an unlocked bootloader, or a specific device depending on which OS you like.
  • Please see Issue #55 for details on /e/.
  • You can use Plexus to check android app compatibility on degoogled Android operating systems.

Chrome OS

Name Eyes Description
GalliumOS "A fast and lightweight Linux distro for ChromeOS devices". Based on Xubuntu.
Qubes OS "A reasonably secure operating system", at least according to their website. Edward Snowden recommends it.
Subgraph OS A desktop computing and communications platform that is designed to be resistant to network-borne exploit and malware attacks.
Tails For the uber-paranoid. Runs live and the entire OS is routed through Tor right from boot. Built on Debian.
Knoppix Another Live OS, runs from CD/DVD/USB. Can also be installed if desired.
Parrot OS Debian-based and privacy focused. Fully sandboxed. (thanks u/Safe_Airport)
PureOS 5-eyes The OS of Purism Laptops (mentioned in the Hardware section). Very clean UI. Editor note: I could not get this working on a UEFI Dell laptop. The group behind PureOS does not provide any UEFI support.
GhostBSD
Repo
This is a secure open-source OS based on FreeBSD, preconfigured to be a sane desktop environment for all users.
Any other form of Linux Ubuntu; Debian; Mint; Fedora; Arch or Manjaro (Manjaro is objectively much easier to get running than Arch); Trisquel; Gentoo; Alpine (thanks u/privacyfreak555); etc etc etc

Wear OS

Name Eyes Description
AsteroidOS
Repo
14-eyes The cleanest (and only) open-source alternative for Wear OS. Make sure you buy a watch that supports it!

Android Auto

No known alternatives.

Android TV

Name Eyes Description
Kodi It's incredibly powerful and backed by one of the strongest communities around. Tons of plugins to do nearly anything you want. Software installs on nearly any platform.
OSMC
Repo
Free, open-source media center OS. Kodi is pre-installed. Thanks to @g4rret and @lgiard for clarifying the difference between Kodi and OSMC!

Desktop apps

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Chrome

Name Eyes Description
Ungoogled Chromium
Repo
Chromium (which Chrome and countless other browsers are built on top of) is one of the cleanest and light-weight browsers available. This version cuts out all the Google crap.
Firefox Built by Mozilla, "The Privacy Company". Huge extension library; great for privacy.
Waterfox 5-eyes Based on Firefox, but 64-bit only with an emphasis on speed and privacy. Has a "classic" version built off older Firefox for legacy extension support and also an "alpha" version built off Quantum. It doesn't collect any telemetry and also removes Pocket from the alpha release. Project is run by Alex Kontos and is constantly in active development. Looks very clean and fast. Android versions are in the works too. UPDATE: @Nudin pointed out in Issue #85 that Waterfox is now a part of System1.
Vivaldi Privacy-focused browser. Appears to be very customizable and feature-rich.
Tor Browser Firefox-based browser routed through the Tor network. Automatically has a few privacy extensions installed (such as HTTPS Everywhere). Read this article for more info on how it works and the benefits of using Tor. Available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android.

Earth

Name Eyes Description
KDE Marble Strong alternative for G Earth. Currently only on Linux, but is being ported to other platforms. Thanks to @PopeRigby

Android Studio (not specifically for Android development, just in general)

Name Eyes Description
VSCodium VSCodium is Visual Studio Code but without all the Microsoft telemetry and branding.
Vim
Repo
Open-source text editor. Thanks @moon-chilled
Emacs
Repo
Another open-source text editor. Thanks @moon-chilled
Atom
Repo
Atom is a free and open-source text and source code editor for macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows with support for plug-ins written in Node.js, and embedded Git Control, developed by GitHub. Atom is a desktop application built using web technologies. (From Wikipedia) Thanks @woutfeys

Mobile apps

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Play Store

Name Eyes Description
F-Droid Catalogue of FOSS apps for Android. Easy to install and keeps track of updates. Also has a browser version if you don't want to install the app.
Yalp Store (fork)
F-Droid
Repo
Yalp downloads Play Store apps as APK files. Helpful if you want to stay away from the Play Store, but require an app that is only available there. This version is a fork of the original project that is no longer active. Thank @onlyjob
APKMirror An online library of user-uploaded APK files. Helpful if you need a specific older version of an app or don't want to download it through Google Play.
Aurora Store
F-Droid
Repo
Aurora Store is simply a fork of the Yalp Store no longer a fork of Yalp, but is now its own project (see their readme). Update: Removed note on using microG as Aurora Store does not use it. Thanks @notpushkin
Fossdroid Uses the same library as F-Droid, but with a modern UI similar to that of the Play Store and the ability to view apps by popularity.
G-Droid
Repo
Also uses the F-Droid repo but with a different UI.
APKGrabber
Repo
Fork of APKUpdater. Both are great tools for avoiding app stores (on Android).
Aurora Droid Yet another F-Droid client, potentially has a few bugs (thanks u/OfficialJohnGL4)
  • When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid) before checking the Play Store.

Chrome (Android)

Name Eyes Description
Fennec F-Droid
F-Droid
A privacy-focused version of Firefox Android available on F-Droid. It's focused on removing any proprietary bits found in official Mozilla's builds. (thanks u/SupremeLisper)
Bromite
Repo
Privacy-focused/open-source build of Chromium with built-in ad blocking. (thanks u/SupremeLisper)
Privacy Browser
F-Droid
Repo
An open-source Android web browser focused on user privacy. It is released under the GPLv3+ license.

Calculator

Name Eyes Description
Simple Calculator
F-Droid
Repo
Also part of the SMT project. Available on F-Droid.
Calculator N+ or NCalc+
Repo
Open-source feature-rich calculator. App itself is no longer in development, but the developer does encourage pull requests. I've used it frequently and it works great. Not on F-Droid, but a 3rd party play store can probably find it; or the APK's are available as releases on GitHub. You can also compile from source.
Calculator++
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source calculator packed with features. Thanks @ghost

Calendar

Name Eyes Description
DAVx⁵
F-Droid
Repo
DAVx⁵ is an open-source CalDAV/CardDAV suite and sync app for Android.
ICSx⁵
F-Droid
ICSx⁵ is an Android app to subscribe to remote (“Webcal”) or local iCalendar files (like time tables of your school/university or event files of your sports team). Thanks @je-vv
Fruux (mobile app) Same service from above provides an Android app.
Etar
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source material design Calendar that integrates with the Android Calendar API. Can integrate with CalDAV/CardDAV servers.
Simple Calendar
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Part of the Simple Mobile Tools project.

Camera

Name Eyes Description
Open Camera
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source camera for Android. Thanks @je-vv

Clock

Name Eyes Description
Clock +
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source Alarm clock, timer, and stop watch.
Simple Alarm Clock
Repo
Exactly as it's name says; simple alarm clock yet adds many improvements over other apps. No dock mode or world clock.
Insane Alarm!
Repo
Developer states that he had "spent a night out with the boys and drank a bit too much but needed to be up in the morning". So, he made the loudest alarm clock possible based off an emergency alarm from when he was in the military. This app doesn't mess around, use it wisely.
Alarmio
F-Droid
Repo
An open-source simple alarm clock that implements many useful features while following regular design standards to ensure that it is quick and intuitive to use.

Contacts

Name Eyes Description
Fruux (mobile app) Fruux also provides a contacts app.
Simple Contacts
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Part of the Simple Mobile Tools project.
Open Contacts
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source contacts. (thanks u/consentio)

Android Messages (specifically SMS/MMS, not IM)

Name Eyes Description
QKSMS
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Very clean and feature rich SMS app. Available on F-Droid.
Silence.im
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source and utilizes Signal's encryption protocol. Seamlessly works with SMS. End-to-end encryption with other Silence users. Available on F-Droid.
Signal
Repo
Open-source. Signal possesses SMS/MMS capabilities on Android. Using it as your default SMS app has the advantage of having your SMS and your online-messaging-service integrated within one app. Doing so will also show stats within the app of how many messages you send are encrypted, and offers to send invites to your contacts.

Thanks @Glitchy-Tozier for suggesting it be listing as SMS/MMS alternative.

Gboard (Google Keyboard)

Name Eyes Description
AnySoftKeyboard
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source keyboard. Available on F-Droid.
Hacker's Keyboard'
F-Droid
Repo
Also open-source. Very useful for developers or sysadmins on the go.
kboard
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Has features for phrases, "lenny faces", macros and more. Note: Project appears to be abandoned.
Simple Keyboard
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source keyboard.
Indic Keyboard
Repo
Open-source keyboard that supports many languages that other keyboards sometimes don't support. Not on F-Droid, but can be built from source or possibly through a Play Store alternative.
OpenBoard
F-Droid
Repo
New 100% FOSS keyboard, based on AOSP. Similar to "Simple Keyboard".
FlorisBoard
F-Droid
Repo
An open-source keyboard aimed at providing you with an easy way to type while respecting your privacy (this project is currently in alpha stage).
8VIM
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. A "text editor inside a keyboard, drawing it's inspiration from 8pen and Vim."

Drive

Name Eyes Description
ownCloud Android
F-Droid
Repo
ownCloud Android client. Available on F-Droid.
Nextcloud Android
F-Droid
Repo
Nextcloud Android client. Available on F-Droid.
Syncthing Android
F-Droid
Repo
Wrapper of Syncthing for Android. Available on F-Droid. Also consider Syncthing-Fork which uses a native Android UI rather than the default web UI.

Gmail (smartphone app)

Name Eyes Description
Protonmail Can be downloaded from the Play Store, but may work with one of the store replacements above (such as Yalp).
Tutanota
F-Droid
14-eyes Client available from F-Droid.
Disroot
F-Droid
Available from F-Droid.
K-9 Mail
F-Droid
Available on F-Droid.
FairEmail
F-Droid
Available on F-Droid. You can (optionally) pay a 1-time fee to unlock some premium features (and support the developer).
DeltaChat
F-Droid
An email app with a chat-based UI and privacy support with autocrypt.
Mailbox.org 14-eyes Mailbox.org provides IMAP settings for Android/iOS and an iOS profile. Thanks @avasts Issue #45

Keep (or any stock note-taking app)

Name Eyes Description
Notepad
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Supports Markdown and HTML. Very clean and feature-rich. Offline only.
Joplin
Repo
Scroll down on the GitHub page until you reach the Android download links. No F-Droid repo, but you can download the APK directly instead of using the Play Store.
Standard Notes Encrypted note storage with loads of features.
Omni Notes
F-Droid
Repo
Very feature rich, open-source, material design notes app. Very active development. Available on F-Droid.
Carnet
F-Droid
Repo
I had some trouble finding info on this one. Looks like it has pretty seamless/painless ownCloud and NextCloud integration. Also available on F-Droid.
Markor
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source notes/to-do app for Android. Supports Markdown editing. Available on F-Droid. App is 100% offline, as stated on the GitHub README.
Orgzly
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source. Notes are stored in the plain-text Org mode format. Supports searching, metadata, and manual sync with Dropbox or local directory, which can be synced using e.g. Syncthing.
Notally
F-Droid
Repo
A beautiful, light and minimalistic notes app with no trackers, ads or analytics of any kind.
Nextcloud Notes for Android
F-Droid
Repo
An android client for Nextcloud Notes App.
Notesnook (mobile) A truly zero-knowledge note taking app, encrypted using XChaChaPoly1305-IETF & Argon2. It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and has browser extensions too. It is not self-hostable and follows a freemium model. Downloads are available on Google Play and the iOS App Store.

Maps/Waze

Name Eyes Description
Maps
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source navigation app based on MAPS.ME. Searching for addresses doesn't always work and finding businesses can be a slight hassle, but overall one of the better apps I've used.
OsmAnd
F-Droid
OpenStreetMap for Android. (thanks u/masao77). As OsmAnd is primarily crowdsourced, many regions may not be totally accurate. If you would like to help improve OpenStreetMap and OsmAnd, check out StreetComplete (available from F-Droid.
Transportr
Repo
Primarily European, this is an open-source public transport app. Thanks to @lgiard
Öffi (Offi)
F-Droid
Öffi is a public transport Android app (also shows delays and replacement bus service for more and more transport authorities in Europe and beyond) - similar to Transportr
Organic Maps
F-Droid
Repo
An Android & iOS offline maps app for travelers, tourists, hikers, and cyclists based on top of crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap data.

News

Name Eyes Description
Flym
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source Material Design RSS reader.
Feeder
F-Droid
Repo
Use good old-fashioned RSS feeds with Feeder

Photos

Name Eyes Description
Piwigo Android
Repo
You need to have Piwigo set up first.
Stingle Photos 5-eyes A convenient, easy to use Gallery/Camera application with Backup and Sync functionality for your photos and videos which seamlessly provides strong security, privacy and encryption. All photos and videos are encrypted prior to being stored and backed up, so they are secure at rest, in transit and on cloud storage.
ente
Repo
5-eyes A simple, end-to-end encrypted, open-source photo storage service with a focus on security and privacy. Apps are available for iOS, Android, web and desktop.

Pay

No known alternatives.

  • Realistically, there most likely is not a privacy friendly alternative to Google Pay. Get a wallet with RFID protection and keep your cards with you.

YouTube

Name Eyes Description
NewPipe
F-Droid
Repo
Powerful open-source YouTube alternative. Supports audio only; background playback; picture-in-picture; no ads.
YouTube Vanced Please read the XDA post before deciding to use this.

Authenticator

Name Eyes Description
andOTP
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source 2FA app.
FreeOTP+
F-Droid
Repo
FreeOTP is no longer in development so this fork should be used instead as it is currently in development.
Aegis
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source 2FA for Android. Available on F-Droid.
Authenticator
Repo
iOS - Open-source 2FA for iOS. (thanks u/SomeoneWannaBe)
Tofu
Repo
iOS - Open-source 2FA for iOS.
Raivo OTP
Repo
(iOS) A native, lightweight and secure one-time-password (OTP) client built for iOS.

Play Music/Play Movies & TV

Name Eyes Description
Audinaut
F-Droid
Repo
An open-source Airsonic client for Android.
MALP
F-Droid
Repo
An open-source Android client for MPD. Available on F-Droid.
Shuttle+
F-Droid
Repo
Open-source local music player for Android. Available on F-Droid or by direct download.

Hangouts

Name Eyes Description
Keybase 5-eyes Encrypted chat like Signal with features like Slack. Does not require a phone number to sign up. Also has file storage. Note: Keybase was acquired by Zoom, Inc. in May 2020 (Keybase blog, Zoom blog). Thanks @notpushkin & @multimob.
Conversations
F-Droid
Repo
14-eyes An open-source Android Jabber/XMPP client. It's a paid app on Google Play, but you can also build it from source for free if you want to.
Element
F-Droid
Repo
5-eyes Android app - The open-source Android client for Element.
Jitsi Meet (F-Droid)
F-Droid
Repo
Jitsi is an open-source secure video conferencing platform. No account is needed to use it, simply enter a Room Name to join or host a meeting. The host is able to kick rogue users from the call. Works directly in your browser, with apps available for iOS and Android. It is not necessary to self-host, but self-hosting is an option for those who wish to. Very low latency and easy to set up. A free public server is available at meet.jit.si. (5-eyes server)
Jami
F-Droid
5-eyes Audio / Video Calls, Conferences, Messaging app with peer-to-peer and end-to-end encrypted communications.
Mumla (client for Mumble)
F-Droid
Third-party Android client for Mumble.
Briar
Repo
An open-source app which supports Peer-to-Peer encrypted messaging. No phone number required for signing up. If the internets down, Briar can sync via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, keeping the information flowing in a crisis. If the internets up, Briar can sync via the Tor network, protecting users and their relationships from surveillance. Can install through a third-party F-Droid repo.
Session
Repo
Open-source. It is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that removes sensitive metadata collection. No phone number required to create an account. Can be downloaded from the Play Store or as an APK file from GitHub. Also has apps for iOS and Desktop.

Duo (video calls)

Name Eyes Description
Jitsi Meet (F-Droid)
F-Droid
Repo
Jitsi is an open-source secure video conferencing platform. No account is needed to use it, simply enter a Room Name to join or host a meeting. The host is able to kick rogue users from the call. Works directly in your browser, with apps available for iOS and Android. It is not necessary to self-host, but self-hosting is an option for those who wish to. Very low latency and easy to set up. A free public server is available at meet.jit.si. (5-eyes server)
Jami
F-Droid
5-eyes Audio / Video Calls, Conferences, Messaging app with peer-to-peer and end-to-end encrypted communications.

Assistant

Name Eyes Description
Mycroft Android
Repo
Android client for Mycroft. Must be built in IDE; no pre-built binaries are available.
Ara
Repo
Open-source virtual assistant for Android. Can replace Google Assistant (home button functionality) on most devices. Either uses the author's server by default, or you can run your own server. Thanks @FultonBrowne (author of Ara)

Play Services Framework

Name Eyes Description
microG A re-implementation of Googles proprietary Android user space apps and libraries. It allows to use more precise navigation (which is proprietary in standard Android ROMs) and optionally receive push messages (requires connection to Google's servers, but also supports routing this connection through Tor). Thanks @notpushkin

Android home screen launchers

Name Eyes Description
Shade Launcher
Repo
Open-source Android launcher styled after the Google Pixel launcher. Available to download from an alternative F-Droid, APK Mirror, or GitHub Releases.
Omega
Repo
Open-source launcher. Active development with lots of nice features. Downloads available from GitHub. Previously known as ZimLX which has since been replaced by Omega.
Lawnchair
F-Droid
Repo
Another open-source launcher, also built to look similar to Google's launcher (it is built off AOSP Launcher3). Available from F-Droid and also APKMirror. (thanks u/droidonomy)
KISS Launcher
F-Droid
Repo
Fast, open-source and small launcher. KISS mainly relies on an app-search-bar, which makes it very easy to open up apps quickly.

Other

Name Eyes Description
Blokada
F-Droid
Repo
From the website: "If you want to efficiently block ads, trackers, malware, save on your data plan, speed up your device and protect your privacy with just one application, then Blokada is for you. It is free, secure and open-source." Uses internal VPN on Android to block ads.
Nebulo
Repo
From GitHub README: "Nebulo is a free, open-source, no-root, light-weight dns-over-https, dns-over-tls, and dns-over-http-over-quic client for Android with emphasis on privacy and security. Nebulo is fast, highly-customizable, ad-free, efficient on the battery, contains zero analytics / tracking.
RethinkDNS + Firewall
F-Droid
Repo
From the website: "Rethink DNS + Firewall is the easiest way to monitor app activity, circumvent Internet censorship, block ads and trackers on your Android device."
TrackerControl
F-Droid
Repo
From the GitHub README: Allows users to monitor and control the widespread, ongoing, hidden data collection in mobile apps about user behaviour ("tracking"). To detect tracking, TrackerControl checks all network traffic against the Disconnect blocklist, used and trusted by the Mozilla Firefox browser. Thanks @E5dZEUpc3BKaJrHnQVZd5zE

Bulk apps

Name Eyes Description
EteSync
F-Droid
Repo
For Calendar & Contacts. Secure, end-to-end encrypted, and open-source sync for your contacts, calendars, tasks and notes.
EteSync (Notes)
F-Droid
Repo
For Keep. Secure, end-to-end encrypted, and open-source sync for your contacts, calendars, tasks and notes.

Hardware

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Nexus/Pixel

Name Eyes Description
This list Shows compatibility for rooting Android devices.
Purism Librem 5 5-eyes From the company that makes Purism laptops. Runs PureOS. Thanks @brandonnodnarb
PinePhone 5-eyes From the company that makes the Pine A64 Single Board Computer. Runs a variety of mainline Linux OSs with UIs adapted for mobile.

Chromebook

Name Eyes Description
TUXEDO 14-eyes Privacy-focused laptop maker out of Germany. Tech specs are very competent and can easily compete with other modern systems. Fully Linux compatible. They also offer desktops. (thanks u/itsec_ho)
Purism Laptops 5-eyes Privacy-focused laptop running PureOS. Good designs and decent hardware.
Pinebook Pro Mid-range Linux/FreeBSD alternative to Chromebook.
Slimbook A Spanish laptop manufacturer which makes Linux native laptops.

Chromecast

Name Eyes Description
Microsoft Wireless HDMI adapter 5-eyes The only reason I'm recommending this Microsoft product is because there is no possible way for it to extract any data and ship it off to Microsoft. If anyone is able to find proof that it can, I will remove it.

Google Home

Name Eyes Description
Mycroft
Repo
5-eyes Open-source virtual personal assistant. Can be run on a Raspberry Pi. (thanks u/Kentto7)
Home Assistant
Repo
Open-source home automation. (thanks u/bilange)

FitBit

No known alternatives.

Useful links, tools, and advice

Resources

Everything you need to become a privacy wizard. This section has two subsections: The first has links with self-explanatory titles, the second has more detailed descriptions.

Subsection 1

Subsection 2

  • AlternativeTo is a free service that helps you find better alternatives to the products you love and hate. Used extensively to build this guide.
  • block-all-google.sh is a script for blocking everything Google at the network level. This can and probably will break other alternatives that rely on Google to serve content.
  • Databunker is a network-based, self-hosted, GDPR compliant, secure database for personal data or PII.
  • ethical.net is a not-for-profit project building a collaborative, online directory of ethical companies of all kinds.
  • Firefox Profilemaker is a tool to help you create a Firefox profile with the defaults you like.
  • Fix Windows Privacy is a tool to disable privacy breaches on Windows 10.
  • Framasoft is a collection of alternative software. Too many to fit elsewhere in the list.
  • Go Incognito A guide to security, privacy, and anominity.
  • Go FOSS is a guide on ditching big-tech, with a focus on seven core areas.
  • Hybrid Analysis a free malware analysis service for the community that detects and analyzes unknown threats using a unique Hybrid Analysis technology. Powered by Falcon Sandbox, which is developed by CrowdStrike.
  • Outline is an awesome tool for getting all the junk out of news articles (I've used it a few times in this guide already). Sometimes it can get around paywalls for "premium" news sites.
  • Plexus Plexus is a website where you can check andriod app compatibility with microg or no google services. It is a crowdsourced project where people test an app's compatibility in those environments and then sumbit it to the database.
  • PRISM Break is a guide on how to opt out of global data surveillance programs like PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora.
  • PrivacyTools provides services, tools and knowledge to protect your privacy against global mass surveillance.
  • retiolus/privacysec is a collective guide built off the data of other guides, including this one, whose aim is to be translated into as many languages as possible.
  • r/Privacy wiki has a lot of useful information. This guide also automatically mirrors itself to the wiki!
  • r/VPN wiki to learn more about why you should consider using a VPN.
  • Switching.software is a collection of ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software.
  • VirusTotal lets you upload files and scans them against multiple antivirus programs at once. Very helpful for checking false negatives. Be aware that Alphabet Inc owns VirusTotal.
  • VPN Toolkit Community driven tools for VPNs. Includes a VPN finder, chart, and other useful imformation.
  • WindowsSpyBlocker (GitHub) is a tool to block spying and tracking on Windows.

Books

Back to top

Title Published Author
Permanent Record Published Edward Snowden
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now Published Jaron Lanier
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Published Shoshana Zuboff
The Attention Merchants Published Tim Wu
Zucked Published Roger McNamee
Privacy Is Power Published Carissa Véliz

Blog posts

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Title Published Author
Google Chromes users take a back seat to its bottom line Published Bennett Cyphers and Mitch Stoltz - EFF
Quitting Facebook & Google Published J. Nathan Matias
How to fight back against Google AMP as a web user and a web developer Published Marko Saric

News articles

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Title Published Author
Google Can Survive Too Much Innovation. You Can't. Published Robert Sher - Forbes
The truth about Google's famous '20% time' policy Published Jillian D'Onfro - Business Insider
The Binge Breaker Published Bianca Bosker - The Atlantic
How Malware Keeps Sneaking Past Google Plays Defenses Published Lily Hay Newman - WIRED
Forget Killer Robots — Bias Is the Real AI Danger Published Will Knight - MIT Technology Review
Google managers kept blacklists of conservative employees and one manager considered holding 'trials,' a new lawsuit alleges Published Julie Bort - Business Insider
A longtime Google engineer quits, saying the company is 100% competitor-focused and can no longer innovate Published Jillian D'Onfro - CNBC
Facebook and Google are doomed, George Soros says Published Hamza Shaban - Washington Post
Google Isn't Listening, So Its Employees Are Suing Published Kate Conger - Gizmodo
Google sees major claims of harassment and discrimination as lawsuits proceed Published Sam Levin - The Guardian
How to stop Google from tracking everything you do online Published Todd Haselton - CNBC
Google will always do evil Published Jessica Conditt - Engadget
Googles new AI principles forbid its use in weapons and human rights violations Published Devin Coldewey - TechCrunch
Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal Published Ryan Gallagher - The Intercept
Googles China plan isnt just evil — its bad for business Published Josh Rogin - Washington Post
How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the Father of Android Published Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner - New York Times
A New Google+ Blunder Exposed Data From 52.5 Million Users Published Lily Hay Newman - WIRED
Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech Published Nitasha Tiku - WIRED
Googles latest user-hostile design change makes ads and search results look identical Published Natasha Lomas - TechCrunch
You Are Now Remotely Controlled Published Shoshana Zuboff - New York Times

The lighter side

  • Movies & TV:
    • Snowden (2016) - Based on the true story of Edward Snowden, the CIA/NSA/etc whistleblower. Directed by Oliver Stone.
    • Deep Web (2015) - Documentary (narrated by Keanu Reeves) about Ross Ulbricht aka. Dread Pirate Roberts and the infamous "Silk Road" dark market. Directed by Alex Winter.
    • The Great Hack (2019) - Documentary about the FacebookCambridge Analytica data scandal. Thanks @woutfeys
    • Mr. Robot - Hacker-drama starring Rami Malek. Producers hired actual hackers as consultants to ensure the show is as accurate as possible; real-world tools used in the show.
    • Silicon Valley - Satirical tech comedy about a compression startup struggling to take off in Silicon Valley, California.
    • Shoshana Zuboff on surveillance capitalism | VPRO Documentary - Invidious instance and Hooktube
  • Podcasts:
    • Darknet Diaries (by Jack Rhysider) - Highlights real-life hackers and their stories. Covers privacy topics a fair bit.
    • The WAN Show (Linus Tech Tips) - Not specifically privacy, but they cover all sorts of tech news.
    • The Privacy, Security, & OSINT Show - "This weekly podcast presents ideas to help you become digitally invisible, stay secure from cyber threats, and make you a better online investigator."
    • Security Now! - "TechTV's Leo Laporte and I spend somewhat shy of two hours each week to discuss important issues of personal computer security." (Thanks u/Abaddon182)
    • Surveillance Report - "Weekly security and privacy news - Presented by Techlore & The New Oil "
  • Other:
    • xkcd - They have comics for everything.
    • System32 Comics Instagram and Reddit - Comedic computer comics.

Closing remarks

It's a shame that Google, with their immense resources, power, and influence, don't see the benefits of helping people secure themselves online. Instead, they force people like us to scour the web for alternatives and convince our friends and family to do the same, while they sell off our data to the highest bidder.

Hopefully this guide can serve as a starting point for those new to privacy, or be a good refresher for the experts.

Good luck and stay safe!

Stargazers over time

Stargazers over time