If you want to help out with the project, here are some ideas (submit **Issues**&**Pull Requests** on the [GitHub page](https://github.com/tycrek/degoogle)):
- **Share** this guide with everyone you know. Let them know why privacy matters and why they should care about it. Don't force it on them, but carefully ease them into it and don't scare them away from staying secure.
- **Donate** to non-profit organizations that support online privacy and security (see the [r/privacy](https://reddit.com/r/privacy) sidebar)
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.
- [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/) - **5-eyes** - One of the best privacy-focused search engines. Domain is hosted in USA which could potentially be problematic for some.
- [Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/) - **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](https://github.com/tycrek/degoogle/issues/12). Thanks @pydo, @ThijsRay, and @DatAres37.
- [MetaGer](https://metager.org/about) - **14-eyes** - MetaGer is the search engine project from the registered nonprofit organization SUMA E.V. in Germany.
- [Qwant](https://www.qwant.com/) - **9-eyes** - Major improvements since 2018's guide. *would prefer better info other than an outdated reference*
- [Swisscows](https://swisscows.ch/) - 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](https://swisscows.ch/en/datacenter) about page, it's really interesting.
- [Mojeek](https://www.mojeek.com/) - **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.
- [Cyberd](https://cyber.page/) - 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](https://github.com/cybercongress/congress/blob/master/ecosystem/ELI-5%20FAQ.md) for more info.
- [Toki](https://toki.com/) - Decentralized search engine. It is "designed to be anonymous, private and censorship-resistant." (Parent company is Swiss, which is outside of 5/9/14 Eyes, however in testing I connected to a few USA and Canadian servers).
- [BitChute](https://www.bitchute.com/) - **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)
- [Invidious](https://invidio.us/) - An [open-source](https://github.com/omarroth/invidious) 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](https://hooktube.com/) - A slightly better way to use actual YouTube. (Use as a "last resort")
- [LBRY](https://lbry.com/) - 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.
- [Subscribe to a (local) newspaper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lists_of_newspapers_by_country) and support independent and qualitative journalism.
- [DeepL](https://deepl.com/) - **14-eyes** - DeepL is an artifical intelligence translation service. *Editor note: The site server seems to be hosted in Finland, yet the company lists itself as [a company based in Germany](https://www.deepl.com/pro-faq.html) in the Data Protection section.*
- [GoatCounter](https://www.goatcounter.com/) - **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.
- [Piwigo](https://piwigo.org/) - **9-eyes** (self-hosted) - Self-hosted and open-source cloud photo manager. You can also sign up for an ["as a service" account](https://piwigo.com).
- [Lightning Calendar](https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/calendar/) (Thunderbird)- Developed by Mozilla Foundation and open-source. Integrates into Thunderbird and SeaMonkey.
- [Tutanota Calendar](https://tutanota.com/calendar/) - **14-eyes** - Developed by Tutanota. Free cross-platform encrypted calendar. Allows importing of other Calendar files.
- [Fruux](https://fruux.com/) - **14-eyes** - Open-source calendar using "sabre/dav" (open-source 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.
- [CryptPad](https://cryptpad.fr/) - **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](https://etherpad.org/) - 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](https://crypt.ee/) - 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](https://www.libreoffice.org/) and [Apache OpenOffice](https://www.openoffice.org/) - **14-eyes** - Both are open-source offline document suites.
- [LibreOffice Online](https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-online/) - **14-eyes** - Self-hosted instance of LibreOffice that you can run in your browser. Thanks @flubberding
- [ONLYOFFICE](https://www.onlyoffice.com) - Open-source private cloud replacement for Google Docs'suite and Office 360. Also available as a self contained rich application.
- [LyX](https://www.lyx.org/) - 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. Thanks @Glitchy-Tozier
- [Njalla](https://njal.la/) - **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)
- Drive
- [ownCloud](https://owncloud.org/) - **14-eyes** - Open-source and self-hosted. Provide your own storage.
- [Syncthing](https://syncthing.net/) - **9-eyes** - An interesting take on cloud storage: decentralized. Peer-to-peer between only your devices. Software is open-source and available on GitHub.
- [Armored](https://armored.net/) - **9-eyes** - Nextcloud instance hosted by Epik.com. Paid plans with 30-day trial. Servers in a "secure bunker" in Norway. Supports other Nextcloud features such as Nextcloud Talk.
- [Cozy Cloud](https://cozy.io/) - **9-eyes** - French based cloud storage provider with free and paid plans. Can also be self-hosted. Open-Source. And it also offers a collaborative notes editor.
- *Editor note: I'm not including MEGA. I do not recommend MEGA. It's far too controversial and far too difficult to figure out who actually owns the service. Also, it's a 5-eyes.*
- [Tox](https://tox.chat/) - 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](https://wire.com/en/) - **14-eyes** - Uses end-to-end encryption. Looks to be more of a corporate service with tiered plans.
- [Riot](https://about.riot.im/) - **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. It is 100% free and open-source with no paid plans.
- [Threema](https://threema.ch/en) - 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
- *Editor note: See [this article](https://outline.com/BK8f7h) 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).*
- [Protonmail](https://protonmail.com/) - 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".
- [Joplin](https://joplinapp.org/) - 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](https://standardnotes.org/) - 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.
- [Jellyfin](https://jellyfin.github.io/) - 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).
- [Airsonic](https://airsonic.github.io/) - **Music only** - 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](https://www.musicpd.org/) - A "flexible, powerful, server-side application for playing music".
- [Popcorn Time](https://popcorntime.sh/faq) - 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
- *Editor note: I can no longer recommend [Emby](https://emby.media/) as they are [no longer open-source](https://www.linuxuprising.com/2018/12/jellyfin-free-software-emby-media.html).*
- Thanks to u/eA8KESARaW6iqCpHsbE4 for suggesting Jellyfin and pointing out that Emby isn't open-source.
- Fonts
- [Open Font Library](https://fontlibrary.org/) - **5-eyes** - Lots of Serif and Sans-Serif fonts that can be directly embedded into a website.
- [google webfonts helper](https://google-webfonts-helper.herokuapp.com/fonts) - **5-eyes** - Hassle-free way for webmasters to self-host open-source Fonts from "Google Fonts"
- [Canvas](https://www.instructure.com/canvas) Paid service by Instructure. Also available as a [self-hosted, open source option](https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms). To ensure privacy, use the self-hosted option.
- [OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/) **9-eyes** - Collaborative project to create a free, editable map of the world (from Wikipedia). Completely crowdsourced. Very strong alternative to Maps.
- [Mapillary](https://www.mapillary.com/app/) - **14-eyes** - Crowdsourced street-level imagery built on top of OpenStreetMap. Open source. Includes map data generated with object recognition software. Coverage is lacking in many cities but can always be improved upon.
- [Transportr](https://transportr.app/) 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.
- ~~[CopperheadOS](https://copperhead.co/android/) - **5-eyes** - A "secure" version of Android from Canada.~~
- u/poto-tomato pointed out that CopperheadOS is [no longer active](https://old.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/comments/8qdnn3/goodbye/). It has now evolved into a [new project](https://old.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/comments/b6muvh/androidhardening_project_renamed_to_grapheneos/) under the name [GrapheneOS](https://github.com/GrapheneOS).
- [postmarketOS](https://postmarketos.org/) - Open-source mobile Linux OS. Can install different user interfaces such as [Plasma Mobile](https://www.plasma-mobile.org/). Thanks @okias
- [Subgraph OS](https://subgraph.com/index.en.html) - A desktop computing and communications platform that is designed to be resistant to network-borne exploit and malware attacks.
- [PureOS](https://pureos.net/) - **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.*
- [AsteroidOS](https://asteroidos.org/) - **14-eyes** - The cleanest (and only) open-source alternative for Wear OS. Make sure you buy a watch that supports it!
- [Kodi](https://kodi.tv/) - 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](https://osmc.tv/) - Free, open source media center OS. Kodi is pre-installed. Thanks to @g4rret and @lgiard for clarifying the difference between Kodi and OSMC!
- [Ungoogled Chromium](https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium) - 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.
- [Waterfox](https://www.waterfox.net/) - Based on Firefox, but specifically 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](https://github.com/MrAlex94/) and is constantly in active development.. Looks very clean and fast. Android versions are in the works too.
- [Vivaldi](https://vivaldi.com/) - Privacy-focused browser. Appears to be very customizable and feature-rich.
- [Brave](https://brave.com/) - Another very popular privacy-focused browser. Boasts "up to 8x faster than Chrome and Safari". Automatically blocks ads and trackers so you don't have to.
- [Tor Browser](https://www.torproject.org/download/) - Firefox-based browser routed through the onion network. Automatically has a few privacy extensions installed (such as HTTPS Everywhere). Be careful using it in public though, as it *can* look like a pretty suspicious piece of software. Available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android.
- Earth
- Different from Maps Satellite in the sense that Earth has tons of complex features that require desktop software to be installed.
- [KDE Marble](https://kde.org/applications/education/org.kde.marble) - Strong alternative for G Earth. Currently only on Linux, but is being ported to other platforms. Thanks to @PopeRigby
- [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/) - 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.
- [Aptoide](https://www.aptoide.com/) - Marketplace for Android apps. Publishers/developers manage their own stores rather than a centralized market such as Google Play Store.
- [Yalp Store](https://github.com/yeriomin/YalpStore) - 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.
- [APKMirror](https://www.apkmirror.com/) - 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](https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore) - 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](https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/blob/master/README.md)). It can also utilize [microG](https://microg.org/) if you wish to use *very minimal* Google Play services. Thanks @RefexHD for clarifying.
- [Fossdroid](https://fossdroid.com/) - 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](https://gitlab.com/gdroid/gdroidclient/) - Also uses the F-Droid repo but with a different UI.
- [APKGrabber](https://github.com/hemker/apkgrabber) - Fork of [APKUpdater](https://github.com/rumboalla/apkupdater). Both are great tools for avoiding app stores (on Android).
- [Aurora Droid](https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-aurora-droid-fdroid-client-t3932663) - Yet another F-Droid client, potentially has a few bugs (thanks u/OfficialJohnGL4)
- [Fennec F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/) - 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](https://www.bromite.org/) - Privacy-focused/open-source build of Chromium with built-in ad blocking. (thanks u/SupremeLisper)
- [Simple Calculator](https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Calculator) - Also part of the SMT project. Available on F-Droid.
- [Calculator N+](https://github.com/tranleduy2000/ncalc) (or NCalc+) - Open-source feature-rich calculator. App itself is no longer in development, but the developer does [encourage pull requests](https://github.com/tranleduy2000/ncalc#calculator-n---powerful-calculator-for-android). 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.
- Calendar
- [Fruux (mobile app)](https://fruux.com/) - Same service from above provides an Android app.
- [Etar](https://github.com/xsoh/Etar-Calendar) - Open-source material design Calendar that integrates with the Android Calendar API. If you have a CalDAV/CardDAV server, I recommend using [DAVx5](https://www.davx5.com/) to sync with it. Available from F-Droid. Also look at [ICSx5](https://icsx5.bitfire.at/), another WebDav/CalDav client that can integrate with calendar apps. Also available from F-Droid. Thanks @je-vv for ICSx5.
- Camera
- [Open Camera](https://opencamera.sourceforge.io/) - Open source camera for Android. Thanks @je-vv
- [Clock +](https://github.com/philliphsu/ClockPlus) - Open-source Alarm clock, timer, and stop watch. Available from F-Droid.
- [Simple Alarm Clock](https://github.com/yuriykulikov/AlarmClock) - Exactly as it's name says; simple alarm clock yet adds many improvements over other apps. No dock mode or world clock.
- [Insane Alarm!](https://github.com/RIAEvangelist/insane-alarm) - 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.
- [Simple Contacts](https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts) - Open-source. Part of the [Simple Mobile Tools](https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools) project. Available from F-Droid.
- [QKSMS](https://github.com/moezbhatti/qksms) - Open-source. Very clean and feature rich SMS app.
- [Silence.im](https://silence.im/) - Open-source and utilizes Signal's encryption protocol. Seamlessly works with SMS. End-to-end encryption with other Silence users.
- *Both Messages replacements are available on F-Droid*
- Gboard
- [AnySoftKeyboard](https://anysoftkeyboard.github.io/) - Open-source keyboard. Available on F-Droid.
- [Hacker's Keyboard](https://github.com/klausw/hackerskeyboard) - Also open-source. Very useful for developers or sysadmins on the go.
- [kboard](https://github.com/adgad/kboard) - Open-source. Has features for phrases, "lenny faces", macros and more.
- [Simple Keyboard](https://github.com/rkkr/simple-keyboard) - Open-source, available from F-Droid.
- [Indic Keyboard](https://gitlab.com/indicproject/indic-keyboard) - 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.
- [Syncthing Android](https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-android) - Wrapper of Syncthing for Android
- *All Drive replacements are available on F-Droid*
- Gmail
- [Protonmail](https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/android/) - Can be downloaded from the Play Store, but may work with one of the store replacements above (such as Yalp).
- Posteo - Any **open-source mail client** such as: [K-9 Mail](https://k9mail.github.io/) and [FairEmail](https://email.faircode.eu/). Both are available on F-Droid.
- [Disroot](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.disroot.disrootapp/) - Available from F-Droid.
- Keep (or any stock note-taking app)
- [Notepad](https://github.com/farmerbb/Notepad) - Open-source and available from F-Droid. Supports Markdown and HTML. Very clean and feature-rich. *Offline only*.
- [Joplin](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin) for Android - 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](https://standardnotes.org/) - Encrypted note storage with loads of features.
- [Omni Notes](https://omninotes.app/) - Very feature rich, open-source, material design notes app. Very active development. Available on F-Droid.
- [Carnet](https://github.com/PhieF/CarnetDocumentation) - 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](https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html) - 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](https://github.com/gsantner/markor#privacy).
- [Orgzly](http://orgzly.com/) Open-source and available from F-Droid. Notes are stored in the plain-text [Org mode](https://orgmode.org/) format. Supports searching, metadata, and manual sync with Dropbox or local directory, which can be synced using e.g. Syncthing.
- [Maps](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.maps/) - Available from F-Droid. 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](https://osmand.net/) - 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](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete). It is available from [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.westnordost.streetcomplete/).
- Note: 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.
- [NewPipe](https://newpipe.schabi.org/) - Powerful open-source YouTube alternative available from F-Droid. Supports audio only; background playback; picture-in-picture; no ads.
- [FreeTube](https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube) - Open-source YouTube client that uses the Invidio.us API to serve content. Not on F-Droid, but you can download the APK from GitHub. (thanks u/wesaphzt)
- [YouTube Vanced](https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-youtube-vanced-edition-t3758757) (if you are desperate) - Please read the XDA post before deciding to use this.
- [FreeOTP+](https://github.com/helloworld1/FreeOTPPlus) - FreeOTP is no longer in development so this fork should be used instead as it is currently in development. Available from F-Droid.
- [Aegis](https://github.com/beemdevelopment/Aegis) - Open-source 2FA for Android. Available on F-Droid.
- [Conversations](https://conversations.im/) - **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](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations) for free if you want to.
- [Mycroft Android](https://github.com/MycroftAI/Mycroft-Android) - Android client for Mycroft. Must be built in IDE; no pre-built binaries are available.
- [Shade Launcher](https://github.com/amirzaidi/Shade) - Open-source Android launcher styled after the Google Pixel launcher. No F-Droid, but you can download the APK from GitHub.
- [ZimLX](https://github.com/otakuhqz/ZimLX) - Open-source launcher. Active development with lots of nice features. Available from F-Droid.
- [Lawnchair](https://lawnchair.app/) - 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)
- Literally any other laptop with some form of Linux, *or*
- [TUXEDO](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/) - **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)
- [Microsoft Wireless HDMI adapter](https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/adapters/wireless-display-adapter-2/p3q-00001) - **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 someone finds proof that it *can*, I will remove it.
- *Due to Google's [recent acquisition of FitBit](https://outline.com/tsJCYN), it is recommended to avoid using FitBit. Instead, check out this [list of smart watches](https://asteroidos.org/install/) supported by Asteroid OS (See Wear OS in [Operating systems](#operating-systems)). Thanks @ribtoks*
- [AlternativeTo](https://alternativeto.net/) - Find alternatives for software. Used extensively to build this guide. Also check out [Switching.software](https://switching.software/) (thanks @mynamesleon)
- [Framasoft](https://framasoft.org/en/) - Lots of alternatives and software. Too many to fit into the list. Also check out [this link](https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/). Thanks @NicolasPA
- [r/VPN](https://old.reddit.com/r/VPN/) - Read the sidebar and [wiki](https://old.reddit.com/r/VPN/wiki/index) to learn more about why you should consider using a VPN. I personally use [Mullvad](https://mullvad.net) but do your own research before choosing.
- [Four Methods to Create a Secure Password You'll Actually Remember](https://outline.com/XuMTFA)
- [How to Create a Strong Password (and Remember It)](https://outline.com/dqfuqL)
- Use a [password manager](https://outline.com/NC69FD) such as [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com)
- Set up [multi-factor/two-factor authentication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication) on as many accounts as you can
- Don't save passwords to your browser: [Erase the entire password cache](http://www.wikihow.com/Delete-Remembered-Passwords) once you set up a password manager.
- [Remove bloatware from Android (without root)](https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/)
- [What are 5-eyes, 9-eyes, and 14-eyes?](https://restoreprivacy.com/5-eyes-9-eyes-14-eyes/)
- [Outline](https://outline.com/) 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.
- [What is Tor and should I use it?](https://outline.com/JRCscH)
- The EFF has an [excellent guide](https://ssd.eff.org/) on how to stay safe and secure online. It is incredibly useful and I suggest that everyone read through it.
- Click [here](https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-10-telemetry) and [here](https://winaero.com/blog/how-to-disable-telemetry-and-data-collection-in-windows-10/) for tips on disabling Windows 10 telemetry/data collection.
- Click [here](https://duckduckgo.com/newsletter) to sign up for DuckDuckGo's privacy newsletter, and [here](https://spreadprivacy.com/) for more tips, articles, and blog posts from DuckDuckGo.
- [Delete Facebook](https://deletefacebook.com/). Another guide can be found [here](https://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-Delete-a-Facebook-Account).
- [Why you should put tape over your webcam](https://outline.com/fYCu98)
- [What is DNS and why should I change it?](https://outline.com/8jsWXw) I think it's common sense to not use Google Public DNS; I use and recommend [Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1](https://1.1.1.1/). Use [DNSPerf](https://www.dnsperf.com/#!dns-resolvers) to see which one is fastest for you (Google ranks 4th and Cloudflare ranks 1st at time of writing this).
- What is GDPR? [TechRadar](https://outline.com/6sjd76) and [The Guardian](https://outline.com/exmSpf)
- [Here](https://github.com/lfit/itpol/blob/master/linux-workstation-security.md) is a really good guide for configuring a super secure Linux workstation (thanks u/aoeudhtns)
- [A website to raise awareness of online privacy](https://theytrackyou.com/). Lot's of good tips in here (thanks u/brais33)
- [Windows 10 Privacy Guide](https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1903.frag) (thanks again u/rightknobhead)
- Check out [Prism Break](https://prism-break.org/en/) (thanks u/FrontierPsycho)
- [Guide for Linux users](https://github.com/wesaphzt/block-all-google) on blocking everything Google at the network level. This can and probably will break other alternatives that rely on Google to serve content. Thanks u/wesaphzt
- u/wesaphzt also provided [this](https://github.com/pyllyukko/user.js), [this](https://ffprofile.com/), and [this](https://www.privacytools.io/browsers/#about_config) for hardening Firefox.
- Check out [WindowsSpyBlocker](https://github.com/crazy-max/WindowsSpyBlocker) and [this tutorial](https://github.com/adolfintel/Windows10-Privacy) for even more Windows 10 tips (thanks u/rudolf323)
- [Jaron Lanier | Ten arguments for deleting your social media accounts right now](http://www.jaronlanier.com/tenarguments.html) (2018)
- [Shoshana Zuboff | The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power](https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/shoshana-zuboff/the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism/9781610395694/) (2019)
- [Electronic Frontier Foundation | Blog 20181101: Google Chrome’s users take a back seat to its bottom line](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/11/google-chromes-users-take-back-seat-its-bottom-line)
- Click [here](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/internet-health/privacy-security/) and [here](https://blog.mozilla.org/internetcitizen/2017/01/30/15-privacy-tips-protect-online-life/) for tips from the Mozilla Foundation on internet privacy and security.
- [Forbes | 20120515: Google can survive too much innovation. You can’t.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/05/15/google-can-survive-too-much-innovation-you-cant/#37ff02f66003)
- [Business Insider | 20150417: The truth about Google’s famous ’20% time’ policy](https://www.businessinsider.com/google-20-percent-time-policy-2015-4)
- [The Atlantic | 20161101: The binge breaker](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-binge-breaker/501122/)
- [WIRED | 20170922: How malware keeps sneaking past Google Play’s defenses](https://www.wired.com/story/google-play-store-malware/)
- [MIT Technology Review | 20171003: Forget killer robots - bias is the real AI danger](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608986/forget-killer-robotsbias-is-the-real-ai-danger/)
- [Business Insider | 20180108: Google managers kept blacklists of conservative employees and one manager considered holding ‘trials,’ a new lawsuit alleges](https://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-google-employees-are-blacklisted-lawsuit-alleges-2018-1)
- [CNBC | 20180124: A longtime Google engineer quits, saying the company is now ‘100% competitor-focused’](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/24/google-engineer-steve-yege-calls-company-100-percent-competitor-focused.html)
- [Washington Post | 20180126: Facebook and Google are doomed, George Soros says](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/01/26/facebook-and-google-are-doomed-george-soros-says/)
- [Gizmodo | 20180326: Google isn’t listening, so its employees are suing](https://gizmodo.com/google-isnt-listening-so-its-employees-are-suing-1823611720)
- [The Guardian | 20180328: Google sees major claims of harassment and discrimination as lawsuits proceed](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/28/google-sexual-harassment-pay-gap-lawsuits-proceed)
- [CNBC | 20180511: How to stop Google from tracking everything you do online](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/how-to-stop-google-from-tracking-me-online.html)
- [Engadget | 20180524: Google will always do evil](https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/google-will-always-do-evil/)
- [TechCrunch | 20180607: Google’s new ‘AI principles’ forbid its use in weapons and human rights violations](https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/07/googles-new-ai-principles-forbid-its-use-in-weapons-and-human-rights-violations/)
- [The Intercept | 20180801: Google plans to launch censored search engine in China, leaked documents reveal](https://theintercept.com/2018/08/01/google-china-search-engine-censorship/)
- [Washington Post | 20180809: Opinion - Google’s China plan isn’t just evil - it’s bad for business](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/googles-china-plan-isnt-just-evil--its-bad-for-business/2018/08/09/143046be-9c12-11e8-8d5e-c6c594024954_story.html)
- [The New York Times | 20181025: How Google protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android’](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google-sexual-harassment-andy-rubin.html)
- [WIRED | 20181210: A new Google+ blunder exposed data from 52.5 million users](https://www.wired.com/story/google-plus-bug-52-million-users-data-exposed/)
- [WIRED | 20190813: Three years of misery inside Google, the happiest company in tech](https://www.wired.com/story/inside-google-three-years-misery-happiest-company-tech/)
- [TechCrunch | 20200123: Google’s latest user-hostile design change makes ads and search results look identical](https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/23/squint-and-youll-click-it/)
- [The New York Times | 20200124: You are now remotely controlled](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/opinion/sunday/surveillance-capitalism.html)
- *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.
- *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.
- [Darknet Diaries](https://darknetdiaries.com/) (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](https://inteltechniques.com/podcast.html) - "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!](https://www.grc.com/SecurityNow.htm) - "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)
- [xkcd](https://xkcd.com/) - They have comics for *everything*.
- System32 Comics [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/system32comics/) and [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/System32Comics/) - Comedic computer comics.
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.
