This guide aims to be the most exhaustive resource available for documenting alternatives to Google products. It has become one of the most popular guides on Restore Privacy and is regularly updated with new information. – June 2019 update
With growing concerns over online privacy and securing personal data, more people than ever are considering alternatives to Google products.
After all, Google’s business model essentially revolves around data collection and advertisements, both of which infringe on your privacy. More data means better (targeted) ads and more revenue. The company pulled in over $116 billion in ad revenue last year alone – and that number continues to grow.
But the word is getting out. A growing number of people are seeking alternatives to Google products that respect their privacy and data.
So let’s get started.
Note: The lists below are not necessarily in rank order. Choose the best products and services based on your own unique needs.
Google search alternatives
When it comes to privacy, using Google search is not a good idea. When you use their search engine, Google is recording your IP address, search terms, user agent, and often a unique identifier, which is stored in cookies.
Here are ten alternatives to Google search:
- Searx – A privacy-friendly and versatile metasearch engine that’s also open source.
- MetaGer – An open source metasearch engine with good features, based in Germany.
- SwissCows – A zero-tracking private search engine based in Switzerland, hosted on secure Swiss infrastructure.
- Qwant – A private search engine based in France.
- DuckDuckGo – A private search engine based in the US.
- Mojeek – The only true search engine (rather than metasearch engine) that has its own crawler and index (based in the UK).
- YaCy – A decentralized, open source, peer-to-peer search engine.
- Givero – Based in Denmark, Givero offers more privacy than Google and combines search with charitable donations.
- Ecosia – Ecosia is based in Germany and donates a part of revenues to planting trees.
*Note: With the exception of Mojeek, all of the private search engines above are technically metasearch engines, since they source their results from other search engines, such as Bing and Google.
See the new and updated best private search engines guide for additional information. (Startpage is no longer recommended.)
Gmail alternatives
Gmail may be convenient and popular, but there are three major problems:
- Your inbox is used as a data collection tool. (Did you know Google is tracking your purchasing history from the receipts in your inbox?)
- Rather than seeing just emails, your email inbox is also used for ads and marketing.
- The contents of your inbox are being shared with Google and other random third parties.
When you remain logged in to your Gmail account, Google can easily track your activities online as you browse different websites, which may be hosting Google Analytics or Google ads (Adsense).
Here are ten alternatives to Gmail that do well in terms of privacy:
- Tutanota – based in Germany; very secure and private; free accounts up to 1 GB
- Mailfence – based in Belgium; lots of features; free accounts up to 500 MB
- Posteo – based in Germany; €1/mo with 14 day refund window
- StartMail – based in Netherlands; $5.00/mo with 7 day free trial
- Runbox – based in Norway; lots of storage and features; $1.66/mo with 30 day free trial
- Mailbox.org – based in Germany; €1/mo with 30 day free trial
- CounterMail – based in Sweden; $4.00/mo with 7 day free trial
- Kolab Now – based in Switzerland; €4.41/mo with 30 day money-back guarantee
- ProtonMail – based in Switzerland; free accounts up to 500 MB
- Thexyz – based in Canada; $1.95/mo with 30 day refund window
More information on these providers is available in the secure and private email services guide.
Chrome alternatives
Google Chrome is a popular browser, but it’s also a data collection tool – and many people are taking notice. Just a few days ago, the Washington Post asserted that “Google’s web browser has become spy software,” with 11,000 tracker cookies observed in a single week.
Here are seven alternatives for more privacy:
- Firefox browser – Firefox is a very customizable, open-source browser that is popular in privacy circles. There are also many different Firefox modifications and tweaks that will give you more privacy and security. (Also check out Firefox Focus, a privacy-focused version for mobile users.)
- Iridium – Based on open source Chromium, Iridium offers numerous privacy and security enhancements over Chrome, source code here.
- GNU IceCat – A fork of Firefox from the Free Software Foundation.
- Tor browser – A hardened and secured version of Firefox that runs on the Tor network by default. (It also does a good job against browser fingerprinting.)
- Ungoogled Chromium – Just as the name says, this is an open source version of Chromium that has been “ungoogled” and modified for more privacy.
- Brave – Brave is another Chromium-based browser that is rather popular. It blocks trackers and ads by default (except for “approved” ads that are part of the “Brave Ads” network).
- Waterfox – This is a fork of Firefox that is configured for more privacy by default, with Mozilla telemetry stripped out of the code.
Of course, there are other alternatives to Chrome, such as Safari (from Apple), Microsoft Internet Explorer/Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi – but these also come with some privacy drawbacks. More discussion on this topic can be found in the guide on secure and private browsers.
Google Drive alternatives
If you’re looking for a secure cloud storage option, you can check out these Google Drive alternatives:
- Tresorit – A user-friendly cloud storage option based in Switzerland.
- ownCloud – An open source and self-hosted cloud platform developed in Germany.
- Nextcloud – Nextcloud is also an open source, self-hosted file sharing and collaboration platform, based in Germany.
- Sync – Based in Canada, Sync offers a secure, encrypted cloud storage solution for businesses and individuals.
- Syncthing – Here we have a decentralized, open source, peer-to-peer cloud storage platform.
Of course, Dropbox is another popular Google drive alternative, but it’s not the best in terms of privacy.
Google Calendar alternative
Here are some Google Calendar alternatives:
- Lightening Calendar is an open source calendar option developed by Mozilla, and it’s compatible with Thunderbird and Seamonkey.
- Etar, an open source, basic calendar option.
- Fruux, an open source calendar with good features and support for many operating systems.
For those wanting a combined solution for both email and calendar functionality, these providers offer that:
Google Docs / Sheets / Slides alternative
There are many solid Google Docs alternatives available. The largest offline document editing suite is, of course, Microsoft Office. As most people know, however, Microsoft is not the best company for privacy. Nonetheless, there are a few other good Google Docs alternatives:
- CryptPad – CryptPad is a privacy-focused alternative with strong encryption, and it’s free.
- Etherpad – A self-hosted collaborative online editor that’s also open source.
- Mailfence Documents – From the Mailfence team, this is a secure file sharing, storage, and collaboration tool.
- Zoho Docs – This is another good Google Docs alternative with a clean interface and good functionality, although it may not be the best for privacy.
- OnlyOffice – OnlyOffice feels a bit more restricted than some of the other options in terms of features.
- Cryptee – This is a privacy-focused platform for photo and document storage and editing. It’s open source and based in Estonia.
- LibreOffice (offline) – You can use LibreOffice which is free and open source.
- Apache OpenOffice (offline) – Another good open source office suite.
Google Photos alternative
Here are a few good Google Photos alternatives:
- Piwigo – Piwigo is a great option that you can self-host. It is also free and open source.
- Lychee – Lychee is another self-hosted, open source photo management platform.
- Cryptee – Mentioned already above, Cyrptee is also a great option for securely storing photos.
Shoebox was another alternative, but it closed operations in June 2019.
YouTube alternatives
Unfortunately, YouTube alternatives can really be hit or miss, with most struggling to gain popularity.
Tip: Invidio.us is a great Youtube proxy that allows you to watch any Youtube video without logging in, even if the video is somehow restricted. To do this, simply replace [www.youtube.com] with [invidio.us] in the URL you want to view.
Google translate alternative
Here are a few Google translate alternatives I have come across:
- DeepL – DeepL is a solid Google Translate alternative that seems to give great results. Like Google Translate, DeepL allows you to post up to 5,000 characters at a time (but the pro version is unlimited). The user interface is good and there is also a built-in dictionary feature.
- Linguee – Linguee does not allow you to post large blocks of text like DeepL. However, Linguee will give you very accurate translations for single words or phrases, along with context examples.
- dict.cc – This Google Translate alternative seems to do a decent job on single-world lookups, but it also feels a bit outdated.
- Swisscows Translate – A good translation service supporting many languages.
If you want to translate blocks of text, check out DeepL. If you want in-depth translations for single words or phrases, then Linguee is a good choice.
Google analytics alternative
For website admins, there are many reasons to use an alternative to Google analytics. Aside from privacy concerns, there are also faster and more user-friendly alternatives that also respect your visitors’ privacy.
- Clicky is a great alternative to Google Analytics that truncates and anonymizes visitor IP addresses by default. It is lightweight, user-friendly, and fully compliant with GDPR regulations, while also being certified by Privacy Shield.
- Matomo (formerly Piwik) is an open-source analytics platform that respects the privacy of visitors by anonymizing and truncating visitor IP addresses (if enabled by the website admin). It is also certified to respect user privacy.
- Fathom Analytics is an open source alternative to Google Analytics that’s available on Github here. It’s minimal, fast, and lightweight.
- Get Insights – Another privacy-focused analytics platform, with a full analytics suite. The front-end client is open source and available here.
- AT Internet is a France-based analytics provider that is fully GDPR compliant, with all data stored on French servers, and a good track record going back to 1996.
Many websites host Google Analytics because they run Google Adsense campaigns. Without Google Analytics, tracking performance of these campaigns would be difficult. Nonetheless, there are still better options for privacy.
Google Maps alternative
A map alternative for PCs is OpenStreetMap.
A few Google Maps alternatives for mobile devices include:
- OsmAnd is a free and open-source mobile maps app for both Android and iOS (based on OpenStreetMap data).
- Maps (F Droid) uses OpenStreetMap data (offline).
- Here WeGo provides good mapping solutions for both PCs and mobile devices with their app.
- Maps.Me is another option that is free on both Android and iOS, but there is a fair amount of data collection with this alternative, as explained in their privacy policy.
- MapHub is also based on OpenStreeMap data and it does not collect locations or user IP addresses.
Note: Waze is not an “alternative” as it is now owned by Google.
Google Play Store alternative
Currently the best Google Play Store alternative is to use F-Droid and then go through the Yalp store. As explained on the official site, F-Droid is an installable catalog of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform.
After you have installed F-Droid, you can then download the Yalp store APK, which allows you to download apps from the Google Play Store directly as APK files.
See the F-Droid website or the official GitHub page for more info. Other alternatives to the Google Play Store include:
- Aptoide – An independent marketplace for Android apps.
- APKMirror – This is a large library of APK files uploaded by different users (be careful).
- Aurora Store – A fork of the Yalp Store.
Google Chrome OS alternative
Want to ditch the Chromebook and Chrome OS? Here are a few alternatives:
- Linux – Of course, Linux is arguably the best alternative, being a free, open-source operating system with lots of different flavors. With some adjustments, Linux Ubuntu can be run on Chromebooks.
- Tails – Tails is a free, privacy-focused operating system based on Linux that routes all traffic through the Tor network.
- QubesOS – Recommended by Snowden, free, and also open source.
Of course, the other two big operating system alternatives are Windows and Apple’s operating system for MacBooks – Mac OS. Windows, particularly Windows 10, is a very bad option for privacy. While slightly better, Apple also collects user data and has partnered with the NSA for surveillance.
Android alternatives
The biggest alternative to Android is iOS from Apple. But we’ll skip over that for reasons already mentioned. Here are a few Android OS alternatives:
- LineageOS – A free and open-source operating system for phones and tablets based on Android.
- Ubuntu Touch – A mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system.
- Plasma Mobile – An open source, Linux-based operating system with active development.
- Sailfish OS – Another open source, Linux-based mobile OS.
- Replicant – A fully free Android distribution with an emphasis on freedom, privacy, and security.
- /e/ – This is another open source project with a focus on privacy and security.
Purism is also working on a privacy-focused mobile phone called the Librem 5. It is in production, but not yet available (estimated Q3 2019).
Google Hangouts alternatives
Here are some alternatives to Google Hangouts:
- Wire – A great all-around secure messenger, video, and chat app, but somewhat limited on the number of people who can chat together in a group conversation via voice or video.
- Signal – A good secure messenger platform from Open Whisper Systems.
- Telegram – A longtime secure messenger app, formerly based in Russia, now in Dubai.
- Riot – A privacy-focused encrypted chat service that is also open source.
Google Domains alternative
Google Domains is a domain registration service. Here are a few alternatives:
- Namecheap – I like Namecheap because all domain purchases now come with free WhoisGuard protection for life, which protects your contact information from third parties. Namecheap also accepts Bitcoin and offers domain registration, hosting, email, SSL certs, and a variety of other products.
- Njalla – Njalla is a privacy-focused domain registration service based in Nevis. They offer hosting options, too, and also accept cryptocurrency payments.
- OrangeWebsite – OrangeWebsite offers anonymous domain registration services and also accepts cryptocurrency payments, based in Iceland.
Other Google alternatives
Here more alternatives for various Google products:
Google forms alternative – JotForm is a free online form builder.
Google Keep alternative – Below are a few different Google Keep alternatives:
- Standard Notes is a great alternative for a note-taking service. It is secure, encrypted, and free with apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android (web-based also available).
- Joplin is another great option that is open source and works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
- Zoho Notebook from Zoho, with apps for desktop and mobile devices.
- QOwnNotes is an open source file editor with Nextcloud integration.
Google Fonts alternative – Many websites load Google fonts through Google APIs, but that’s not necessary. One alternative to this is to use Font Squirrel, which has a large selection of both Google and non-Google fonts which are free to download and use.
Google Voice alternative – JMP.chat (both free and paid)
G Suite alternative – Zoho is probably the best option
Google Firebase alternative – Kuzzle (free and open source)
Google Blogger alternatives – WordPress, Medium, and Ghost are all good options.
Do you care about your privacy?
Most people looking for Google alternatives have woken up to the fact that they are paying for free products with their private data.
But what about your internet service provider?
In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, internet service providers are also recording your online activity. This information can be legally sold to third parties (in the US), or saved in government databases (UK, US, and Australia).
Aside from government surveillance agencies, there are also many private companies tracking your data, in addition to Google, Facebook, and the other usual suspects.
To retain a basic level of privacy and security online, you need three tools:
1. Private and secure browser
We covered seven Chrome alternatives above, but the secure and private browser guide dives into this issue more. Your browser can reveal lots of private and sensitive data to third parties; be sure to choose carefully.
2. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN will encrypt and anonymize your online activity from third parties, while also hiding your true IP address and location (see the VPN overview here). Simply install the VPN app on your device, connect to a VPN server, then go about your business as normal. This solves the ISP spying problem.
A VPN will effectively block your internet provider and third parties from snooping your activity and tracking you by your real IP address. In the best VPN services list, I examine some of the top VPN providers while also looking at a few direct comparisons.
3. Ad blocker
Many ads also function as tracking for large advertising networks. A good ad blocker is an important privacy tool that will also improve page load speeds and de-clutter your browser.
The privacy tools guide discusses other solutions as well, including password managers, secure messenger services and more.
Do you have any other tips or suggestions for Google alternatives?
Feel free to drop a comment below. This guide will be regularly updated to reflect the latest information and user feedback.
Fully revised and updated on June 24, 2019.
I’m not so sure about Tutanota anymore. They recently gave in to a court decision which compelled them to log user data and make mails accessible for “lawful interception”. The same ruling probably also affects other Germany-hosted services like Mailbox.org or Posteo. Germany is not a safe haven for data anymore.
Hello – thank you for the list – I knew about some of them, others are new to me. Couple to add to the email list: fastmail.com, unseen.is – would be curious what others think of these – I also have protonmail, which I like, but I needed more integration of things like address book/contacts and a calendar with reminders, which the other two do well.
Question: looking for a Google Voice option that does not require a smart phone – GV used to be a great way to offer a phone # that was not my main one, would fwd to my cell, and then transcribe/txt to my cell and computer if I missed the call – which has been great now that I live in a more rural area with sketchy cell svc – GV has now stopped the transcription/txt forwarding, so if I miss a call, I have to get back home to retrieve it – any suggestions would be great, thanks!
I’m reading and typing this on a ipad- what chance do i have? Google PAID apple to incorporate it’s products and they are non-removeable. On my two other PC’s I ‘sweep’ regularly and delete any google related apps i find.
However, I was notified yesterday that support for windows 7 will end early next year.
I have been running windows since the days of the much-missed XP, I have a laptop that runs ‘Visa’, windows 7 on one PC that i ‘rolled back’ from ’10, and my other one runs ‘8.1’
Why is it that each itineration of windows is worse and removes the facilities that were standard in previous versions?
I found windows 10 to be so bad that i could not even save or link my own pictures to emails or block ‘spam’ emails ( one of the reasons i ‘rolled back’ to ‘7’) – unless i paid anually for Office 365 that included the missing features?
How long will it be, before using a microsoft OS becomes a fully subscribed service – windows 11, perhaps ?
Exactly. This forced me off Windows many years ago, even before waking up to privacy issues.
There is no Google product or service incorporated in Apple products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac) except for the default search engine in Safari and default search engine for Siri and Spotlight. In Safari, you can change the search engine to DuckDuckGo but Siri and Spotlight you cannot change.
Other than that, Google products or services such as Gmail, Google Search, YouTube, Chrome, Google Assistant, Google Maps etc require user installation because they are not built-in.
A little late to the party here, but if I may: Amazon is just as evil as Google, but if there’s a paid app you need, and want to avoid the PlayStore, you might be able to purchase and download it from the Amazon app store. You can install the store, get the app you need, and then uninstall the store. In that way it’s not as baked in to Android the way Google is; if I want to update a paid app from Amazon, I just download the store again, update, and remove it again. DuckDuck’s image search is pretty good, but for a reverse image search try http://www.tineye.com. Instantstreetview.com allows you to use the Street View feature of Google Maps without using Google (at least not directly). I don’t know if anyone uses Google Books any more (not Google Play Books), but the Internet Archive is an excellent resource and also now has a full text search for all their books. I’ve yet to find a better video search than Google’s Video Search. I’m doing my best to divorce myself completely from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, & Microsoft (perhaps the subject of a future article, Sven? 🙂 ; of all of these, Amazon has been the hardest, followed by Google (I don’t use Apple or Facebook at all). If you think Twitter is becoming as bad as Facebook, try Mastodon. More suggestions at prism-break.org.
Hi All. Can anyone recommend an ios app that removes metadata? I have perused a couple without coming to a comfortable conclusion on how they handle privacy. I did not see anything on this page regarding this and am finding it hard to find the info I need on the several I have looked at.
Thanks Sven and all for the informative page and comments.
[https://infinitysearch.ai/] is another new search engine similar to DuckDuckGo that values your privacy.
Hello Sven.
How about Degoo cloud services. They said their cloud storage is end 2 end encrypted to. And they offers 100gb free.
https://degoo.com/
We are aiming to become an alternative to Google shopping , where decisions can be made based on ethical and environmental aspects through transparency instead of only profit/price. https://www.eachthing.com is still at an early stage but internationally acknowledge by institutions like the danish government and NASA founded program launch.org.
Well, for me Mailfence is the best option to replace Gmail. Moreover, Mailfence also offers additional features such as Calendar integrated, Chat, Group. It makes me feel much more convenient than other competitors
Wondering your thoughts about the new email service using the Signal protocol https://criptext.com/ .
This looks good, thanks for this link. Question is, just like with Signal msg, Tutanota mail etc, how secure or private you are if you send msgs or emails to the users that don’t use these apps…
One good thing about Criptext is that you don’t have to pay by the GB. There are no gigabytes stored on Criptext servers, your mail is stored only on your devices. It’s still “pre version 1.0” at this point, but it is something to watch. Very true that the level of privacy achieved is affected by the email app/service used by the recipient at the other end.
the just suspended encrypted mail service to non criptext users.
Just found an amazing (and very useful, easy-to-use) alternative to Google Keep: Carnet. This one should be included in this list.
There are not so many differences between those companies. I have experienced the services of some of the companies have been mentioned above. I could say i like the interface and feature of Mailfence and Tutanota the most. But Mailfence has more responsive support team so i decided to upgrade my account with them instead of other competitors
Absolutely love the advice and feedback that you provide. Cheers and thank you
There is much more google forms alternatives.
[https://www.typeform.com]
[https://www.formstack.com]
[https://questionscout.com]
[https://paperform.co]
etc.
Thanks a lot for this information! I have this page bookmarked now, so I can transition to other services and applications.
Hoping to get some advice: As someone who is not very tech-y, how do I accomplish a good balance between privacy and convenience? I use Posteo for email (though, it’s a little hard to navigate and get settings figured out sometimes), but I still need a Google account to access key features of my Android phone. And, while I do appreciate Posteo as a service, it has been difficult to sync my calendar, contacts, and email between my PC, web browser, and phone, so I can access them where I’m at regardless of device. Since I need a Microsoft account for functionality with my Windows PC and a google account for functionality with my Android device, I have kept these accounts, too, but do not use them much other than just for signing in, etc. Is this how best to do it?
Are there other steps I can take without losing too too much convenience? I’d like to find the right balance between net privacy and convenience and am willing to take the time to learn new applications, but I am scared to take the jump into Linux or other drastic measures because I’m afraid I’d break something or lose a lot of convenient functionality. I’m privacy conscious, but do not need to go overboard. Any thoughts for someone new to this?
Hi Elin, you’re right, it’s always a balance and the answer is different for everyone. I’d say just slowly test out various privacy tools, and then transition to the ones that fit your needs the best. No need to jump all in right away and get overwhelmed, just go step by step.
Thanks for this initiative. It’s great. congrats!!!
As Google Analytics alternatives I’d add also
[https://piwik.pro/] – for enterprises with extra data security needs
[https://statcounter.com/] – for semi pros
[http://www.openwebanalytics.com/] – open one
[https://chartbeat.com/] – for bloggers and content creators
Also where’s KissMetrics, Woopra, Mixpannel, Minty?
Hi
I have been looking for a decent office suite (docs + sheets + slides + pdf) to use offline and preferably open source, your answers did not convince me, cryptpad can not use offline … zoho has many trackers privacy is null , “open office suite” and “free office viever” for android sucks ….. they are the worst office for androd … Which office then to use? I want to use offiline …. but I don’t want tracking or advertising issues …. I’ve been looking at WPS office, and Office Suite Pro of these WPS is packed with malicious code … now office suite pro is not primarily. ..but I used a pirated version … without logging in. which does not fit the general level either ….
I can’t find Maps on Fdroid anymore, so it’s basically dead i guess ?
AMAZING WONDERFUL INFORMATION – THANKS A LOT
Second! Any thirds out there? How long can we keep this up?
Sven, your website is a phenomenal public service! Cuts down on literally probably years of sluglike, passive progress i would’ve otherwise taken to find yet less comprehensive answers.
When I can afford it, I would really like to donate money, but I have not yet learned how to use cryptocurrency. (I have read https://restoreprivacy.com/donate/ but I want to donate actual money or other material goods. Perhaps a gift to a charity of your choice?)
Hey there, thanks, Bitcoin is the only donation option I have setup for now, but I hope to add more in the future.
Fragemented companies are too small and too weak comparing to google. Is there any alliance to unite these companies to compete with GMS?
Reminds me of this one scene from Inception where a character explained how his huge multinational corporation was the only thing standing between an even huger multinational corporation and total global monopoly. Makes me wonder sometimes whether I should really be focusing my down-with-Google patronage on a smaller company that aligns with my values or on a company i would rather not support that is an actual serious competitor to Google, like Bing instead of Google Search. IOW, submit to the lesser of two evils.
I’ve thought the same thing. Idealism aside, anyone have any thoughts on this? What makes more sense strategically? inb4 “f**k big corporations, just follow your beliefs, the lesser of two evils is still evil”. This is a pragmatic question, not an ethical one.
I currently use all Apple products and Google stuff too but I’m really wanting to be more private. If I switch from chrome browser to Safari or even Firefox, I want to import all of my saved bookmarks. Will that bring all the stuff I don’t want with it, or do I have to start from scratch? I used to use Linux but couldn’t ever seem to make it user-friendly enough, even using Ubuntu; don’t remember if I ever used SUSE. Would love to go back if I would be able replace everything to private and still be able to communicate with the online world seamlessly. Also, I’ve never used my bootcamp. Would that be something I could try to see if this would all work for me. This Google stuff and especially the NSA Apple thing (WTH?) really bothers me! Please help!
I want this, I want that…. but without any effort being made. You know, sometimes starting from scratch is the best option /idea. Don’t be lazy, get the knowledge, and make the move. Cheers 😉
Matrix.org deserves its place in this list. It recently got out of beta and aims to unite existing messaging systems by providing bridges.
are there any other G-Photos alternatives??
Cryptee seems to be heavily tied to google services when verifying your account, aside from it’s slow, resource-heavy UI…
not to mention I had an issue where my key was somehow lost server side, had to delete my account because of it, I viewed the key to verify I never made any typos upon creation
and no I’m not looking for self-hosting at this time, the other 2 services don’t offer encryption anyways, plus their srcs are on GitHub (owned by Microsoft)
(I pulled my sources off GitHub the moment they mentioned they were partnering, because it’s common sense the move is very bad)
^ sure it seems okay, so does google and facebook before you realize their evil intent.
Hi Sven,
Just wanted to provide the link to the new encrypted calendar that Tutanota have released, as (obviously) you haven’t got it listed under the Google Calendar alternatives within the built-in email options yet.
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/free-encrypted-calendar/
Thanks Olaf, I saw that the other day, looks good!
RetroShare.net for GMail, Google Hangouts, and Google Images (file sharing), Skype, Facebook. Top marks on EFF Scorecard. All desktop operating systems, tor-compatible, open-source. Mobile devices experimental support.
https://www.brighteon.com/
seems to be missing as a video alt to youtube
A few more alternatives:
* Google Forms: Nextcloud Forms https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/forms
* Google Hangouts: Nextcloud Talk https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/spreed
* Collaborative editing/note taking: Nextcloud Text https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/text (comes with Nc by default)
* CMS/blogs/simple wiki/: try Nextcloud PicoCMS https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/cms_pico
* Google Calendar: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/calendar
* Google address book: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/contacts
* Google mail: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/mail (note: doesn’t HOST your mail, just a client)
* Google News: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/news
* Google Music: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/music or https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/audioplayer
A few others, not sure if Google does these:
* Sync SMS with your server: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/ocsms
* Trello/boards like task tracking: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/deck
* Bookmarks: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/bookmarks
This list is clearly missing EteSync!
https://www.etesync.com
Dissenter browser is sweet. Fast as hell, no trackers. Try it!
in France there is Framasoft an association that provides a wide range of online services :
https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/list
Hi, a recent article in the Washington Post demonstrates how Google’s Chrome browser tracks EVERYTHING about you even when you disable location settings and suchlike! Not really a big surprise though. Of all browser choices, Chrome is probably the worst and hopefully more people are waking up to the facts. One interesting browser I heard about recently is Dissenter – The Free Speech Browser (dissenter.com), made by Gab.ai, who also make a Twitter alternative called Gab. Dissenter is a fork of Chromium which blocks adds and trackers, plus it has an interesting comment function for interacting with websites and their discussion sections. Admittedly, the Dissenter privacy policy is a bit vague, but it may be worth a look? Regards, P.
Hey Paulie,
As you mentioned: “…it has an interesting comment function for interacting with websites and their discussion sections.” Just my layman’s take – sounds good, but I’m suspicious of embedded options of being able to instantly plug into all these oh-so-convenient features.
2nd-ly. After installing it on my Mac, I noticed the following in the Preferences window:
” Under Additional settings (which doesn’t automatically open):
Privacy and security
Safe Browsing (protects you and your device from dangerous sites)
Sends URLs of some pages you visit to Brave, when your security is at risk
Automatically send crash reports to Brave ”
Sends data to Brave??? To the Brave browser guys?!?! WTF!!! Brave vs Dissenter? Or is Brave (somehow) in cahoots with Dissenter?
Way to smelly of behind-the-scenes “if it’s free, you are the product” mode of operations.
But Dissenter sure has that Millennial ‘being-plugged-in-all-the-time’ bling for those who like that bling. Me, I’m sticking with FireFox and the mods suggested by Sven. Any ‘fork’ of Google Chrome just gives me the creeps!
Cheers, George 😉
Hi George, I’m really glad for that feedback. I personally have not tried Dissenter and only heard about it, so I just put it out there for what it’s worth. I didn’t know about the Brave integration thing, and I definitely would not recommend that. It’s good that you spotted that so now people can be aware that this is actually NOT a good option. As you indicated about any free stuff, it pays to be very skeptical…if something sounds too good to be true and all that!
source please?
*Paulie, source please? for the WaPo article about Chrome
You could have Goo- Duckduckgo’d it.
“Our latest privacy experiment found Chrome ushered more than 11,000 tracker cookies into our browser in a single week. Here’s why Firefox is better.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/06/21/google-chrome-has-become-surveillance-software-its-time-switch/
Because without any sense of irony WP (Amazon) tries to block people reading in privacy mode, here’s an archive of the page:
http://archive.is/Xvaoa
Hi,
Great article. I would recommend checking out Koofr as a Google Drive alternative. It is based in Europe and pretty privacy conscious. And makes migration from gdrive simple by enabling the connection of the said drive into the service and simply copying the files.
Hi Sven, very informative site. On the subject of best Google alternatives and best browsers, have you checked out SnowHaze (snowhaze.com). They are based in Switzerland and their product sounds very impressive, dare I say unique, being a combined browser, search engine and VPN, with great encryption and true no logs. The browser is free, but to use search and VPN requires a subscription. One negative is that it is currently only available for iOS, but sounds interesting nonetheless. Regards, P.
Hi Paulie, To quote Sven from a different thread: “No, I do not recommend any “browser VPNs”. There is no such thing as a “browser VPN” since your traffic is only going through a proxy, so it’s a proxy, not a VPN, and it should not be marketed to people as a VPN, which is misleading at best.”
Maybe these chaps are different… maybe they are onto something. Time will tell. But they certainly understand that iSO appears to be one of the waves of the future. Plugged into the InterNet 24/7 – 365. (What a synthetic life.) Sad, IMHO.
Hi George,
Yes, I know what you mean about these proxy so-called “VPN” set-ups, but I thought SnowHaze sounded different with their subscription tier…maybe they are on to something, maybe they’re not, but I don’t know as I haven’t investigated them any further. I personally have no need for a VPN on iOS as I do not like to connect to the net via mobile. A phone should be just a phone (for calls and text) IMHO and, likewise, I don’t understand the current millenial always-plugged-in obsession. For serious work or researching things on the internet my first choice is always the humble desktop computer with a WIRED Ethernet connection and none of that WiFi stuff. I also have to agree with Sven on his top recommended VPNs, such as Perfect Privacy – ideal on the desktop, but also with a secondary installation on the router if you wish. It’s just a pity that none of these can do canvas spoofing currently (to disguise/spoof your computer type, operating system and OS version), but maybe some of them will implement this in the future. It would be good to help prevent fingerprinting…you may be using an iMac with, say, macOS 10.13 installed, but any website you visit would see you as a PC running MS Windows 7 for example. However, this is probably challenging to implement correctly in a VPN package? Regards, Paulie.
I don’t know about Snowhaze’s VPN, but I would certainly like to see the browser reviewed.
You can mention https://sarchy.tech which is a fork of YaCy.
There is no maps alternative if you need traffic updates.
Another Google Drive alternative is Jottacloud:
https://www.jottacloud.com/en
Private, secure, based in Norway and powered by green energy. Works better as a Drive alternative on desktop than mobile, where the Android version is pretty limited. More through lack of being offered as a storage / backup location by any other Android apps than anything else
I also note you don’t have a section for messaging apps, as alternatives to Hangouts [or whatever Google’s is called this week!]. For that, I’d suggest trying Wire:
https://wire.com/en/
Multi-platfrom, Swiss-based, end to end encrypted. Does messaging, file transfers, VOIP calls, etc
Also, Keybase:
https://keybase.io
Encrypted chat and file-sharing and has recently rolled out the ability to send crypto [XLM = Stellar Lumens] to your contacts, directly from within the app.
On a slightly different tangent; if your biggest concern is with US companies like Google / Facebook / etc slurping your data, rather than with the data being slurped per se, you might want to take a look at Yandex’s offerings.
https://yandex.com
They’re known as the ‘Russian Google’ and have dozens of services that pretty much mirror everything Google has to offer –from DNS to maps to email to browser to cloud drive
Of course, in this case, your data is likely being slurped by a huge Russian conglomerate, rather than a huge US one. But you may consider that “The Man” in Russia is going to be a lot less likely to be interested in your personal data and online activities than “The Man” in your own country is.
“The Man” in one country will easily sell data to many men & women in other countries.
I love all the good content and the recommendations. Not to diminish the effort but in checking out some of the recommendations that are new to me I found some concerning discrepancies. Like Zoho Docs for a Word/Microsoft Office alternative… Yes, it’s free and provides similar functionality to Office products, except it’s also the same company as Zoho CRM, a Salesforce competitor that specializes in offering services to track email and social media posts in order to direct market and cyberstalk prospective customers. It’s also using a consolidated log-in (at Zoho.eu) to administer all services on one platform- great for log-in simplicity but increasingly doubtful for privacy protections such as those indicated in this guide. This is definitely not a privacy-focused business model in any event, so I’m wary of using any Zoho products given its focus on “visitor tracking… social marketing… artificial intelligence… analytics” noted on the Zoho CRM home page!
Hi JSD, good points, thanks for the feedback.
Hi, please include SecureSafe.com which is Swiss company and they have ultra secure 2-in-1 password manager and file manager. It is not expensive and affordable!
Hey,
Im really thankful for this guide.
I recently bought an (older) iphone (you dont habe to comment on that :D).
I didnt knew how hard it would be to find open source apps that respects my privacy in the appstore. Do do have any further recommendations for ios? For instance, Im badly looking for a privacy friendly calender app (caldav). Etar doest seem to be supported anymore as the installations fails everytime i try.
Bst whishes,
Matu
For a replacement to the Google account (contacts and calendar sync) and Google Keep (they now support tasks) you should take a look at EteSync https://www.etesync.com
They are open source, privacy oriented and end-to-end encrypt all of your data.
Thanks for the tips “DeepL”. didn’t know this service and work very well.
The Shoebox service will be shutting down on May 22nd. We can’t thank you enough for being a user and for your support.
What about? Any alternative ?
How about something like GraphiteDocs.com as a Google Alternative?
Hello,
As an employee of AT Internet, the only ‘Made in France’ digital analytics company, I very much appreciated the angle of your blog – that Google is not the only option available, and that there are other relevant and reliable solutions on the market, including digital analytics ones. It is important to know that these quality alternatives are out there! So far, AT Internet https://www.atinternet.com/ is not on your list – however, I feel it deserves to be as one of the world leaders in analytics, with a solution that is in full compliance with the GDPR.
Please get in touch if you would like any more information, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Julia
First of all, thank you very much, Sven, for this useful list.
The difficulty of ditching Google for me is that I really like how I can conveniently find all the Google products in the same place. Especially as a teacher: you can e-mail your students, share a calendar, store all kinds of material, edit a document together and even do quizzes on the same webpage.
My question is: is there a more secure, private platform where I can do all of it, or at least most of it?
Thanks in advance
Well for email, calendar, contacts, storage, etc., Mailfence is pretty good.
Thanks, what a great guide! One of the reasons people stay with some of google stuff even if they tend to be Open Sourcey types is the interactions with other apps and people.. For example, as someone who needs people to use scheduling services to book appointments, I can’t find one that syncs to anything besides Google Calendar, Ical, etc and getting around people having to set up/sign up/adopt another platform or service. Will check out some of these though.
Missing Internxt’s X Cloud, a new, highly secure cloud storage service. Would be nice to add it
Hi Sven, I am having problems with Google voice and I do not understand how to setup the alternative you listed. That’s talking about JMP – JID. I would like to know any other alternative with a friendly UI that would serve the same purpose. Thanks.
Hi, is there an alternative to Google Pay (i.e. sending money back and forth between persons)? I already use the service provided by my bank, but I am looking for a third party, open source app or service that allows to send/request money between people like google pay.
Thanks!
That’s a very good question. I just got a new Android phone with NFC. I thought I’d link my credit cards and then swipe the phone at the cashier to pay. But it turns out that your only option — unless you have a Samsung or Apple phone — is to link your card using Google Pay. Which means Google will start sweeping up all of your purchasing activity and use it to profile you. Of course this raises not just privacy concerns but antitrust concerns as well, however the regulators seem to be asleep at the switch. Over time mobile payments will dominate commerce, and it’s alarming that Google will have a lock on so much of that data. Where’s the competition?
use cryptocurrency then =)
bank transaction are also profiled and sent to specific governamental agencies (such as IRS), so unless you want to ditch credit cards alltogether, there is no much of a choice out there than using Google Pay…
Having Google keep track of my spending is more than enough reason for me to never use NFC payments. In my opinion there’s no need for or any real improvement in convenience from using NFC payments on our phones, except possibly for paying fares on certain transit systems. It’s only one small extra step to pull a credit card out of your wallet and tap that than to pull your phone out of your pocket. NFC can do more than just payments so the tech itself can be very useful in some situations, but the banks have already made it extremely easy to buy things without using NFC.
I don’t really understand how to compare the way these payment platforms work (would welcome an explanation) but what about Cash App or Venmo?
Sven can you please make a list of alts to Google (and other default phone OS) payment services?
Regarding my post about lineage os apps in apkpure, many did not work. Here are a list of lineage apps that worked when i tested them:
Calculator (Works properly, no issues)
Calendar (Works properly but it wants me to create an account to store events and shows the Aptoide logo, Aptoide IMHO is worse than Google Play Store when it comes to privacy due to its invasive permissions and containing far more trackers so I did not trust it)
Clock (Works properly, no issues)
Gallery (Great for photos viewing pictures, crashes when playing videos for some reason)
cLock AKA Lock Clock (Works, can display calendar events as well, weather display not available)
Recorder (Works properly)
I only tried out the kinds of apps that do not require being system files to use. Of course, all of these apps would probably work in Lineage OS, but I do not see much merit in swapping system files and potentially soft bricking the android installation I have on it so far just to see if everything works. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The issues i came across with the rest of the non system apps were failed installations, crashing immediately when started and the absence of icons for the apps in the app tray. Perhaps there is a workaround for these issues?
But what about fixing an issue with incompatibilities using Lineage OS system files?
I also tried installing the Lineage version of Android System Webview as a system file to try to eliminate dependence on Chrome. It worked, I was able to get rid of Chrome and Google Partner Services and the apps that needed those two applications still work.
Copying the Work Profile Setup APK to a new folder in /system/app and deleting the original Work Profile Setup APK seems to have fixed issues with apps crashing in work profiles in the custom ROM I am using.
I dare not try to go any deeper into swapping out system files since everything else works. Results can vary depending on the android ROM you are using. Feel free to experiment at your own risk.
A thought just occured to me: Since many alternative apps to playstore contain additional ways to track you compared to going to a web site using a browser, why not install a separate browser for the sole purpose of accessing the web based alternatives with cookies disabled and anti tracking extensions?
Speaking of browsers, I have noticed that when I remove Chrome some apps I needed to use at the time stopped working until I reinstalled Chrome as a system app. After that I noticed that disabling it in the custom firmware I am using also caused the same apps to stop working until I reenabled it again. So, now I have Chrome blocked by a firewall, the apps work this way but Chrome is essentially being used by those apps as a lazy way to display web content. Is there an alternative to keeping Chrome installed for the one or two apps I have to use that actually require it?
I found one solution to not needing chrome, just install the lineage version of android system webview as a system app. How much better than using chrome is this option?
When trying alternatives, to make sure they are private I suggest these 2 apps:
Classyshark3xodus
This app scans other apps for code found in known trackers and lists any trackers it finds. You can find it on F-droid.
APK Permission Remover
This app lists all permissions that the apk or app you select would have after being installed. You can read the permissions to check for any spyware related functions that are not needed for the app’s operation including permissions you can not change by turning them off in settings and can choose to install/reinstall the app with those permissions removed. If you know what you are doing then it can reduce the data collected by spyware apps you have no choice but to use.
Regarding google play services, I have noticed that most apps that spam your notifications when it is disabled do not do so when it is uninstalled and I have only found that apps were affected when they required access to google servers to download additional content, games were the most affected by this.
For games on android, I would suggest an alternative to your phone. There are some android game systems out there that have physical controls that can be mapped to positions on the screen. That way, you get to play android games that use virtual gamepads on teh touch screen less awkwardly and can make sure that the only thing Google sees is your video game choices. Oh, and if you go that route, a firewall and ad blocker are still useful because they would not just reduce tracking but render the annoying ads in the majority of games nonexistent.
Oh, an alternative to the work profile apps on google playstore is shelter which is found in the f-droid repository. I suggest this because the developer claims that this app is guaranteed not to track you. When using work profiles it is a good idea to back up your data, install TWRP and save a copy of your ROM to the sd micro card for reinstallation before testing because if an android ROM is not set up to use work profiles then issues that may arise are apps in the work profile crashing and a very slight chance of your android ROM being bricked meaning you would have to reinstall it. However, you can install the spyware apps in the work profile with location turned off in the profile and only the stuff needed for the apps to function cloned or installed to it while they have no access to the files and other non system apps on your device. You can also choose for apps to be frozen when in the background which can help to reduce spying.
Autostarts is an app which can disable apps automatically running at boot and certain events.
Hacker’s Keyboard is one of many replacements for Gboard, seems a bit basic but if you download a spelling dictionary for it (there are several available, the app is in f-droid but the dictionaries are not) then it does correct most common errors and the only things missing are finding images to post and emoticons. The keys can be set to be a decent size for those who have larger fingers. however, i am sure that there are better options out there.
If you are using an alternative to playstore then I would suggest installing apktrack from f-droid repository. it checks for and downloads updates for you from either single sources or multiple sources (the default choice checks multiple sources) and then you can choose whether or not to install them. The screen does not refresh what is on it properly so you use it by opening it so setting it to check for updates every 24 hours is not a bad idea. Only thing missing is a feature to install the apps if you are on a rooted device, I wish they would include that.
I have found Fennec from F-Droid to be a decent alternative to original Firefox. It comes with telemetry disabled except for Health Report which you can choose to disable yourself. Of course, all of the stuff in the browser privacy guide needs to be done, but the current version of firefox contains tracker code for analytic companies adjust and leanplum while fennec does not contain those trackers.
Oh, and if you read this far here is a bonus suggestion not related to privacy:
Taskbar from the F-droid repository.
This app is essentially a start menu and collapsible task bar for your android device. It is always there over other apps once you set it up. You tap it to access a button that lists all apps and hold your finger on any app in that list to get the option to pin it to the task bar. If you grant the app usage access then it will also display the last few apps you have used in the task bar. So why use it? When you have apps you use together or last used apps on the task bar you can leave the task bar open on the screen and switch between apps with a single tap which can make switching between the apps faster than using the recent apps button or going to the home screen to start an app you need while in the middle of a call.
if you are switching between apps and taking notes, Clip Stack from the F-Droid repository is useful. It basically is a program that keeps a history of clipboard entries and displays a button on the screen either all the time or only while typing (depending on chosen settings) that you can tap to access the clip board history and select which blocks of copied text to paste in the application you are using.
I am getting off topic so I will just end this post now.
Wow! Steven you have a lot of helpful information regarding F-droid. I love the fact that we are getting away from being tracked and a number in society being watched every which way. However, it is a very daunting task to say the least trying to get away from a company that almost seems like they own your life. I have started with some simples like emails, web browser, deleting excess social media. What started me was free information was being removed from the internet and I was no longer able to find searches that enhanced ways of living. But now I’m very aware of how much we actually are just a number. A lot of these terms and information is confusing and researching gets me only so far. Where do I find more information regarding the new tactics to take that also explain how to implement it successfully running on the phone with proper functionality for what I’m looking to achieve? I’m always available by email. Thank you Kindly!
For a replacement for the camera app, opencamera is pretty good, it has a decent amount of of features.
Flite TTS Engine is an alternative to Google Text-To-Speech Engine.
I just use 2 layers of duck tape over my camera…..
Consumers Have Grown Increasingly Wary Of Major Tech Companies And Their Commitment To Consumer Privacy.
The latest, Nest the company that makes smart appliances like connected thermostats, and others like home security products is being folded back into Google. Nest has been a separate company under the Alphabet umbrella since 2015, this is the first time that one of Alphabet’s so-called Other Bets companies has been folded back into Google.
–
Google admits error over hidden microphone – product specifications for the Nest Guard, available since 2017, had made no mention of the listening device. “If I owned one of these things and found out that the world’s biggest advertising company hid a microphone in my home for a year, I’d be livid.” Would you be too?
–
In the past, this brings to mind one of Google’s many previous privacy controversies, such as the 2010 incident in which the company acknowledged that its fleet of Street View cars “accidentally” collected personal data transmitted over consumers unsecured WiFi networks, including emails.
THIS IS the kind of thing that makes me worried of any smart home devices, let alone any from the major tech companies…
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47303077
https://www.businessinsider.com/nest-microphone-was-never-supposed-to-be-a-secret-2019-2?r=US&IR=T
Waze:
Google acquired Waze Mobile in 2013.
Waze invented and initiated the connected citizens program (CCP), a free data sharing program used by over 200 governments, departments of transportation and municipalities for traffic analysis, road planning, and emergency workforce dispatching. Waze both contributes to government data and also collects government data to use.
Concerns have been expressed that the app located on smartphones can be used to monitor movements by identifiable individuals.
Not good alternative to Google maps =)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waze
Google Maps alternative:
Here WeGo – share data with Facebook (Norton Antivirus mobile told it)
Maps.Me – part of Russian company Mail.ru Group and share data with them, srry but you better use Google then russian maps.me
While Here WeGo does collect location data, their privacy policy states that they assign an identifying number to you instead of using your personal information. Here WeGo can also download the maps, be set to offline mode and be blocked from the internet by a firewall, you only lose the features involved with traffic as a result. You can also clear thye data and cache to delete the maps and location data before allowing it internet access long enough to download updated versions of the maps. Here WeGo also has better data regarding addresses and POIs than OpenStreetMap.
Having said that, I have a question. OSMAnd seems to be an ok supplement to map programs since it has access to various additional maps like hiking trails, nautical routes, etc. but does it have any known issues regarding privacy?
APK Mirror has downloads for the apps in Lineage OS. The Lineage OS apps can be substitutes for Google apps and APKMirror can be one web based alternative to google playstore. APKMirror is run by the same people behind androidpolice.com
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/lineageos/
I take back what I said about Here WeGo.
After setting Here WeGo to work offline and blocking it with AFWall+ I installed Net Monitor from F-Droid and found through this app that Here WeGo was establishing connections to various ipv4 and ipv6 addresses. Turns out all of those connections were to facebook servers.
Either AFWall+ was allowing Facebook through the firewall (unlikely) or Here WeGo was using any trick its developers knew about to bypass the firewall.
So, I installed AdAway and used its logging feature to find and block any DNS queries from Here WeGo. It seems to work but since Here WeGo is programmed with knowledge of multiple Facebook telemetry servers I had to check logging in AdAway and keep choosing to block the DNS queries that came up (had to restart the phone each time to make sure blocking took full effect) until they stopped coming up. A week later there were more dns.queries from Here WeGo detected by AdAway and internet connections detected by Net Monitor from Here WeGo.
I ask that the maintainers of this web site delete any previous replies I made suggesting use of Here WeGo and its viability as a Google alternative be reevaluated.
Oh, right…I forgot to mention, AdAway does not seem to log or block IPV6 queries and some other security software and firewalls do not support IPV6 security so setting the internet connections to IPV4 only in Access Point Names can be beneficial in blocking spyware apps.
How about Vivaldi Mail (free/2gb storage)? Would you recommend it?
Great article.
Hi RuiP,
This email service is a part of the services for the community of Vivaldi Browser (Vivaldi Technologies). Joining the community gives you also an email address.
I personally don’t want the weight of it’s browser (private or not) to have any capabilities in linking my Vivaldi account to sync the Vivaldi browser data, access of emails, forums and blog publishing tools together. Nor the search, contacts, calendar, folders management of the email account tied to it’s browser.
Would be interesting to see the TOS and Privacy Polices for just an email offering – if I was interested…
You can send and receive encrypted emails but nothing I’ve seen of my quick look about your emails, attachments, their metadata all being encrypted at rest of everything in your mail/Vivalda account.
All those things prevent my interests : )
https://help.vivaldi.com/article/vivaldi-net-and-its-webmail/
How to install LineageOS with a focus on privacy protection? Could you tell me an easy-to-understand tutorial for a regular user?
Hi Luiz,
You need to look for the answers on a dedicated source, dedicated form. In your device specific topics given there – a good one is-
https://forum.xda-developers.com
You’d probably need to Root your device and go as barebones in apps as possible but, still functioning as for your needs. More than likely finding your specific device’s section will have everything in one place on XDA’s site for you – per device may be vast or sparse.
–
As far as I know the LinageOS in an optional custom OS that allows you in dropping all-most everything Google and it’s interacting with your phone or certain apps on it. Use F-Droid for any apps you’d need – https://f-droid.org/en/
So with LOS I’d not flashed any g-apps what so ever, then the play store and it’s services running in the background is not a privacy concern to you I consider real.
Root and g-apps zips are all optional add-ins to the LOS custom firmware when first flashing it to your device.
Root I’d deem necessary to fulfilling root access on your device to aid with your privacy strict policy by a deep root level search and files inspecting and in removal of other apps that are google dependent in one way or another – then of google parts that remain. Or a dedicated app that freezes other apps if you can’t remove some.
–
You could also look for a custom rom that’s actively maintained for
your specific device that’s based off the LineageOS firmware, to have more options and community behind it, or a better looking OS UI and features than the LineageOS itself offers. Remembering any such LOS based custom Roms has the same options to add root or g-apps for it – if not already baked in.
As well a custom recovery like TWRP – that with your backups of points in time can save your a_s as you experiment with the device.
Hope it helps : )
If you install LineageOS without Gapps, lots of your apps won’t work because they rely on Google services.
So you must go further and install microG services, likely a faked Google services. But microG itself requires signature spoofing, which is’nt packed with LineageOS.
Hard is the way to privacy…
Hello guys, I am working on Google Contacts alternative called Contact Cache. In fact, it will be more than just a simple contact manager. The main difference is that Contact Cache uses client-side encryption, so that we all can sleep better and not worry about other people seeing our private data 🙂 It is just in the beginning, so not everything is polished, but feel free to check it out at https://contactcache.com.
If i change phones, would I be able to access and download my contacts online, or download your programme without google play?
Hi there! The app works in the web browser in the moment and all data are synced with the server, so changing phones is not a problem, plus you can access your contacts on the desktop too.
I want to improve the interoperability on the phone with existing contact apps you might be using, but for now you can always export & import via vCard.
In the future it will be possible to install Contact Cache on the phone as well, so that you can access it via home screen/app list as with other apps.
1. Is there an alternative to Google Drive to backup Whatsapp messages?
2. What alternative to a Google account would you suggest for backing up and syncing phone contacts if I change my Android phone? I would need access to Google Play before downloading new apps.
I am going to leave google either…
and this is a very nice article…
but i’m missing a very imporant thing,
is there a good alternative for bidirectional-synching the contacts available?
a lot better thing would be connecting to my own postgresql database…
Hi, Carsten
Fruux worked for me. It synced my contacts, calendar and task lists with Android and Evolution.
There are serveral good options:
– Synology Calendar & Adressbook (in case you own a Synology NAS)
– NextCloud has AddOns for both
– Baikal Server has Card- & CalDAV services
Hi Sven, great article!
An good Android alternative is /e/ which solely focused on privacy. It is supported by the e.foundation (htttps://e.foundation) and founded by Gaël Duval who brought to market Mandriva Linux. No Google Apps, default apps based on open source bricks that covers most of my needs (email, surfing the web, calendar, etc…). App repository to be added very soon with trackers analysis. It is still in beta but V1 is expected very soon. Looks promising and has already a good community of users.
Great list, thanks a lot!
Just to add a few:
End-to-end encrypted contact / calendar for Android: EteSync
Local calendar on the phone (or really all the others on that page too): https://www.schuermann.eu/android/
Google doesn’t really offer a password manager, but I guess some people use google keep for that or maybe OAuth, so worth a mention: https://bitwarden.com/
hello. If I leave gmail, people who have my gmail will no longer be able to get ahold of me unless I send them my new email? correct? And I have to send out my new address from my new email? how do I transfer my contacts do I have to do it one by one?
can you recomend a good vpn service?
thanks so much love this very grateful
Nin
Hello, you could setup an auto reply in Gmail or perhaps forwarding to your new address, but that gives Gmail your new address as well. The steps for importing contacts depends on what email service you go with. Mailfence makes migration from Gmail very quick and easy – see this guide.
Regarding VPNs, ExpressVPN is currently my top recommendation. It is fast, secure, and very user-friendly. You can get 3 months free with this coupon (applied on checkout page under the 12-month plan).
aCalendar is actually just an app, not a calendar service. It syncs with Google Calendar. I don’t know if there is a standalone option, but even if there is, you won’t be able to access your calendar via desktop.
More Google Keep alternatives: Evernote, Simplenote.
You can create an offline calendar for aCalendar (and the standard Android Calendar as well) which doesn´t sync with Google – see : [https://schuermann.eu/android]
Sven, also consider video search https://www.peteyvid.com/
Sadly, it uses google adsense! I was notified immediately upon searching that my adblocker had to unblock before I could see the results!
This has been removed and resolved. No more google ads or anti adblock code.
Google Places API new prices are insane.
Any affordable alternative with equivalent data quality?
Just discovered your site by way of this article. Thank you for shining a light in the darkness for all of us unwilling data cows. In my search for a more private browser, I recently chose Epic but I noticed that you didn’t seem to consider it a worthy alternative. I am curious to know why.
Also, one of the issues I have encountered since taking steps to make my online experience more surveillance-free is problems buying things online. It seems quite a lot of sites don’t function well for people safeguarding their privacy. Is this just a necessary trade-off such that those who are serious about privacy have to forego some online shopping opportunities – or is there a work-around to deal with this?
Thanks again for this great resource.
Hi, check out my secure browser guide and the section titled “Browser privacy and compartmentalization” for an answer to your question.
I have been impressed with Wire messaging, by Swiss GmbH, as a replacement for Google Hangouts.
Great article and thanks! Today, google sent me an email with a photo which has not been online. Just taken recently here at the house. Suggested that I use it in a creative way with others (which they also had). The only thing I can assume is that they have gotten into my computer–not just monitored online stuff. This is bizarre. Or someone else is hacking google and using them to spy on me. ? If I hear you right, I must get all totally different aps to escape google? As in, I can’t even watch a u-tube video? Or, google maps without getting invaded? Please say it ain’t so! Thanks.
“If I hear you right, I must get all totally different aps to escape google? As in, I can’t even watch a u-tube video?”
Not necessarily, although the less you use Google services the better. You can close your Google accounts, but still access google services anonymously, such as maps and youtube, through a secure browser with a good VPN service.
Why google send you email ?
Did you possibly take the photo on your phone, and they accessed it through what is running on your phone?
You probably are syncing your photos from your device to Google photos, Google Drive, or The new Google 1. That’s how they probably got it.
Great list of tool, Sven! I would love to suggest another alternative to a Google product which we are working on- Bit.ai. Bit is a Google Docs alternative which allows users to create rich, dynamic, and awesome looking documents, with built-in tracking and collaboration capabilities! Do check us out 🙂
How about an alternative to Google Groups. I am in a relatively small group that left Yahoo Groups for Google Groups (over my strenuous objections). We need something simple and low tech. Thanx!
I read something about a Google Analytics Alternative that is Privacy Friendly.
Ticksel. But don’t know of this a good (privacy-friendly) option?
R.
Dude, you missed a very important one, the opera browser has a built in web VPN and is way better than any other browser.
No, Opera is not a good option in terms of privacy. They explicitly state in their privacy policy that they are collecting data and sharing it with third parties. It was sold to a Chinese consortium for $600 million and it hasn’t been the same since. I explained this in the secure browser guide.
My Son-in-law always advised me never to be me on Google.So I’m not there.
An alternative to YouTube was launched recently by Mike Adams “the health ranger” called Real.Video. Check it out and confirm. He’s very much into privacy and freedom of speech.
Hi, I can’t find Real.Video and would love a good alternative to YouTube. Is this service still working? What’s the URL? Thank you so much.
I found this – so maybe it’s what you want?
https://vimeo.com/261380850
Excellent list! I have an email app that is focused on privacy. I would love it if you can add it to list of gmail alternatives- [https://www.thexyz.com]
This is why I root my devices out of the box.
Once I found out that my device is never truly ‘Resting’ because Google uses it a 24/ 7 tracking/ data scraping tool, I was thouroghly creeped out enough to learn about my device(s) operating system that hold our most personal secrets.
Getting a new phone and gutting Googles’ services (Or replacing the entire ROM) is the only way to enjoy the Android experience. Plus, the battery never dies mysteriously as an awesome side effect.
They won’t miss the 3+ GB of data no longer magically floating away from my phone, as I can hide behind those who are unaware, ambivalent, or ‘Have Nothing to Hide’.
This article is very well written and concise, and people will STILL refuse to wake up.
I also had a horrible time with Firefox and had numerous problems with it eating up my laptop memory and going through unnecessary rigmarole to actually use it effectively. It ended up causing more problems than it is worth. For the moment, I’ll stick with Windows (as I currently lack the funds to afford the more expensive Apple based system).
I have tried to get into Linux and I personally hate it. I would like more of a platform that works like Apple or Windows but without the downsides. I’m still waiting for a viable alternative to YouTube and MINDS is NOT a good social platform because I couldn’t care less about earning bit tokens to raise awareness of my posts – why should anyone need to do such bribery? Also, the platform itself, while still in its infancy, is nowhere near the multi-functional usage as Facebook, unfortunately. It basically is nothing more than a glorified soapbox where actual social interaction does not really occur other than getting likes. Its basically like a less interesting form of Instagram.
And nosey Facebook owns Instagram!
Regarding a reasonably secure & privacy “friendly” Mobile OS alternative to stock Android, what would be the better alternative:
✓ Copperhead OS (I have a Nexus 6P)
✓ Lineage OS for MicroG
✓ Official Lineage OS
What steps can be taken to make an Android device (such as the Nexus 6P) as security and privacy focused as reasonably possible (considering that mobile devices are inherently insecure and invasive)? Are the Nexus and Pixel devices the best for security and privacy if run with either Copperhead OS or Lineage for MicroG? The Librem phone is available yet. I am in need of an immediate solution. Someone posted this on a forum, what do the people here feel about this comment in relation to what I posted above?:
“The most basic requirement is a phone / OS with full security updates. There are very few Android devices where full security updates are possible, since it requires vendor support. For example, this month’s July security update requires Broadcom WiFi firmware security fixes along with a bunch of other fixes to proprietary components. If you don’t even have security updates fixing published vulnerabilities, it can’t be said that have even a minimal level of security. A third party OS cannot fix a lack of security updates to firmware and the proprietary userspace components. Only a subset of the supported LineageOS devices even have complete updates to the open source code, and you need to consider proprietary components too. Their security patch level field isn’t meaningful since it’s just set to a filler value across all supported devices, misrepresenting them as being patched.
In addition to that, nearly every third party OS rolls back standard Android security features. CopperheadOS is unique in that it starts from the position of proper production AOSP builds. It adds a lot of privacy / security features, but it’s doing that on top of the existing privacy / security features rather than rolling them back like everything else. Third party Android forks almost always degrade the security of the SELinux policies, disable verified boot and poke holes in other features. Google puts restrictions on what vendors can do in their forks and does some policing, but there’s nothing like that for aftermarket operating systems. Pulling in all of the half baked CAF code is a major security issue itself.”
Given all of this, what’s the best approach, given the limitations of choices (“lesser of all evils”)?????
I am very much in need of guidance. I am not a programmer or anything close to any kind of expert. As an ignorant consumer, what steps should I take regarding a mobile OS? I want a reasonable amount of security and privacy.
I think the best option for mobile privacy would be the Librem 5 phone when it eventually gets released.
Have a look at Sailfish OS. Previous Nokia staff in Finland
Hi Ploni Ben Ploni,
Sounds very much like you understand what you read or want too.
Maybe you could offer a link(s) so other can grow in the knowledge here and to help others with like questions to yours.
–
It’s important to reiterate that Android uses the Linux kernel under the hood. A kernel is the part of an operating system which handles input/output and computer instructions from the application layer, essentially allowing the application software to communicate with the hardware. To make changes to the way Android handles this communication is to make some notable changes to the way the Linux kernel operates.
– To solve the hardware abstraction layer issue, Android 8.0 Oreo and later version like Android 9.0 Pie formalize the division between hardware subsystems like audio or camera, and their clients on the software side. These new formal divisions specify the interface between a HAL and its users. There are now around 60 formal interfaces for various hardware components, known as HIDLs.
– The goal of a HIDL is to allow the framework to be replaced without having to rebuild HALs. HALs will be built by vendors or SoC makers and put in a /vendor partition on the device, enabling the framework, in its own partition, to be replaced with an over-the-air update (OTA) without recompiling the HALs. To update devices running earlier versions of Android to Android O, developers can wrap both conventional and legacy HALs in a new HIDL interface too.
https://www.androidauthority.com/project-treble-818225/
–
You cited – “The most basic requirement is a phone / OS with full security updates. There are very few Android devices where full security updates are possible, since it requires vendor support.”
That I’d agree is true unless there is a Dev. like this one working with a phone from 2015 where they state “Security patch version is irrelevant when you are building from the latest source” – like in their taking this phone that saw the Nougat update as it’s end of cycle OS from the vendor.
– Their trying to put new life by way of Android 9.0 PIE, then who knows what others can learn by the hard work from this project for older hardware.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=77925410&postcount=16
“The problems with 15.1 and 16.0 are not exclusive what benefits one will benefit the other this is the same code base with a few extra issues in pie.”
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78093284&postcount=53
Read the whole thread if the time…
: ) Greetings ( :
The hooktube doesn’t work that way any more, please update
[http://youtube-alternatives.wikia.com/wiki/Hooktube.com]
HookTube is now effectively just a light-weight version of youtube and useless to the 90% of you primarily concerned with denying Google data and seeing videos blocked by your governments.
Sven could you review the YT alternatives on John’s link (http://youtube-alternatives.wikia.com/ )?
Any alternatives to google sheets? I quickly glanced through the list and Ctrl+F but didn’t find anything.
Try [https://www.zoho.com/sheet/]
Are Apple services a good alternative to Google services?
Apple is be better than Google in terms of respecting user privacy, but there are better alternatives to Apple as well.
What hardware would you recommend running the alternative OS’s on? Or is that not necessarily relevant?
Is Epic Privacy Browser Good?
No.
I read recently that Firefox went to the dark side. With everything, trust is the basis and everyone’s trust is now so undermined it is hard to want to invest time on any new site. The only solution to this is true, New Testament Christianity. Without a moral code, you have corruption. And there is no excuse for it as we have been given and for the time being, have access to the most relevant moral code that will ever exist. The reason we see moral decay is that the New Testament is neglected, maybe the most by those who profess Christ but do not know or follow Him. May those who have ears to hear, hear. Please read and ponder the teachings of Jesus Christ for yourself in the New Testament. [https://onefaith.neocities.org/]
Let no man deceive you.
Can I please ask what the privacy issue is with gmx.com?
Sven’s posted a link in the ‘Best Secure Email Providers’
dated FEBRUARY 23, 2019 but hasn’t updated this reply yet.
– GMX seems to be a pretty bad choice when it comes to security.
See this article form Tutanota:
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/gmx-tutanota-comparison/
I think the Aurora Store project is the direct alternative of the Play Store, which could be installed from Fdroid or the Telegram Channel.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/galaxy-playstore-alternative-t3739733
For the Translation solutions, I would say dict.cc works great as a dictionary, but the others aren’t that much of a “translator”, I think Microsoft Translator mixed with an off-the-radar Attitude(GMS-free on android and no cookies on PC) could turn out to be a great choice.
one last thing, I know a lot of people question the security that Vivaldi provides, but undoubtly it’s one of the best “new generation” browsers from functionality side of things and I think it’s worth to be put beside Brave Browser.
Do you know feedburner alternative?
Perhaps Feedblitz.
Liferea
Hi Sven
Thanks for useful article
Please give me a Google Blogger alternative that no listed on the article
Thank you again
WordPress
There is another Android alternative: https://sailfishos.org
At the moment just a few devices are officially supported but there are community ports to other devices https://wiki.merproject.org/wiki/Adaptations/libhybris
A good Browser to use is Pale Moon at https://www.palemoon.org/. It is based on Firefox and you can add extensions to increase the safety from tracking, like BetterPrivacy, BlueHell Firewall, Cookie Controller, Disconnect, NoScript, Remove It Permanently, and uBlock Origin.
I have been online for close to 18 years, my “finger tips”.. are sore..lol but I just never have been able to AFFORD A GOOD ISP. HUGHESNET is putting me in poor house, I’ve been trying to SCRAPE by on my disability.. NOT FUN. I book marked this in hopes.. one day I will be able “to” use these.
Brilliant article. Thank you so much. I see you’ve been working on it and updating it for a long time.
Have you considered pCloud as an alternative for Google Drive? Any reasons to distrust them? (I can’t find any)
Also, maybe an idea for a small update under “Other Google alternatives”, a list with Android keyboad/Gboard alternatives (AnySoftKeyboard or Hackers Keyboard found on F-Droid for maybe).
Cheers and keep up the good work!
Hi Verdana, thanks for the feedback, I’ll check those out.
pCloud looks good. what do you think. it’s based in switzerland.
I find this from 2015, so you decide.
Switzerland plans to revise their data retention law BÜPF so that all communication data (post, email, phone, text messages, ip addresses) can be stored for 12 months. The opponents of this law even say that it would allow the monitoring of mobile phones and the installation of trojans on computers, tablets and mobile phones.”
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/stop-buepf/
I don’t know the outcome but that wouldn’t stop another try in this age – if it wasn’t passed before.
Mycroft AI opensource personal assistant, instead of Google home
Hi Sven,
One thing I liked about Google Image Search was the ability to do the reverse image search (search by photo). Then, when looking for alternatives, I discovered Tineye. (https://tineye.com/) Is it any good, in terms of privacy? Or does it track too?
Or do you know any other alternatives?
This list of tools is wonderful. I can rebuild parts of my business with some of the tools. With all the privacy, I wonder how it would effect my business down the road. I believe I’d have to work harder at getting potential customers to my products and services. For personal use, it is a perfect fit. Maybe one day I’ll have two computers. One for business with the crappy mainstream corporations to run my business. And another for personal use to do my research, socializing, and entertainment. Great list. Looking forward to updates. Still looking for your newsletter. I’d love to keep up with your content.
There is good alternative for youtube
https://bit.tube/
both deepl and lingue is using google-analytics…
and dict.cc is using google tagservices. Maybe more of these links should have a second evaluation. Otherwise good list. I was also missing posteo.de.
The free software foundation is providing some similar lists.
Hi, maybe you should consider mentioning the /e/ project (formerly “eelo”) at https://e.foundation
They plan to provide a whole alternative ecosystem (including a ROM forked from LineageOS and various web services) to bring more privacy to “standard” users
Alternative to Youtube?
https://newpipe.schabi.org/
HookTube is now officially, as the changelog says, a simple lightweight facade for YouTube.
Disappointing…
There’s now invidio.us instead. Works even better than HookTube did.
The Youtube legal team was inevitably going to go after the developer, it was always going to be a matter of time, but the battle isn’t over yet.
I’d like to share Syncthing with you as a file synchronizing application that relies on no centralized service and is quite easy to setup while following good security principles. It works across most platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Android, etc).
https://syncthing.net/
I’ve been using it for a while and I’m happy with it.
Tutanota vs ProtonMail
Regarding e-mail clients, I’d say everything boils down to these 2 mail providers.
The most important point being Encryption at Rest feature, thus all e-mails remaining encrypted on theirs servers.
Mailfence confirmed that they do not offer that.
Coming back to PM and Tuta, both encrypt attachements and body of the message, but Tutanota also encrypts Subject lines. In addition, it doesn’t register your IP, whereas PM does, and Tuta costs less.
Speaking of the jurisdiction, Tutanota is under Germany’s Laws, Protonmail under Switzerland’s. Germany laws prevent retaining e-mail, whereas Switzerland enforces a 1-year data retention. In addition, speaking of the claims that Switzerland has supperior privacy laws, and the fact that datacenters have their servers in underground bunkers, I’d say that’s bogus. First of all, keeping the servers in bunkers doesn’t really matter, considering the data is encrypted. Moreover, Switzerland has a mutual treaty with USA which basically says Whatever data is available to Switzerland courts, is also available to US government
Not to be biased towards Tutanota, Protonmail does have more features (also has a nice @pm.me domain available =) ). Moreover, their interface is better, they have POP/IMAP available through a bridge they developed if you like to use Clients like Outlook or Thunderbird (available on all major OSes) and PGP integration.
Summing everything up, they both are solid choices, massively better than probably everything there is out in the world, and the choice comes down to the user’s matter of preferance: Do you want a service which is not very eye-appealing and feature rich, but does it’s job and has great security and privacy, or you are more inclined towards feature richness, with the tradeoff being small privacy flaws.
PS: e-mail was not developed with privacy in mind, so using a private messenger like Signal is a much better choice relating to privacy.
Tutanota has released a beta version of new Android app.
One more thing to note, Protonmail Android relies on Google Services Framework, whereas Tutanota doesn’t
Thank you very much for explaining this. I have a very good feeling, like trust… with Tutanota.
@las the only thing that is still missing, is the folder’s unread e-mails count on UI. It’s hard to use when you receive an e-mail, and need to check 10-15 folders to see where it went )))
01-30-2019 Your encrypted mailbox now shows unread emails per folder.
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/release-languages/
03-24-2019 Encrypted email service Tutanota turns five:
Details of the changes to present.
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/encrypted-email/
Besides you can do full-texts secure search via a search index created on your device now…
Your search index is always encrypted and thus, secure – no matter on what device you use it.
–
Still with both Tutanota and ProtonMail, aliases can be a pain thing if not using your own domain with either. So both ProtonMail and Tutanota in paid accounts with the usage of your own domain offer’s more in using aliases in their own specific rights. More so that using then their Co. branded domain of them.
ProtonMail worst yet requires the “+” after your username – – and before the ex:”@domain.com”, yes even with your own domain – similar to method as in Apple Mail, Outlook and Gmail.
–
I seen one reader state this “Mailbox.org is a pain to use if you are not experienced. You have to work with the “keys” and at the end you have no idea if you’ve got an encrypted inbox.”
Then I’ve seen Mailbox.org has recently put 1-million euro’s into it business.
Mailbox.org for an encrypted mailbox (server) when you’d get non-encrypted mail and want it secured by encryption. It’s possible by your own PGP encryption public key. https://kb.mailbox.org/display/MBOKBEN/The+Encrypted+Mailbox
Data retention in Switzerland is 6month
https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/20122728/index.html
Can you please suggest a sms app alternate to android messages?
I think you have 2 choices in this matter which somewhat focus on different things:
1. Silence – a dedicated SMS/MMS App which encrypts text messages at rest, and also has the ability to send encrypted SMS/MMS messages in case the recipient has this app installed. You can start an encrypted session which will result in key exchange and voile, your phone communications provider won’t have the ability to read your messages.
2. Signal Messenger – This is actually an open-source messenger app. it encryption algorithm is now used in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype. However this does not mean that Facebook and Skype could not have tampered with it (the companies are notorious for working with government). Signal however had its trust tested, and Snowden recommends it 😉
It has the feature to be default SMS app, but it only encrypts the messages database at rest (not hiding it from communications provider).
Personally, I stopped using Silence only because I have an expense manager app which has automatic SMS parsing feature, which works only with default SMS app.
Hi, I test Matomo today and I don’t know how to actually see current visitors? There is an option to see visitors in last 24h or 30m? But I want to see how many visitors browsing my website right now? If I use Google analytics and I click real time, it shows the number of visitors easily.
Please someone consider to name an alternative to google captcha service, which is to find on so many sites…. Thank you.
My mail is hosted at servermx.com.
In terms of design it doesn’t spend time and money but in terms of reliability, features, and support it really does it all, give them a shot.
Whatsapp’s end to end encryption is probably well known but I just sent a 488mB video file to a friend which makes it better than e-mail routes too?
Based on the response to my suggestion that Etar-Calendar’s maintainers provide some user documentation, I think it is simply an alternative client for the Google Calendar service. It doesn’t sound like one can point it at some other calendaring server without significant additional effort.
You forgot Firefox Focus 🙂 blocks a whole load of junk by default!
Firefox Focus had a scandal where it was found to be sending data to an analytical company. Does it still do so?
You’re missing Fastmail, who provide very standards-based and security-focused e-mail, contacts, and calendaring. I’m a satisfied multi-year customer.
How is Fastmail any different from Gmail? If anything they are worse, being an Australian company they can be made to spy on you.
Dear Sven,
It should be noted that the default configuration of Mozilla Firefox has moved towards a surveillance platform following the acquisition of Pocket and a shift towards an advertising-based funding model.
Currently it is necessary to make significant modifications to the default settings through the about:config dialog to avoid dozens of outbound “privacy”-violating connections, many of which are now CloudFlare endpoints:
https://gist.github.com/haasn/69e19fc2fe0e25f3cff5
Moreover, “Safe Browsing” is cryptically enabled by default, sharing the user’s activity with Google.
Well, this Mozilla engineer says user activity is no longer shared with Google via the “safe browsing” settings. This issue is also discussed more in my Firefox privacy guide.
You should include Safari in the list of browsers, at least for Mac users. Apple has a long history of privacy controls in Safari that other browsers don’t have or only added much later. For example, I think Safari is still the only major browser to ship with third-party cookies turned off as a default. It has cross-site tracking prevention, configurable default search provider, granular permissions asked for use of the camera, microphone, and location, and optional per-site settings for some of those things. Plus, the upcoming macOS Mojave will include a version of Safari with fingerprinting prevention.
Hi Doug, I agree that Apple does some things right in regards to privacy. However, it still has a troubling history of “hoarding” users’ browsing history – even when using private browsing mode. And these are only the cases we know about.
I think we should judge Apple and other companies for what they are doing, not their history. Apple has improved users privacy a lot. If we dig deep enough i’m sure we could find something on most of the “good” companies you listed.
Good list. To add a few more:
Google docs alternative that is free and encrypted:
https://cryptpad.fr/
Google play alternative, the most complete that I know. Permits to install older versions of apps:
http://www.aptoide.com/
Could you add CryptPad to the alternatives to Google Drive too?
thanks
Paul
Aptoide is not a private alternative. It is a good online store to get some apps that were removed from google play store but when scanned for known trackers 13 trackers, 3 of which were from google, were found in the app and APK Permission Remover found multiple permissions that seemed invasive and had nothing to do with the app’s functionality.
Speaking of which, APK Permission Remover could help with improving privacy because it allows you to select permissions to disable that you can not normally disable in system settings and then compiles an apk with the permissions removed and installs (or reinstalls) it. As long as you do not disable any functions that are required by the app to do its job it works fine in most cases. Of course, sometimes an app will break when the wrong permission is used and either not work right or not install but since it does not work on system apps and you can just download and reinstall any app there is a low risk in using it.
CORRECTION: Lucky Patcher can also perform the same function as APK Permission Remover.
I also did a check for known trackers, APK Permission Remover has Google Ads and Goodle Doubleclick trackers and Lucky Patcher has Twitter MoPub trackers so there is a tradeoff for privacy if you are disabling unless you keep these two apps behind a firewall.
I see my website is found by the search engines that don’t use Google search results. Google can also help you not find things.
Hubic as Google Drive alternative 25 GB on start up to 50GB
Dear Sven,
Thank you for the post. It is an interesting list of products and activities.
Please also consider Kolab Now (https://kolabnow.com) as an open source/Free software alternative to
* Gmail
* Google calendar
* Google docs
Kolab Now has 30 days free trial, it has 2GB included in the price and, as mentioned above, it is open source and Free software.
Sincerely
Mads
Hi Mads, thanks for sharing that information. A secure email guide is soon forthcoming and it will include Kolab Now.
I’m current using Kolab and can’t recommend enouth.
The have calendar, email, contacts, notes, and file keeping for a fair price.
The only downside is that they still don’t suport 2 way auth. But outside that, still great service.
Hello Sven, and thanks for building this list.
I am cofounder of Countly, an open source product analytics platform for web, mobile and desktop. You can download it via Github (https://github.com/countly/countly-server) and run on your own machines, thus you don’t have to share any visitor information with 3rd parties. Countly is also plugin based, runs on Nodejs + MongoDB and has a really slick and intuitive UI.
You may also build your own Countly on Digital Ocean, using this 1-click installer: https://do.count.ly
PS: How about turning this list into a Github repo so others can also comment and contribute?
Hi Gorkem – thanks for the info. I’ll have Countly added here soon. Good idea on the Github repo.
You can also generate it using one of github-awesome-list templates. That will help get picked up by others easily.
Google Translate replacement: https://www.deepl.com/translator
We use https://goaccess.io instead of analytics. It’s real-time and open source, works awesomely.
For a Google Keep alternative, check out Standard Notes.
https://standardnotes.org
Open source, encrypted, and cross platform 🙂
Seconded, I love this software.
Shameless plug: at LINAGORA where I currently work, we are developing OpenPaaS, an open source collaborative platform and alternative to Google Suite and Co. At its core, OpenPaaS is made of an email server, James, and many other open source components (in one package, it offers an alternative to Gmail, to Google Calendar, etc). Do not hesitate to check it out: https://open-paas.org.
Any suggestions for using an alternative to Google Slide Show Sharing system…
I have been using it for my alternative news channel called, Digileakcanada.weebly.com
I can download and archive the slide shows to my own hard drive in case they disappear on line.
I like the slide format to layout my news research and share with others. Your suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers, Ken
Hi Sven, very interesting article.
Your contact form seems to be down, is there some other way to contact you privately?
Hi Rune, indeed the form appears to be broken – thanks for the heads up. The contact page has been updated with additional contact details.
Update: contact form has been fixed.
Hello everyone!
Q: Is Apple REALLY safer ?
Joe
Why do you mind being the product tho?
An alternative view would be that it cost us nothing to have google launch worldwide projects.
Using a service while knowing that you are getting a service where some information will be collected and used to maintain the service is a personal choice.
When the data is taken when you are not using or benefiting from any services, there is no choice.
Some of us just want to reclaim the freedom to make that choice. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, one alternative to analytics that some web sites currently use is using the computers that access them for crypto currency mining for the duration of the time they are accessed. I am surprised this is not mentioned.
Alternative to Google Voice: jmp.chat
Hello,
I would add an alternative to google firebase : https://kuzzle.io/ (Google’s mobile platform to develop apps ).
Many thanks for this article.
I cunningly outflank Google’s date collection by never doing anything interesting.
For OpenStreetMap, you forgot another great app: OsmAnd. Especially on Android, it works great. On iOS, only basic functionality works.
JotForm (https://www.jotform.com) is a good alternative for Google forms. It also allows importing forms from existing ones.
It all comes down to the efficience/anonymity ratio you want to acheive
Don’t forget about Sync.com – A Google Drive alternative that includes end to end encryption and privacy protection, and they have a totally free tier.
I’d like to add airvpn.org to the list of recommended services. Many features similar to IVPN as mentioned in one comment, reliable in the 4 years I’ve been using, EU-based, accepts cryptos, insists on no tracking, many servers around the world, etc. 54€/year.
Don’t forget the famous DNS service 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 provided by Google.
Great point, Krouaton, Google DNS alternatives will definitely be provided with the next update to this guide (soon).
Dns 1.1.1.1
Does anyone know a good alternative to Google Keep and Chromecast?
1.1.1.1 is run by CloudFlare, and 9.9.9.9 by Quad9/IBM.
There’s also EteSync (www.etesync.com) for contact/calendar sync. It’s secure, end-to-end encrypted and open source, so a much better alternative than what suggested there.
Looks awesome, thanks!
Hi Sven, great article but would be good to mention Google Photos alternatives too. Did you try Yogile? They are based in Europe and do have a transparent Privacy Policy.
Hi Aleks, I haven’t looked into Google Photos alternatives yet, but I will for the next update to this guide.
Check out Shoebox (shoeboxapp.com). No ads, reasonable privacy policy, no ownership if your data.
I have found simple gallery to be a decent alternative. Camera Roll is another alternative I was comfortable with.
Hey Sven,
Have you checked out d.tube (https://d.tube/) instead of youtube? It is awesome because it also works with a new technology called IPFS which makes censoring even harder than on regular internet. I think something like that will be the future for people with a free mind to exchange their ideas.
Hi Kantoku, thanks for the tip, I’ll check it out.
Google provides a centralized way to access all its applications. Unfortunately, this will not be achieved if different other sites are used instead. However, I am very optimistic about these alternatives.
There are multiples alternatives open source libre solutions of google products made by french “Framasoft” association : https://framasoft.org/
And for youtube there is peertube : https://joinpeertube.org/en/home/
Thank you for putting together this list!
Personally I have been pouring development time into another self-hosted OS alternative to Google Analytics as I feel there is a drastic need for more options in that space.
OpenWebAnalytics seems like a relic from a previous era. Matomo (formerly Piwik) is great, but not as simple as I think it could be.
That’s why we’re building Fathom Analytics.
– Self hosted
– Open-source (MIT licensed)
– Opinionated
We want to keep things as simple as possible while still providing you the information you need about your site, so you can make smarter decisions about your design and content.
Either way, keep on fighting the good fight!
Hi Danny, thanks for the heads up about Fathom Analytics – just added it to the guide.
Hey,
I think it’s worth mentioning Runbox for email and Jottacloud for storage, maybe?
Thanks.
Hi Mike D, agreed on Runbox – just added it to the list. I’ll check out Jottacloud as well (also based in Norway).
Also recommend Posteo as an e-mail service provider alternative (I use it personally and it’s great).
They advertise themselves as privacy conscious, secure and operating sustainably.
Agreed – that’s another great service. I’ll have a list of secure email providers coming out soon and Posteo will be included.
I’m not willing to pay, what’s the alternative that can offer big storage like Google Drive/Gmail combo?
Nextcloud can handle an unlimited amount of data, with a strong focus on security and is fully FOSS and self-hostable without too much effort. Combine with a static ip from ovpn VPN-service, and something like mail-in-a-box, mailcow or similar and you have the email/google drive combo.
Best option I know of. Also integrates well with things like LibreOffice Online, Etherpad, Email, XMPP, WebRTC (e2e audio-video chat) etc.
great list, but your still on Android. Do you have a list of alternative mobile os
It’s a very useful article. Thank you.
There is a French alternative to Google Drive with Cozy : https://cozy.io
You’re missing SpiderOak One which is an alternative to Google Drive. It’s encrypted (though proprietary).
I want to add one more gmail alternative, invmail.io
An alternative SWISS web search provider:
https://swisscows.com/about
Not keen on the layout…but…
Yep, I’m just about to publish a guide on privacy search engines, which includes Swisscows.
Do remember the Danish search engine FindX.com
Cool list otherwise
I’ve been using StartPage for years. I noticed shortly after the name change that the search results became much more limited, and has become progressively worse in more recent months. It’s now so bad that often times a search returns zero results, while google has plenty of valid hits. It’s to the point I deem StartPage useless. I’m curious, is this something ixquick is doing on purpose, or has Goggle figured out a way to limit results queried by 3rd party search engines as a way to force people back into the fold?
Hello,
I’m searchin for an app to sync my contacts, crossplatform (Mac, iOS, Android), any idea ? Thx
Not sure, but some email providers also offer ways to secure and sync contacts.
Kolab Now might be what @muhyidin is looking for? Not sure, but it is Swiss based, open and free software and it syncs stuff… https://kolabnow.com/
@Sven Thank you, I like many of your suggestions and you explain things well!
I recommend using Nextcloud which is not just for sharing files but also has an excellent Calendar-App which you can synchronize via CalDav and Contacts-App which you can synchronize with CardDav.
To sync it with Android you can use DAVDroid which is free.
Hello Sven!
What would be a good Google Calendar alternative?
Thanks
Great article, finally cutting out google on my phone and it feels good. Hopped on protonmail and searchx.
What about Playstore alternatives?
Hi John, good point. I’ll research that question and add it to the next article update.
1. F-DROID –> Only Open-Souce contents available
2. Via F-DROID you can download YALP Store which is Google PlayStore without the need to login with your Google-Account
Thanks for the recommendation! First I tried Amazon, but I couldn’t get their app to work. Then I tried apkmirror and Fdroid, but their selections were just too small. They didn’t have any of the apps I use on a daily basis. Then I tried Aptoid, but their app was too invasive. It wanted access to Camera, Contacts, and Location! So far, Yalp is what I’ve been looking for. Thank you!
As Duderino suggested above, if you install F-Droid, and then got install Yalp Store, this basically removes the need for Google Play.
The only drawback I see is that you wouldn’t be able to buy apps, however there is a workaround that as well.
Speaking of users that only use free apps this is a golden mine, as you can really remove Google account completely.
Yalp only omits the google play store UI. You are still using the play store when you download the apk from there.
So, it is not really an “alternative”.
Same for hottube.
For Chrome alternatives I highly recommend epic privacy browser, its open source and based off chromium, has its own privacy based search engine because “It dosen’t trust any other search engine,” built in proxy anti – tracking addons, disables all the data collecting and more, speeds are good, particularly if you do decide to use duck duck go instead of epicsearch.in (their search engine), if you want chrome without data collection (which you get anyway, even if you turn off all the addons), and you want privacy, I recommend epic. [link]
Hi Sven!
What’s your thoughts on Puffin browser?
Thanks!
Hi Gary, I have not heard of or tried out Puffin browser. As a general rule I like to stick with FireFox, however, for both mobile and desktop.
Hello Sven! Am very new to your site (brilliant BTW) and have a question re FireFox. When you say you like to stick to FF, which one do you mean? Seems to be various versions kicking around, e.g. FF Quantum, WaterFox, etc. (I’m on a Mac running macOS 10.12.6.) Thanks in advance!
Hi George, I just mean whatever is the latest version of the standard Firefox browser. The latest version as of now is Firefox Quantum.
The real question is if there is an alternative for Google Services. I mean for Android, there is Aptoide to use instead of Google Play Store but most of the Apps won’t work if you don’t have Google Services installed on your device. 🙁
There is a very time-expensive way.
It’s called Xposed Framework. I used it quite successfull on my Galaxy S4 several years ago. With that you can install a Google Service replacement. Also you can install several location services for GPS etc.
According to the developer you don’t even need to root your device for this.
Unfortunately I don’t know what’s the status of Xposed Framework these days.
What you really need for many apps to work without Google Play Services is an operating system with signature spoofing, such as microG: https://lineage.microg.org/ . The Xposed Frame work is still alive and well, and has a version for Android Nougat and Oreo, as shown here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
What you really need for many apps to work without Google Play Services is an operating system with signature spoofing, such as microG: https://lineage.microg.org/ . The Xposed Frame work is still alive and well, and has a version for Android Nougat and Oreo, as shown here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811