*Huge* thanks to [AlternativeTo](https://alternativeto.net/). Without them and their users, this project would be significantly more difficult, if not impossible.
Before reading this guide, I highly recommend reading through [Privacy Tools](https://www.privacytools.io/) and [ethical.net](https://ethical.net/) (thanks u/yieldingTemporarily).
# Contributing
If you want to help out with the project, here are some ideas:
- **iOS app alternatives!** I don't have an iOS device to find alternatives with. I would highly appreciate any help with this.
- Clean up and improve the Markdown
- Provide more information on services with little info
- Suggest new services
@ -71,9 +74,10 @@ These Firefox extensions can help prevent connections to Google domains and also
- Search (web, images)
- [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/) - **5-eyes** - One of the best privacy-focused search engines. Domain is hosted in USA which could potentially be problematic for some. *Editor note: I've used this for the past ~5 months and haven't had any major issues. Instant Answers are incredibly helpful for programming).*
- [Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/) - **9-eyes** - Another privacy search engine that claims to not track any of your data. They operate servers in both USA and Europe.
- [searx.me](https://searx.me/) - [Open-source](https://github.com/asciimoo/searx) (thanks for clarification u/Sheezdudeln) privacy search engine. Domain hosted in Germany.
- [Qwant](https://www.qwant.com/) - Major improvements since 2018's guide.
- [Swisscows](https://swisscows.ch/) - A Swiss search engine that offers a unique search experience for the web, images, videos, music, and more. They are currently funding a mail service. Read through their [datacenter](https://swisscows.ch/en/datacenter) about page, it's really interesting.
- [Ecosia](https://www.ecosia.org/) - **14-eyes** - Search engine that plants trees.
- Images
- *See above. All provide some form of image search.*
- YouTube
@ -97,10 +101,11 @@ These Firefox extensions can help prevent connections to Google domains and also
- *Help requested!*
- G Suite
- [Zoho](https://www.zoho.com/) - Zoho was included in 2018's thread as well, and they've only improved since then. They offer a full enterprise business suite that can easily rival G Suite or MS Office 365.
- Blogger
- Blogger/Sites
- [Joomla](https://www.joomla.org/) - Self-hosted and open-source content management system (CMS).
- [Write.as](https://write.as/) - Self-advertised as privacy-focused.
- [WordPress](https://wordpress.org/) self-hosted - The open-source version of WordPress. A very popular tool and a recognized name.
- [Noblogs](https://noblogs.org/) - **9-eyes** - A privacy/security focused blogging platform.
- Photos
- [Piwigo](https://piwigo.org/) - **9-eyes** (self-hosted) - Self-hosted and open-source cloud photo manager. You can also sign up for an ["as a service" account](https://piwigo.com).
@ -141,13 +146,12 @@ These Firefox extensions can help prevent connections to Google domains and also
- Keep
- [Joplin](https://joplinapp.org/) - Open-source notes/todo app. Available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Also offers a terminal version. It can import Evernote `.enex` files if you use that. It can also sync with Nextcloud (mentioned above).
- [Standard Notes](https://standardnotes.org/) - Encrypted note storage with loads of features. Offers a web app as well as downloads for most operating systems. Has a paid plan, but the free tier has many useful features as well.
- Play Music
- [Emby](https://emby.media/)
- Play Movies and TV
- [Emby](https://emby.media/)
- Sites
- *Help requested!*
- Depending on your usecase, some of the suggestions from Blogger may work as well.
- Play Music & Play Movies and TV
- [Jellyfin](https://jellyfin.github.io/) - Open-source alternative to the Play media services. You do need to provide your own content, however. In active development with frequent updates (to the source, that is).
- [Airsonic](https://airsonic.github.io/) - **Music only** - Self-hosted open-source media streamer. Has features for transcoding audio on-the-fly for "virtually any audio format". You can also set bandwidth limits if you need to. Looks very powerful.
- [Music Player Daemon](https://www.musicpd.org/) - A "flexible, powerful, server-side application for playing music".
- *Editor note: I can no longer recommend [Emby](https://emby.media/) as they are [no longer open-source](https://www.linuxuprising.com/2018/12/jellyfin-free-software-emby-media.html).*
- Thanks to u/eA8KESARaW6iqCpHsbE4 for suggesting Jellyfin and pointing out that Emby isn't open-source.
- Fonts
- [Open Font Library](https://fontlibrary.org/) - **5-eyes** - Lots of Serif and Sans-Serif fonts that can be directly embedded into a website.
- Classroom
@ -167,7 +171,8 @@ These Firefox extensions can help prevent connections to Google domains and also
- [Ubuntu Touch](https://ubuntu-touch.io/) - Ubuntu, but for phones.
- [LineageOS](https://www.lineageos.org/) **5-eyes** - Open-source and based on Android, but without the crap.
- [CopperheadOS](https://copperhead.co/android/) - **5-eyes** - A "secure" version of Android from Canada.
- ~~[CopperheadOS](https://copperhead.co/android/) - **5-eyes** - A "secure" version of Android from Canada.~~
- u/poto-tomato pointed out that CopperheadOS is [no longer active](https://old.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/comments/8qdnn3/goodbye/). It has now evolved into a [new project](https://old.reddit.com/r/CopperheadOS/comments/b6muvh/androidhardening_project_renamed_to_grapheneos/) under the name [GrapheneOS](https://github.com/GrapheneOS).
- [Plasma Mobile](https://www.plasma-mobile.org/) - **5-eyes** - Looks a bit like older versions of Android (before 7.0). Open-source and runs Linux. Very dedicated team, definitely worth trying out.
- [Replicant](https://replicant.us/) - **5-eyes** - Free Android distribution. Puts the emphasis on "freedom and privacy/security".
- Chrome OS
@ -181,6 +186,7 @@ These Firefox extensions can help prevent connections to Google domains and also
- [Mint](https://linuxmint.com/)
- [Fedora](https://getfedora.org/)
- [Arch](https://www.archlinux.org/) or [Manjaro](https://manjaro.org/) *Editor note: I use Manjaro and it's my favourite OS*
- [Trisquel](https://trisquel.info/), [Gentoo](https://www.gentoo.org/), and [Alpine](https://www.alpinelinux.org/) (thanks u/privacyfreak555)
- [AsteroidOS](https://asteroidos.org/) - **14-eyes** - The cleanest (and only) open-source alternative for Wear OS. Make sure you buy a watch that supports it!
@ -218,8 +224,10 @@ When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid)
- [Aurora Store](https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore) - Aurora Store is simply a fork of the Yalp Store, but with an updated, cleaner UI. It can also utilize [microG](https://microg.org/) if you wish to use *very minimal* Google Play services.
- [Fossdroid](https://fossdroid.com/) - Uses the same library as F-Droid, but with a modern UI similar to that of the Play Store and the ability to view apps by popularity.
- [G-Droid](https://gitlab.com/gdroid/gdroidclient/) - Also uses the F-Droid repo but with a different UI.
- [APKGrabber](https://github.com/hemker/apkgrabber) - Fork of [APKUpdater](https://github.com/rumboalla/apkupdater). Both are great tools for avoiding app stores (on Android).
- Calculator
- [Simple Calculator](https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Calculator) - Also part of the SMT project. Available on F-Droid.
- [Calculator N+](https://github.com/tranleduy2000/ncalc) (or NCalc+) - Open-source feature-rich calculator. App itself is no longer in development, but the developer does [encourage pull requests](https://github.com/tranleduy2000/ncalc#calculator-n---powerful-calculator-for-android). I've used it frequently and it works great. Not on F-Droid, but a 3rd party play store can probably find it; or the APK's are available as releases on GitHub. You can also compile from source.
- Calendar
- [Fruux (mobile app)](https://fruux.com/) - Same service from above provides an Android app.
- [Etar](https://github.com/xsoh/Etar-Calendar) - Open-source material design Calendar that integrates with the Android Calendar API. If you have a CalDAV/CardDAV server, I recommend using [DAVx5](https://www.davx5.com/) to sync with it. Available from F-Droid. *Editor note: this is the one I am using*
@ -235,10 +243,11 @@ When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid)
- [Silence.im](https://silence.im/) - Open-source and utilizes Signal's encryption protocol. Seamlessly works with SMS. End-to-end encryption with other Silence users.
- *Both Messages replacements are available on F-Droid*
- [AnySoftKeyboard](https://anysoftkeyboard.github.io/) - Open-source keyboard. Available on F-Droid.
- [Hacker's Keyboard](https://github.com/klausw/hackerskeyboard) - Also open-source. Very useful for developers or sysadmins on the go.
- [kboard](https://github.com/adgad/kboard) - Open-source. Has features for phrases, "lenny faces", macros and more.
- *AnySoftKeyboard is available on F-Droid*
- [Simple Keyboard](https://github.com/rkkr/simple-keyboard) - Open-source, available from F-Droid.
- [Indic Keyboard](https://gitlab.com/indicproject/indic-keyboard) - Open-source keyboard that supports many languages that other keyboards sometimes don't support. Not on F-Droid, but can be built from source or possibly through a Play Store alternative.
@ -251,14 +260,18 @@ When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid)
- Posteo - Any open-source mail client. I use [FairEmail](https://email.faircode.eu/) from F-Droid.
- Mailbox.org - *Help requested*
- [Disroot](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.disroot.disrootapp/) - Available from F-Droid.
- Keep
- Keep (or any stock note-taking app)
- [Notepad](https://github.com/farmerbb/Notepad) - Open-source and available from F-Droid. Supports Markdown and HTML. Very clean and feature-rich. *Offline only*.
- [Joplin](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin) for Android - Scroll down on the GitHub page until you reach the Android download links. No F-Droid repo, but you can download the APK directly instead of using the Play Store.
- [Standard Notes](https://standardnotes.org/) - Encrypted note storage with loads of features.
- [Omni Notes](https://omninotes.app/) - Very feature rich, open-source, material design notes app. Very active development. Available on F-Droid.
- [Carnet](https://github.com/PhieF/CarnetDocumentation) - I had some trouble finding info on this one. Looks like it has pretty seamless/painless ownCloud and NextCloud integration. Also available on F-Droid.
- [Markor](https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html) - Open-source notes/to-do app for Android. Supports Markdown editing. Available on F-Droid. App is 100% offline, as stated on the [GitHub README](https://github.com/gsantner/markor#privacy).
- Maps/Waze
- Don't use Waze. It's owned by Google.
- [Maps](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.maps/) - Available from F-Droid. Open-source navigation app based on MAPS.ME. Searching for addresses doesn't always work and finding businesses can be a slight hassle, but overall one of the better apps I've used.
- News
- [Flym](https://github.com/FredJul/Flym) - Open-source materian design RSS reader. Available from F-Droid.
- Photos
- [Piwigo Android](https://github.com/Piwigo/Piwigo-Android) - You need to have Piwigo set up first.
- Pay
@ -267,11 +280,11 @@ When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid)
- [YouTube Vanced](https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-youtube-vanced-edition-t3758757) (if you are desperate) - Please read the XDA post before deciding to use this.
- Authenticator
- [andOTP](https://github.com/andOTP/andOTP) - Open-source 2FA app available from F-Droid. *Editor note: I use this one*
- [FreeOTP](https://freeotp.github.io/) - Available from F-Droid (or GitHub for an iOS version). Last update was in December 2017 so it's unclear whether or not the project is still active.
- Play Music
- *Help requested!*
- Play Movies and TV
- *Help requested!*
- [FreeOTP+](https://github.com/helloworld1/FreeOTPPlus) - FreeOTP is no longer in development so this fork should be used instead as it is currently in development. Available from F-Droid.
- [Aegis](https://github.com/beemdevelopment/Aegis) - Open-source 2FA for Android. Available on F-Droid.
- Play Music/Play Movies & TV
- [Audinaut](https://github.com/nvllsvm/Audinaut) - An open-source Airsonic client for Android. Available from F-Droid.
- [MALP](https://gitlab.com/gateship-one/malp) - An open-source Android client for MPD. Available on F-Droid.
- Hangouts
- [Conversations](https://conversations.im/) - **14-eyes** - An open-source Android Jabber/XMPP client. It's a paid app on Google Play, but you can also [build it from source](https://github.com/siacs/Conversations) for free if you want to.
- [Riot](https://github.com/vector-im/riot-android) Android app - The open-source Android client for Riot.
@ -281,6 +294,7 @@ When searching for replacements, check the alternative stores (such as F-Droid)
Android launchers:
- [Shade Launcher](https://github.com/amirzaidi/Shade) - Open-source Android launcher styled after the Google Pixel launcher. No F-Droid, but you can download the APK from GitHub.
- [ZimLX](https://github.com/otakuhqz/ZimLX) - Open-source launcher. Active development with lots of nice features. Available from F-Droid.
## Hardware
@ -318,6 +332,7 @@ Everything you need to become Privacy Wizard.
- [Why you should put tape over your webcam](https://outline.com/fYCu98)
- [What is DNS and why should I change it?](https://outline.com/8jsWXw) I think it's common sense to not use Google Public DNS; I use and recommend [Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1](https://1.1.1.1/). Use [DNSPerf](https://www.dnsperf.com/#!dns-resolvers) to see which one is fastest for you (Google ranks 4th and Cloudflare ranks 1st at time of writing this).
- What is GDPR? [TechRadar](https://outline.com/6sjd76) and [The Guardian](https://outline.com/exmSpf)
- [Here](https://github.com/lfit/itpol/blob/master/linux-workstation-security.md) is a really good guide for configuring a super secure Linux workstation (thanks u/aoeudhtns)
- Did you read the [wiki](https://old.reddit.com/r/privacy/wiki/index) yet? Go do that.
Joshua Moore
5 years ago
committed by
GitHub