If we want to minimize our digital shadow it is important to limit the access commercial companies and third party trackers have to our data. We can do this by replacing the following free, commercial services we are likely currently using with alternative, free and open source services.
For your computer:
|
Free, commerical services |
Free, non-commerical, alternative services |
Operating system |
|
Skype or MSN |
Windows, Linux Mac |
|
|
Video (such as Skype and Google Hangout) |
Meet Jitsi (for Chrome and Chromium) Jitsi (Video and Voice) |
All |
|
Email services (such as Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail) |
Free privacy enhancing email serices: Riseup or Espiv Any email with Thunderbird and Enigmail ( for PGP encryption) |
All |
|
Search engines (such as Google) |
All |
|
|
Browsers (such as Chrome) |
All |
|
|
File sharing (such as Cloud or Dropbox) |
Tahoe-LAFS, Own Cloud, SparkleShare or Upload files encrypted on the cloud |
All |
|
Shared documents (such as Google Docs) |
All |
|
|
Microsoft Office |
Open / Libre office |
All |
|
Graphics (such as Illustrator and Photoshop) |
All |
|
|
Media Players (such as Windows Media Player) |
All |
|
|
Audio Editors (such as Pro Tools and n-Track) |
All |
|
|
Google maps |
All |
|
|
Operating system for computers (such as Windows and IOS) |
Linux, Ubuntu |
All |
For your mobile:
|
Free, commerical services |
Free, non-commercial, alternative services |
Operating system |
|
Chat apps (such as |
Silent Text (paid service, but can run over Tor) |
Android, iOS |
|
Voice calls on mobile devices |
Silent Phone (paid service, but can run over Tor) |
Android All iOS iOS |
|
Google maps |
Android, iOS |
|
|
Browser for phone or tablet |
Android |
Riseup offers a great overview of alternatives for specific regions in the world, you can find it here https://help.riseup.net/en/security/resources/radical-servers
The Beta version of the Open Integrety Index offer more insights into specific communication tools
