Privacy Resources
To empower you with the knowledge and tools of privacy, I've compiled a comprehensive list of privacy tools and resources. This curated list is a result of extensive research and will continue to expand as I invest more time studying and updating it. By sharing this list, I hope to set you on a path of protecting and defending your online privacy. I also encourage you to do your own research and explore tools that best suit your needs.
Proton Mail - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Switzerland
Tuta - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Germany
Mailfence - Supports end-to-end encryption. Closed source. Free & paid plans. Based in Belgium
Email aliases
SimpleLogin - Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Switzerland. *(Purchased by Proton in 2022).
addy.io - Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Europe
VPNS
Proton VPN - Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Switzerland
Mullvad VPN - Open source. Paid plans only. Based in Sweden
IVPN - Open source. Paid plans only. Based in Gibraltar.
Messengers
Signal - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Centralized. Free. Based in USA
Threema - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Centralized. Need to pay a one-time fee of $5.99. Based in Switzerland
SimpleX Chat - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Decentralized. Free. Based in U.K.
Session - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Decentralized. Free. Based in Switzerland. *(Previously based in Australia).
Briar - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Decentralized. Free. Base unknown
Delta Chat - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Decentralized. Free. Based in Germany
Password Managers
Bitwarden - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in USA. *Read here to learn more about code status
Proton Pass - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Switzerland
KeePassXC - Supports end-to-end encryption. Offline storage. Open source. Free. Based in Germany.
1Password - Supports end-to-end encryption. Closed source. Paid plans only. Based in Canada
Password Generators
Desktop Browsers
Mullvad Browser - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
LibreWolf - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
Tor - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
Brave - Open source. Free. Chromium-based.
DuckDuckGo - Partially open source. Free. Chromium-based.
Zen - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
Floorp - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
Waterfox - Open source. Free. Firefox-based.
Firefox - Open source. Free. *Read about Mozilla's Terms of Service controversy here
Search Engines
SearXNG - Free. Open source. Mixes queries with searches on other platforms. Base unknown
Stract - Free. Open source. Uses their own index. Based in Denmark
Mojeek - Free. Closed source. Uses their own search engine. Based in U.K.
DuckDuckGo - Free. Closed source. Uses Bing search engine. Based in USA
Brave Search - Free. Code status unknown. Uses their own search engine. Based in USA
Qwant - Free. Closed source. Uses Bing search engine. Based in France
Startpage - Free. Closed source. Uses Google search engine. Based in the Netherlands
Swisscows - Free. Closed source. Uses Bing search engine. Based in Switzerland
PriEco - Free. Open Source. Uses Google, Bing, and Mojeek search engine. Base unknown
Mullvad Leta - Free. Closed source. Uses Google and Brave search engine. Based in Sweden
Word Processors
Proton Docs - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free (part of Proton Drive). Based in Switzerland
Cryptee - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Estonia
CryptPad - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in France
LibreOffice - Does NOT support end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free. Based in Germany
Etherpad - Does NOT support end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free. Base unknown
Note-Taking Applications
Cryptee - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Estonia
Standard Notes - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in U.S. *(Bought by Proton in April 2024)
Notesnook - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Pakistan.
Joplin - Supports end-to-end encryption, but not on by default. Open source. Free. Based in France.
Beaver Notes - Does NOT support end-to-end encryption. Stores notes locally on device. Open source. Free. Base unknown.
Obsidian - Does NOT support end-to-end encryption. Stores notes locally on device. Closed source. Free & paid plans. Based in Canada.
Hand write your notes
Video conferencing
Jami - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free. Based in Canada.
Jitsi Meet - Supports end-to-end encryption, but not on by default. Open source. Free. Base unknown.
Encryption Software
Cryptomator - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free & paid plans. Based in Germany.
Picocrypt - Supports end-to-end encryption. Open source. Free. Base unknown.
Other tools and resources
Have I Been Pwned? - A website that lists data breaches
AlternativeTo - "a crowd-sourced and free site that helps you find better apps and services."
OpenAlternative - "A curated collection of the best open source alternatives to everyday SaaS products."
opensourcealternatives.org - "Find free and open source alternatives to tools that don’t respect you."
European Alternatives - "We help you find European alternatives for digital service and products, like cloud services and SaaS products."
OSS Gallery - "A crowdsourced list of the best open-source projects on the internet."
Tails - "a portable operating system that protects against surveillance and censorship."
Whonix - "As handy as an app - delivering maximum anonymity and security."
Distrochooser - "This test will help you choose a suitable Linux distribution."
Cover Your Tracks - "See how trackers view your browser"
PrivacyTests.org - "Open-source tests of web browser privacy."
ip.me - "What’s my public IP address?"
JustDeleteMe - "A directory of direct links to delete your account from web services."
FreeTube - "The Private YouTube Client"
uBlock Origin - "An efficient blocker for Chromium and Firefox. Fast and lean."
Permission Slip - "One app to take back control of your data"
Internet Society Digital Footprint Course - Online course about digital footprints presented by the Internet Society.
Redact - "The only platform that allows you to automatically clean up your old posts from services like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Discord, and more, all in one place."
Privacy Checkup - "How well do you protect your privacy?"
Surveillance Watch - "an interactive map revealing the intricate connections between surveillance companies, their funding sources and affiliations."
Street Level Surveillance - "EFF’s Street-Level Surveillance project shines a light on the surveillance technologies that law enforcement agencies routinely deploy in our communities."