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Tools and services I recommend

This page contains zero affiliate links.
My recommendations based on personal use and trust:

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💻 Browser

Vivaldi
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Very customisable.
  • Respects privacy.
  • No Google telemetry.
  • Encrypted sync.
  • Made in the EU.
Cons:
  • Not fully open-source.
  • Can use a lot of system resources.
  • Based on the Chromium engine.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
Helium
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Open-source.
  • Lightweight.
  • No Google telemetry.
  • Supports uBlock Origin.
  • Anti-fingerprinting measures.
  • No Brave-style bloat.
Cons:
  • Unable to play DRM protected media on sites like Netflix and Disney Plus.
  • No sync between devices.
  • No mobile app.
  • Based on the Chromium engine.
Brave Origin
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Open-source.
  • Lightweight.
  • No Google telemetry.
  • Free on Linux.
  • Supports uBlock Origin.
  • Anti-fingerprinting measures.
  • Removes Brave browser ads and crypto bloat.
Cons:
  • Windows, Android, and iOS require a one time payment.
  • Based on the Chromium engine.
Floorp
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Privacy-conscious defaults like mozilla telemery disabled.
  • Very customisable.
  • Firefox-based.
  • Open source.
Cons:
  • A little slower to get feature and security updates compared to Firefox.
  • Some updates can be buggy.
  • No mobile app.
Mullvad Browser
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Strong privacy features like anti-fingerprinting, ad and tracker blocking, and automatic browser data wiping.
  • Firefox-based.
  • Letterboxing.
  • Identical fingerprint for all users.
  • No telemetry, accounts, or sync.
  • DuckDuckGo default search.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Works with Mullvad VPN.
Cons:
  • Some websites may not function correctly.
  • No mobile app.
  • No built-in sync
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.

📆 Calendar

Proton Calendar
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted.
  • Cross platform.
  • Easy to import calendar information from other providers.
Cons:
  • Fewer features than mainstream alternatives.
  • Read-only sharing with non-Proton users.

🗨️ Chat

Signal
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted.
  • Open-source.
  • Minimal metadata.
  • Disappearing messages.
  • Free and ad-free experience.
  • Cross-platform.
  • IP relay for calls.
Cons:
  • Requires a phone number.
  • US-Based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
SimpleX Chat
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • No phone number requirement.
  • Open-source.
  • Quantum-resistant encryption.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Proxied P2P architecture.
  • Disappearing messages.
  • Multiple profiles.
Cons:
  • UI less polished.
  • Smaller community.
  • UK-based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.

☁️ Cloud Storage

Proton Drive
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end and zero-access encrypted.
  • Switzerland-based company.
  • Open source.
  • Independently audited.
  • Password-protected sharing links.
  • No file size limit.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Built-in Docs and Sheets with collaboration.
  • Has a .onion site.
Cons:
  • Limited free tier.
  • No native Linux desktop app.
  • Potentially higher cost compared to mainstream providers.
Filen
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end and zero access encrypted.
  • Generous free plan.
  • Affordable paid plans.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Germany-based company
Cons:
  • Mobile app can be buggy.
  • Short inactivity policy for free accounts.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
Cryptomator
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Independently audited.
  • Open-source.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Completely free on desktop.
  • One-time purchase on mobile.
  • Works with any cloud provider.
  • Client-side AES-256 encryption.
  • Per-file encryption.
  • German-based company.
Cons:
  • Paid mobile app.
  • No cloud-side search.
  • No protection against device compromise.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.

✉️ Email

Proton Mail
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end & zero-access encryption.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Independently audited.
  • Switzerland-based company.
  • Ad-free experience.
  • Cheap paid plans.
  • Pay anonymously with cash.
  • Blocked third-party trackers in emails.
  • Automated email sorting into folders.
  • Dark Web Monitoring
  • Hide-my-email aliases
  • End-to-end ecrypted password-protected emails for non-Proton users.
  • Custom domain support.
  • Generous free plan.
  • Has a .onion site.
Cons:
  • Subject lines aren't encrypted.
  • Limited free storage
  • Offline support limited to mobile apps.
Tuta Mail
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Quantum-safe end-to-end encryption.
  • Zero-access encryption.
  • Independently audited
  • Open-source.
  • 100% renewable energy.
  • 100% Google-independent.
  • Cheap paid plans.
  • Pay anonymously with cash.
  • German-based company.
  • Subject line encryption by default.
  • Offline support.
  • Custom domain support.
  • End-to-end encrypted storage of all contact details.
Cons:
  • No PGP compatibility.
  • No automated email sorting into folders.
  • UI is fairly basic.
  • Has no .onion site.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
Fastmail
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Ad-free experience.
  • Hide-my-email aliases
  • Scheduled Send & Snooze
  • Offline access.
  • Third-party integrations
  • Generous storage
  • Powerful search.
  • Offline support.
Cons:
  • No end-to-end encryption.
  • No PGP support.
  • No free plan.
  • Requires phone number on sign-up.
  • Australian-based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
  • Partial open-source code.

📄 Documents & Spreadsheets

Proton Docs
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Proton Sheets
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
CryptPad
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

📧 Email Aliasing

SimpleLogin
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Addy.io
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

📓 Notes

Standard Notes
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted.
  • Open-source.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Offline support.
  • Self-hosting.
  • Encypted sheduled backups.
  • Import and export options.
  • Supports community made plugins and themes.
  • Web clipper.
  • Notes stored locally with on-device encryption.
  • Independently audited.
  • End-to-end encrypted file storage.
Cons:
  • Updates can be buggy.
  • Limited free plan.
  • Expensive paid plans.
  • No real-time collaboration.
  • No tasks or to-dos.
  • US-based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
Joplin
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • Open Source.
  • Self-hosting.
  • Offline support.
  • Optional end-to-end encrypted sync.
  • Supports community plugins and themes.
  • Free app.
Cons:
  • No real-time collaboration
  • Mobile sync complexity.
  • UI is more basic compared to others.

🪪 Password Manager

Proton Pass
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted
  • Independently audited.
  • Switzerland-based company.
  • Polished and user friendly UI.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Passkey support.
  • Item history.
  • Generous free plan.
  • Unlimited logins, notes and credit cards on free plan.
  • Secure link and vault sharing.
  • Encrypted attachments.
  • Dark web monitoring.
  • Email aliases.
  • Command line interface.
  • Easy import and export options.
  • Alerts for weak and reused passwords.
  • Emergency access.
  • Built-in 2FA authenticator.
Cons:
  • Autofill is not entirely reliable.
  • Command line interface only on paid plans.
  • Secure link and vault sharing only on paid plans.
  • No self-hosting.
Bitwarden
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted.
  • Open-source.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Passkey support.
  • Generous free plan.
  • Encrypted attachments.
  • Unlimited logins, notes and credit cards on free plan.
  • Self-hosting.
  • Share text and attachments via an encrypted link.
  • Dark web monitoring.
  • Easy import and export options.
  • Alerts for weak and reused passwords.
  • Emergency access.
  • Built-in 2FA authenticator.
Cons:
  • UI feels less polished.
  • Autofill is not entirely reliable.
  • Alerts for weak and reused passwords behind paid plan.
  • Email aliases via third-party behind paid plan.
  • Attachment sharing via encrypted link behind paid plan.
  • US-based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
1Password
Pros & Cons
Pros:
  • End-to-end encrypted
  • Secret Key generated on device.
  • Polished and user friendly UI.
  • Passkey support.
  • Cross-platform.
  • Strong business features
  • Encrypted attachments.
  • Secure link and vault sharing.
  • Dark web monitoring.
  • Alerts for weak and reused passwords.
Cons:
  • Closed-source.
  • No free plan.
  • Expensive paid plan.
  • No self-hosting.
  • Canadian-based company.
  • Based within the 5, 9 or 14 eyes alliance.
KeePassXC
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

📷 Photo Management

Ente
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Proton Drive
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Immich
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

🔍 Search Engine

Kagi
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
DuckDuckGo
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Brave Search
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

🛡️ VPN

Proton VPN
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Windscribe
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Mullvad VPN
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

🌐 DNS

NextDNS
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Control D
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Mullvad DNS
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:

🐧 OS

CachyOS
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Fedora
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
ZorinOS
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Linux Mint
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Cons:
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