Awesome Privacy

awesomeprivacy.org

List of free, open source and privacy respecting services and alternatives to privative services.

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[!IMPORTANT] Anonymity, Privacy, and Security are often used interchangeably, but they actually represent distinct concepts. It is important to understand the differences between them. Read more in this section below.

The primary focus of this list is to provide alternatives that prioritize privacy. These alternatives give you control over your data and do not collect or sell it.

Contents

💬 Communication & Social
Instant Messaging · Mail Services · Online Phone Providers · Video and Audio Conferencing · Teamworking Tools · Social Networks and Platforms · Commenting Engines · Translation · RSS Readers

🌐 Networking & Web
VPNs · Web Browser · Search Engines · Domains & Hosting · Link Shorteners · Link in Bio Tools · Captchas · Analytics · Routers

🔐 Security & Encryption
2FA · Password Managers · Encryption · Pastebin and Secret Sharing · Privacy Tools · Whistleblowing

📁 Files & Productivity
Cloud Storage · File Management and Sharing · Download Manager · Notes and Tasks · Office · PDF Tools · Calendar · Bookmarking · Forms · Databases

🎬 Media & Creative
Media Streaming Platforms · Music Recognition · Photo Storage · Photo Editing and Management · Video Editing · Screen Recording · Design Tools · Creator Tools · Fonts · Games · Ebooks

📱 Mobile & OS
Android · Operating Systems · Home Assistants

🛠️ Developer & Self-hosting
Developer Tools · Version Control · Remote Access and Control · Artificial Intelligence · Automation

💸 Money
Payments · Personal Finances

🧭 Everyday
Maps and Navigation · Fitness and Health · Dating Apps · Location Tracking · Utilities

💬 Communication & Social

Instant Messaging

Mainstream messengers collect who you talk to, when and from where, even when the messages themselves are encrypted. Look for end-to-end encryption by default, open source clients, and as little metadata and identifying info (like a phone number) as possible; this site compares many of them.

🚫 Avoid

• WhatsApp: in 2021 Ireland fined it €225 million for not properly explaining what data it shares with Facebook. _{ToS;DR · Source}
• Facebook Messenger: chats have been encrypted since 2023, but Meta still sees who you message, when, and who your contacts are. _{ToS;DR · Exodus · Source}
• Instagram DM: in 2026 Meta ended its opt-in end-to-end encryption for Instagram DMs, so Meta can read every message. _{ToS;DR · Source}
• Google Chat: messages aren't end-to-end encrypted and sit on Google's servers. _ToS;DR

✅ Use instead

Decentralized

Many independently run servers talk to each other, so there is no single point of control or failure and you can pick a server or run your own. Federation is more complex and leaves some extra metadata on the servers involved.

• DeltaChat - Messenger that runs over email, with end-to-end encryption and no phone number needed. _{GPL-3.0 · F-Droid}
• Jabber / XMPP (Protocol) - Long-standing open messaging standard with many servers and clients, and OMEMO for end-to-end encryption.
  • Conversations - XMPP client built for phones, with OMEMO encryption on by default. _{Android · F-Droid}
  • Dino - Desktop XMPP client with OMEMO and OpenPGP end-to-end encryption. _{Linux · GPL-3.0}
  • Gajim - Desktop XMPP client with OMEMO encryption. _{Linux · macOS · Windows · GPL-3.0}
  • Snikket - Self-hosted XMPP service you set up with one command, with matching apps for your family or group. _{self-host · Apache-2.0 · F-Droid}
• Matrix (Protocol) - Open standard for federated chat and calls, with end-to-end encryption between clients. _Apache-2.0
  • Cinny - Matrix client with a clean, minimal interface. _AGPL-3.0
  • Element - The flagship Matrix client, with end-to-end encryption on by default for private chats. ⚠️ website trackers _AGPL-3.0
• Session - Messenger that needs no phone number and routes messages through an onion network of community-run nodes. _{GPL-3.0 · F-Droid}
• SimpleX Chat - Messenger with no user IDs at all, so its servers can't see who talks to whom. _{AGPL-3.0 · F-Droid}

Centralized

One provider runs the servers, which is a single point of failure and control. That can still be trustworthy when the protocol and code are open and audited.