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Privacy & Security-Focused Software and Services
A curated list of privacy-respecting apps, software, and providers 🔐
Too long? 🦒 See the TLDR version instead.
Intro
If you want greatly increase your digital security, and protect your personal information, then start migrating to encrypted, privacy-respecting open source software and services. Using open-source applications with a strong emphasis on security will help stop large corporations, governments, and hackers from logging, storing or selling your personal details.
Categories
Basics
- Password Managers
- 2-Factor Authentication
- File Encryption
- Encrypted Messaging
- Encrypted Email
- Browsers
- Search Engines
Security
Networking
Productivity
Misc
See Also
- Personal Security Checklist
- Further Links: Privacy & Security
- The Importance of Digital Security & Privacy
Password Managers
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| BitWarden | Free and open source, cross-platform password manager with sync |
| 1Password | Open source, fully-featured cross-platform password manager with sync. Free for self-hosted (or $3/ month hosted) |
| KeePassXC | Open source, secure password manager, but without cloud-sync capabilities. KeePassXC is a community fork of KeePass |
| LessPass | LessPass is a little different, since it generates your passwords using a hash of the website name, your username and a single master-passphrase that you reuse. It omits the need for you to ever need to store or sync your passwords. They have apps for all the common platforms and a CLI, but you can also self-host it. |
2-Factor Authentication
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Aegis | Free, secure and open source app for managing 2-step verification tokens, on Android |
| AndOTP | Another open source, secure authenticator app. AndOTP is well established with a strong large user base |
Check which websites support multi-factor authentication: twofactorauth.org
Note: Don't use your password manager to also store your 2-FA tokens- use a separate application.
File Encryption
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| VeraCrypt | VeraCrypt is open source cross-platform disk encryption software. You can use it to either encrypt a specific file or directory, or an entire disk or partition. VeraCrypt is incredibly feature-rich, with comprehnsive encryption options, yet the GUI makes it easy to use. It has a CLI version, and a portable eddition. VeraCrypt is the successor of (the now depricated) TrueCrypt. |
| Cryptomator | Open source client-side encryption for cloud files- Cryptomator is geared towards using alongside cloud-backup solutions, and hence preserves individual file structure, so that they can be uploaded. It too is easy to use, but has fewer technical customizations for how the data is encrypted, compared with VeraCrypt. Cryptomator works on Windows, Linux and Mac- but also has excellant mobile apps. |
If you need to create a compressed archive, prior to encrypting your files, then PeaZip is a great little cross-platform open source file archiver utility. It allows you to create, open, and extract RAR TAR ZIP archives.
Encrypted Messaging
Without using a secure app for instant messaging, all your conversations, meta data and more is unprotected. Signal one of the best options- it's easy, yet also highly secure and privacy-centric.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Signal | Probably one of the most popular, secure private messaging apps that combines strong encryption (see Signal Protocol) with a simple UI and plenty of features. It's widely used across the world, and easy-to-use, functioning similar to WhatsApp - with instant messaging, read-receipts, support for media attachments and allows for high-quality voice and video calls. It's cross-platform, open-source and totally free. Signal is recommended by Edward Snowden, and is a perfect solution for most users |
| KeyBase | KeyBase allows encrypted real-time chat, group chats, and public and private file sharing. It also lets you cryptographically sign messages, and prove your ownership to other social identities (Twitter, Reddit, GitHub, etc), and send or receive Stella or BitCoin to other users. It's slightly more complex to use than Signal, but has some great cryptography features, and is good for group chats |
| Silence | If you're restricted to only sending SMS/MMS, then Silence makes it easy to encrypt messages between 2 devices. This is important since traditional text messaging is inherently insecure. It's easy-to-use, reliable and secure- but has fallen in popularity, now that internet-based messaging is often faster and more flexible |
| Matrix | Matrix is a little different since it is a federated messaging service, hence provides an open network for secure, decentralized, real-time communication. Riot is a popular cross-platform, feature-full open source Matrix client. You can host your Matrix own server, or use existing ones- it functions in a similar way to Slack, so is good for groups, projects, and organizations |
| Jami | Jami is a peer-to-peer service, meaning it connects message recipients to each other directly. P2P services don't require a third-party server, expose minimal data to third parties, and usually E2E encrypted by default. Other P2P alternatives include Briar, Bit Message, and Tox (beta) |
| OpenPGP | Slightly harder to use, slower, but still widley used. Note that there are known issues in the PGP standard, but still considered secure for general purpose use. Using GnuPG, you can encrypt messages following the OpenPGP standard. OpenPGP was defined by the IETF, proposed in RFC 4880 and derived from the PGP software, (created by Phil Zimmermann, now owned by Symantec). There have been vulnrabilities found in the OpenPGP and S/MIME, defined in EFAIL, so it is often better to use an encrypted messaging or email app instead. |
Other Notable Mentions
Chat Secure and Status, are private, encrypted, open source messenger apps. They are both still in early stages, so were'nt included in the main list. Note that Tor Messengers been removed from the list, since development has halted.
Word of Warning: Closed Source Messaging
Many messaging apps claim to be secure, but if they are not open source, then this cannot be verified- and they should not be trusted. This applies to Telegram, Threema, Cypher, Wickr, Silent Phone and Viber, to name a few- these apps should not be used to communicate any sensitive data.
Encrypted Email
Email, is not secure- your messages can be easily intercepted and read. Coporations scan the content of your mail, to build up a profile of you, either to show you targeted ads or to sell onto third-parties. Through the Prism Program, the government also has full access to the plain text and meta data of all sent and received emails. This applies to Gmail, Outlook Mail, Yahoo Mail, GMX, ZoHo, iCloud, AOL and more.
The below email providers are private, encrypted and safe
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| ProtonMail | An open-source, end-to-end encrypted anonymous email service. ProtonMail has a modern easy-to-use and customizable UI, as well as fast, secure native mobile apps. ProtonMail has all the features that you'd expect from a modern email service and is based on simplicity without sacrificing security. It has a free plan or a premium option for using custom domains. ProtonMail requires no personally identifiable information for signup, they have a .onion server, for access via Tor, and they accept anonymous payment: BTC and cash (as well as the normal credit card and PayPal). |
| Tutanota | Free and open source email service based in Germany. It has a basic intuitive UI, secure native mobile apps, anonymous signup, and a .onion site. Tutonota has a full-featured free plan or a premium subscription for businesses allowing for custom domains ($12/ month). |
| Mailfence | Mailfence supports OpenPGP so that you can manually exchange encryption keys independently from the Mailfence servers, putting you in full control. Mailfence has a simple UI, similar to that of Outlook, and it comes with bundled with calendar, address book, and files. All mail settings are highly customizable, yet still clear and easy to use. Sign up is not anonymous, since your name, and prior email address is required. There is a fully-featured free plan, or you can pay for premium, and use a custom domain ($2.50/ month, or $7.50/ month for 5 domains), where BitCoin, LiteCoin or credit card is accepted. |
See OpenTechFund- Secure Email for more details.
Other Notable Mentions
HushMail, StartMail, Kolab Now, Posteo, and Disroot
Alias Services
Revealing your real email address online can put you at risk. Using something like 33Mail, which is an aliasing service, allows you to use a different email address for each online account, with all emails landing in your real inbox. It lets you identify which provider leaked your email address, and block an allias. Email addresses are created automatically, the first time you use them, and the messages land in your normal inbox. You can even reply to mail, to hide your real email address.
33mail.com is free, but there is a primium plan ($1/ month) if you'd like to use a custom domain. Alternativley you could host your own instance, or is you have ProtonMail you can manually create email alliases.
Self-Hosted Email
If you do not want to trust an email provider with your messages, you can host your own mail server. Without experience, this can be notoriously hard to correctly configure, especially when it comes to security. You may also find that cost, performance and features make it a less attractive optrion. If you do decide to go down this route, Mail-in-a-box, is an easy to deploy, open source mail server. It aims to promote decentralization, innovation, and privacy on the web, as well as have automated, auditable, and idempotent system configuration. Other ready-to-go self-hosted mail options include Mailu and Mail Cow, both of which are docker containers.
Mail Clients
Email clients are the programs used to interact with the mail server. For hosted email, then the web and mobile clients provided by your email service are usually adequate, and may be the most secure option. For self-hosted email, you will need to install and configure mail clients for web, desktop or mobile.
- Dektop - Mozilla Thunderbird is an open source, highly customizable, secure and private desktop email client, for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you are using ProtonMail, then you can use the ProtonMail Bridge, to sync your emails to either Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook. In terms of security, the disadvantage, is that most desktop clients do not support 2FA, so it is important to keep your computer secured, however they are not vulnrable to the common browser attacks, that a web client would be.
- Web - If you are self-hosting your mail server, you will probably want a web-based email client. RainLoop and RoundCube are both good open source options.
- Mobile - the most secure option is usually to use the app provided by your mail provider. If your mail server is self-hosted, then consider FairMail which is a fully featured, open source, privacy oriented email app for Android. There is also pretty Easy privacy p≡p, which has OpenPGP built in. K-9 Mail, which has been around almost as long as Android, has a solid reputation for privacy and security features.
Browsers
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Brave Browser | Brave Browser, is currently one of the most popular private browsers- it provides unmatched speed, security, and privacy by blocking trackers. It also pays you in BAT tokens for using it. The interface is very clear and simple and offers all the features of Chrome/ Chromium + more. Brave also has Tor built-in, when you open up a private tab/ window. |
| FireFox | Compared to Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari- Firefox is significantly more secure, and offers some nifty privacy features. After installing, there are a couple of small tweaks you will need to make, in order to secure Firefox. You can follow one of these guides by: Restore Privacy, Security Gladiators or 12Bytes |
| Bromite | Bromite is Chromium (Chrome without Google) plus ad blocking and enhanced privacy. It provides a no-clutter browsing experience without privacy-invasive features- it's lightweight and minimal |
| Tor Browser | Undoubtedly Tor is the king of secure browsers. It provides an extra layer of anonymity, by encrypting each of your requests, then routing it through several nodes, making it near-impossible for you to be tracked. It does make every-day browsing a little slower, and some sites will require you to complete a CAPTCHA, and others may not work at all on Tor |
See also: Recommended Browser Extensions
Search Engines
Google frequently modifies and manipulates search, and is in persuit of eliminating competition and promoting their own services above others. They also track, collect, use and sell detailed user search and meta data.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| DuckDuckGo | DuckDuckGo is a very user-friendly, fast and secure search engine. It's totally private, with no trackers, cookies or ads. It's also highly customisable, with dark-mode, many languages and features. They even have a .onion URL, for use with Tor. |
| Start Page | Start Page displays Googles results, through but through their servers- meaning Google can not track you, but you still see results similar to what you would with Google. (European users, see also ixquick) |
| Qwant | French service that aggregates Bings results, with it's own results. Quant doesn't plant any cookies, nor have any trackers or third-party advertising. It returns non-biased search results, with no promotions. Quant has a uinique, but nice UI |
Another option would be to host your own- Searx is a good option, since it is easy to set-up, secure, private and is backed by a strong community
Virtual Private Networks
VPNs are good for getting round censorship, increasing protection on public WiFi, obscuring your IP address, and reducing what data your ISP can log. But for the most anonymity, you should use Tor. VPNs do not mean you are automatically protected, or anonymous (see below).
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Mullvad | Mullvad is one of the best for privacy, they own all their own servers and have a totally anonymous sign up process, you don't need to provide any details at all, you can choose to pay annonymously too (with Monero, BTC or cash) |
| ProtonVPN | From the creators of ProtonMail, ProtonVPN has a solid reputation. They have a full suit of user-friendly native mobile and desktop apps. ProtonVPN is one of the few "trustworthy" providers that also offer a free plan |
Other VPN Options
Perfect Privacy -- TorGuard -- IVPN -- PureVPN -- NordVPN -- SwitchVPN -- Safer VPN -- VirtualShield -- Private Internet Access -- VPN.ac -- WindScribe -- VyperVPN
Full VPN Comparison: thatoneprivacysite.net.
Word of Warning
- A VPN does not make you anonymous- it merely chnages your IP accress to that of your VPN provider, instead of ISP. Your browsing session can still be linked back to your real identity either through your system details (such as user agent, screen resolution even typing patterns), cookies/ session storage, or by the identifiable data that you enter. Read more about fingerprinting
- Logging- If you choose to use a VPN because you do not agree with your ISP logging your full browsing history, then it is important to keep in mind that your VPN provider can see (and mess with) all your traffic. Many VPNs claim not to keep logs, but you cannot be certain of this. See this article for more
- Tor is the best option for private browsing
Considerations
While choosing a VPN, consider the following: Logging policy (logs are bad), Jurisdiction (avoid 5-eyes), Number of servers, availability and average load. Payment method (anonymous methods such as BTC, Monero or cash are better), Leak protection (1st-party DNS servers = good, and check if IPv6 is supported), protocols (OpenVPN and WireGuard = good). Finally, usability of their apps, user reviews and download speeds.
Self-Hosted VPN
If you don't trust a VPN provider not to keep logs, then you could self-host your own VPN. This gives you you total control, but at the cost of anonymity (since your cloud provider, will require your billing info). See Streisand, to learn more, and get started with running a VPN. Digital Ocean provides flexible, secure and easy Linux VMs, (from $0.007/hour or $5/month), this guide explains how to set up VPN on: CentOS 7 or Ubuntu 18.4+. See more about configuring OpenVPN or IKEv2. Alternativley, here is a 1-click install scriptfor on Digital Ocean, by Carl Friess.
Mix Networks
Mix networks are routing protocols, that create hard-to-trace communications, by encrypting and routing traffic through a series of nodes. They help keep you anonymous online, and unlike VPNs -there are no logs
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Tor | Tor provides robust anonymity, allowing you to defend against surveillance, circumvent censorship and reduce tracking. It blocks trackers, resists fingerprinting and implements multi-layered encryption by default, meaning you can browse freely. Tor also allows access to OnionLand: hidden services |
| I2P | I2P offers great generic transports that. It is well geared towards accessing hidden services, and has a couple of technical benefits over Tor: P2P friendly with unidirectional short-lived tunnels, it is packet-switched (instead of circuit-switched) with TCP and UDP, and continuiosly profiles peers, in order to select the best performing ones. I2P is less mature, but fully-distributed and self-organising, it's smaller size means that it hasn't yet been blocked or DOSed much |
| Freenet | Freenet is easy to setup, provides excelland friend To Friend Sharing vs I2P, and is great for publishing content anonymously. It's quite large in size, and very slow so not the best choice for casual browsing |
Tor, I2P and Freenet are all anonimity networks- but they work very differently and each is good for specific purposes. So a good and viable solution would be to use all of them, for different tasks. You can read more about how I2P compares to Tor, here
Notable Mentions
Panoramix is a European project, aiming to use mix-networks to provide anonymity. Nym uses Blockchain, to reward node operators in order to keep the network sustainable.
Word of Warning
To provide low-latency browsing, Tor does not not mix packets or generate cover traffic. If an adversary is powerful enough, theoretically they could either observe the entire network, or just the victims entry and exit nodes. It's worth mentioning, that even though your ISP can not see what you are doing, they will be able determine that you are using a mix net, to hide this- a VPN could be used. If you are doing anything which could put you at risk, then good OpSec is essential, as the authoroties have traced criminals through the Tor network before, and made arrests.
Note: The Tor netowrk is run by the community. If you benifit from using it, and would like to help sustain uncensored internet access for all- consider running a Tor relay.
Proxies
A proxy acts as a gateway between you and the internet, they can be used to act as a firewall or web filter, improves privacy and can also be used to provide shared network connections and cache data to speed up common requests. Never use a free proxy.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| ShadowSocks | Secure socks5 proxy, designed to protect your Internet traffic. Open source, superfast, cross-platform and easy to deploy, see GitHub repo |
| Privoxy | Non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk |
Notable Mentions
V2ray-core is a platform for building proxies to bypass network restrictions and protect your privacy. See more
Word of Warning
Malicious Proxies are all too common. Always use open source software, host it yourself or pay for a reputable cloud service. Never use a free proxy; it can monitor your connection, steal cookies and contain malware. VPNs are a better option, better still- use the Tor network.
DNS
Without using a secure, privacy-centric DNS all your web requests can be seen in the clear. You should configure your DNS queries to be managed by a service that respects privacy and supports DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-HTTPS or DNSCrypt.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| CloudFlare | One of the most performant options, Cloudflare's DNS supports DoH and DoT, and has a Tor implementation, providing world-class protection. They have native cross-platform apps, for easy set-up. |
| AdGuard | Open-source DNS provider, specialising in the blocking of ads, trackers and malicious domains. They have been independently audited and do not keep logs |
| SecureDNS | An open source DNS provider, with built-in ad block and additional privacy features. Supports DoH, DoT and DNSCrypt. It is not as performant as some of the bigger players, but still a good option in terms of security |
| NextDNS | An ad-blocking, privacy-protecting, censorship-bypassing DNS. Also comes with analytics, and the ability to shield kids from adult content |
See also this Full List of Public DoH Servers, you can then check the performance of your chosen server with DNSPerf. To read more about choosing secure DNS servers, see this article, and this article.
DNS Protocols
DNS-over-TLS was proposed in RTC-7858 by the IETF, then 2 years later, the DNS-over-HTTPS specification was outlined in RFC8484 in October '18. DNSCrypt, is a protocol that authenticates communications between a DNS client and a DNS resolver. It prevents DNS spoofing, through using cryptographic signatures to verify that responses originate from the chosen DNS resolver, and haven’t been tampered with. DNSCrypt is a well battle-tested protocol, that has been in use since 2013, and is still widely used.
Notable Mentions
- Quad9 is a well-funded, performant DNS with a strong focus on privacy and security and easy set-up, however questions have been raised about the motivation of some of the financial backers.
- BlahDNS (Japan, Finland or Germany) is an excellant security-focused DNS
- OpenNIC, NixNet DNS and UncensoredDNS are open source and democratic, privacy-focused DNS
- Clean Browsing, is a good option for protecting kids, they offer comprehensive DNS-based Content Filtering
Word of Warning
Using an encrypted DNS resolver will not make you anonymous, it just makes it harder for third-partied to discover your domain history. If you are using a VPN, take a DNS leak test, to ensure that some requests are not being exposed.
Firewalls
A firewall is a program which monitors the incoming and outgoing traffic on your network, and blocks requests based on rules set during its configuration. Properly configured, a firewall can help protect against attempts to remotely access your computer, as well as controll which applictions can access which IPs
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| NetGuard (Android) |
Provides simple and advanced ways to block access to the internet. Applications and addresses can individually be allowed or denied access to Wi-Fi and/or mobile connection |
| NoRoot Firewall (Android) |
Notifies you when an app is trying to access the Internet, so all you need to do is just Allow or Deny. Allows you to create filter rules based on IP address, host name or domain name, and you can allow or deny only specific connections of an app |
| Lockdown (iOS) |
Firewall app for iPhone, allowing you to block any connection to any domain |
| SimpleWall (Windows) |
Tool to control Windows Filtering Platform (WFP), in order to configure detailed network activity on your PC |
| OpenSnitch (Linux) |
Makes internet connections from all apps visible, allowing you to block or manage traffic on a per-app basis. GNU/Linux port of the Little Snitch application firewall |
| Little Snitch (OS X) |
A very polished application firewall, allowing you to easily manage internet connections on a per-app basis |
| IPFire (hardware) |
IPFire is a hardened, versatile, state-of-the-art Open Source firewall based on Linux. Easy to install on a raspberry Pi, since it is lightweight and heavily customizable |
| Shorewall (hardware) |
An open source firewall tool for Linux that builds upon the Netfilter system built into the Linux kernel, making it easier to manage more complex configuration schemes with iptables |
| OpenSense (hardware) |
Enterprise firewall and router for protecting networks, built on the FreeBSD system |
Word of Warning
There are different types of firewalls, that are used in different circumstances. This does not ommit the need to configure your operating systems defenses. Follow these instructions to enable your firewall in Windows, Mac OS, Ubuntu and other Linux ditros. Even when properly configured, having a firewall enabled does not gaurantee bad network traffic can not get through
Network Analysis
Weather you live in a country behind a firewall, or accessing the internet through a proxy- these tools will help you better understand the extent of blocking, deep packet inspection and what data is being analysed
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| OONI | Open Observatory of Network Interference- A free tool and global observation network, for detecting censorship, surveillance and traffic manipulation on the internet. Developed by The Tor Project, and available for Android, iOS and Linux |
| Mongol | A Python script, to pinpoint the IP address of machines working for the The Great Firewall of China. See also gfwlist which is the Chinese ban list, and gfw_whitelist. For a list of Russian government IP addresses, see antizapret |
| Goodbye DPI | Passive Deep Packet Inspection blocker and Active DPI circumvention utility, for Windows |
| DPITunnel | An Android app to bypass deep packet inspection |
| Proxy Checker | You can quickly check if a given IP is using a proxy, this can also be done through the command line |
Cloud Hosting
Weather you are hosting a website/ app and want to keep your users data safe, or if you are hosting your own file backup, cloud productivity suit or VPN- then choosing a provider that respects your privacy and allows you to sign up anonymously, and will keep your files and data safe will be important.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Njalla | Njalla is privacy and security-focused a domain registrar and VPN hosting provider. They own and manage all their own servers, which are based in Sweden. They accept crypto, for anonymous payments, and allow you to sign up with OTR XMPP if you do not want to provide an email address. Both VPS and domain name pricing is reasonable, with packages starting at $15/ month |
| Vindo | Provides anonymous shared hosting, semi-managed virtual private servers and domain registration |
| Private Layer | Offers enterprise-grade, high-speed offshore dedicated servers, they own their own data centers, have a solid privacy policy and accept anonymous payment |
Notable Mentions
See also: Shinjiru, which offers off-shore dedicated servers. Orange Website specialises in protecting online privacy and free speech, hosted in Iceland. RackBone (previously DataCell) provides secure and ethical hosting, based in Switzerland. And Bahnhof offers high-security and ethical hosting, with their data centres locates in Sweden. Finally Simafri has a range of packages, that support Tor out of the box
Word of Warning
The country that your data is hosted in, will be subject to local laws and regulations. It is therefore important to avoid a jurasdiction that is part of the 5 eyes (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US and UK) and other international cooperatives who have legal right to view your data
Digital Notes
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Cryptee | Private & encrypted rich-text documents. Cryptee has encryption and anonymity at it's core, it also has a beautiful and minimalistic UI. You can use Cryptee from the browser, or download native Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android and iOS apps. Comes with many additional features, such as support for photo albums and file storage. The disadvantage is that only the frontend is open source. Pricing is free for starter plan, $3/ month for 10GB, additional plans go up-to 2TB |
| Standard Notes | S.Notes is a free, open-source, and completely encrypted private notes app. It has a simple UI, yet packs in a lot of features, thanks to the Extensions Store, allowing for: To-Do lists, Spreadsheets, Rich Text, Markdown, Math Editor, Code Editor and many more. You can choose between a number of themes (yay, dark mode!), and it features built-in secure file store, tags/ folders, fast search and more. There is a web app as well as native Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android and iOS apps. Standard Notes is actively developed, and fully open-source, so you can host it yourself, or use their hosted version: free without using plug-ins or $3/ month for access to all features |
| Turtle | A secure, collaborative notebook. Self-host it yourself (see repo), or use their hosted plan (free eddition or $3/ month for premium) |
| Joplin | Cross-platform desktop and mobile note-taking and todo app. Easy organisation into notebooks and sections, revision history and a simple UI. Allows for easy import and export of notes to or from other services. Supports syncronisation with cloud services, implemented with E2EE- however it is only the backed up data that is encrypted |
| Notable | Markdown-based note editior for desktop, with a simple, yet feature-rich UI. All notes are saved individually as .md files, making them easy to manage. No mobile app, or built-in cloud-sync or encryption |
Notable Mentions
If you are already tied into Evernote, One Note etc, then SafeRoom is a utility that encrypts your entire notebook, before it is uploaded to the cloud. Org Mode is a very comprehnsive CLI tool for keeping notes, maintaining todo lists, planning projects, and authoring documents -based on a fast and effective plain-text system, from the command line. For a simple plain text note taking app, with strong encryption, see Protected Text, which works well with the Safe Notes Android app
Cloud Productivity Suits
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| CryptPad | A zero knowledge cloud productivity suit. Provides Rich Text, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Kanban, Paint a code editor and file drive. All notes and user content, are encrypted by default, and can only be accessed with specific URL. The main disadvantage, is a lack of Android, iOS and desktop apps- CryptPad is entirely web-based. You can use their web service, or you can host your own instance (see CryptPad GitHub repo). Price for hosted: free for 50mb or $5/ month for premium |
| NextCloud | A complete self-hosted productivity platform, with a strong community and growing app store. NextCloud is similar to (but arguably more complete than) Google Drive, Office 365 and Dropbox, origionally it was a fork from OwnCloud, but since have diverged. Clear UI and stable native apps across all platforms, and also supports file sync. Supports encrypted files, but you need to configure this yourself. Fully open source, so you can self-host it yourself (or use a hosted solution, starting from $5/ month) |
| Disroot | A platform providing online services based on principles of freedom, privacy, federation and decentralization. It is an implementation of NextCloud, with strong encryption configured- it is widely used by journalists, activists and whistle-blowers. It is fre to use, but there have been reported reliability issues of the cloud services |
| Sandstorm | An open source platform for self-hosting web apps. Once you've set it up, you can install items from the Sandstorm App Market with -click, similar to NextCloud in terms of flexibility |
Backup and Sync
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| SeaFile | An open source cloud storage and sync solution. Files are grouped into Libraries, which can be individually encrypted, shared of synced. Docker image available for easy deployment, and native clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS |
| Syncthing | Continuous file synchronization between 2 or more clients. It is simple, yet powerful, and fully-encrypted and private. Syncthing can be deployed with Docker, and there are native clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android |
| NextCloud | Feature-rich productivity platform, that can be used to backup and selectively sync encrypted files and folders between 1 or more clients. See setting up sync. A key benifit the wide range of plug-ins in the NextCloud App Store, maintained by the community. NextCloud was a hard fork off OwnCloud. |
Notable Mentions
Alternatively, consider a headless utility such as Duplicacy or Duplicity. Both of offer an encrypted and efficient sync between 2 or more locations, using the rsync algorithm.
SpiderOak, Tresorit and Resilio are good enterprise solutions, all with solid encryption baked-in
FileRun and Pydio are self-hosted file explorers, with cross-platform sync capabilities.
Word of Warning
You should always ensure that any data stored in the cloud is encrypted. If you are hosting your own server, then take the necissary precautions to secure the server. For hosted solutions- use a strong password, keep your credentials safe and enable 2FA.
File Drop
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Firefox Send | Simple, private file sharing. Files are encrypted, client-side, stored on Mozilla servers, can be password-protected, and are deleted either after a specified time frame or specific number of downloads. Can also be self-hosted, repo |
| FilePizza | Peer-to-peer based file transfer from the browser, using Web Torrent. It's quick and easy to use, and doesn't require any software to be installed. Can also be self-hosted: repo |
| OnionShare | An open source tool that lets you securely and anonymously share a file of any size, via Tor servers. OnionShare does require installing (compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux), but the benefit is that your files are transferred directly to the recipient, without needing to be hosted on an interim server. The host needs to remain connected for the duration of the transfer, but once it is complete, the process will be terminated. Source code: repo |
Notable Suggestions
Instant.io, is another peer-to-peer based solution, using Web Torrent. For specifically transferring images, Up1 is a good self-hosted option, with client-side encryption. Finally PsiTransfer is a feature-rich, self-hosted file drop, using streams.
Social Networks
Over the past decade, social networks have revolutionized the way we communicate and bought the world closer together- but it came at the cost of our privacy. Social networks are built on the principle of sharing- but you, the user should be able to choose with whom you share what, and that is what the following sites aim to do
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Aether | Self-governing communities with auditable moderation- a similar concept to Reddit, but more privacy-sensitive, democratic and transparent. Aether is open source and peer-to-peer, it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux |
| Mastodon | A shameless Twitter clone, but open-source, distributed across independent servers, and with no algorithms that mess with users timelines |
| Minds | A social media site, which aims to bring people together and support open conversations. Get paid for creating content |
| Vero | (closed-source) A mobile-based social network, whose USP is that they have "No Ads. No Data Mining. No Algorithms." Since Vero is not open source, it is not possible to verify the validity of these claims |
Other Notable Mentions
- diaspora*, Pleroma and Friendica - distributed, decentralized social networks, built on open protocols
- Tildes, Lemmy and notabug.io - bulletin boards and news aggregators (similar to Reddit)
- Pixel Feed - photo sharing (similar to Instagram)
Main-stream networks
The content on many of these smaller sites tends to be more niche. To continue using Twitter, there are a couple of tweaks, that will improve security. For Reddit, use a privacy-respecting client- such as Reditr. Other main-stream social networking sites do not respect your privacy, so should be avoided, but if you choose to keep using them see this guide for tips on protecting your privacy
Video Platforms
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| PeerTube | And open source, federated network of inter-connected small videos hosters. You can self-host, or find an instance, and then watch videos from any PeerTube server |
| DTube | A decentralized video platform with little to no moderation that uses cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to pay its users, and it ad-free |
| BitTube | A peer-to-peer, decentralized, censorship-free, ad-free video sharing and live streaming platform based on IPFS and blockchain technology |
| BitChute | A video hosting platform, that was founded in 2017 to allow uploaders to avoid content rules enforced on other platforms, such as YouTube |
Word of Warning
Without moderation, some of these platforms accommodate video creators, who content may not be appropriate for all audiences
YouTube Proxies
The content on many of the smaller video sites, often just doesn't compare to YouTube. So another alternative, is to access YouTube through a proxy client, which reduces what Google can track).
- Good options are: Invidio (web), FreeTube (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), NewPipe (Android), YouTube++ (iOS)
- Or download videos with youtube-dl (cli) or youtube-dl-gui (gui). For just audio, there is PodSync
Payment Methods
Paying for goods and services is a good example of where privacy and security conflict; the most secure option would be to pay with credit card, since most providers include fraud protection, whereas the most private option would be to pay using crypto currency or cash, since neither can be easily tied back to your identity
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Monero | One of the most private cryptocurrencies, since no meta data is available (not even the transaction amount). It uses complex on-chain cryptographic methods such as Ring signatures, RingCT, Kovri, and Stealth addresses all of which help protect the privacy of users |
| ZCash | Uses zero-knowledge proofs to protect privacy cryptographic technique, that allow two users to transact without ever revealing their true identity or address. The Zcash blockchain doesn't record any send or receive addresses |
Notable Mentions
Cash is still the most private option, with no chance of leaving any transactional records. See also PIVX, Bitcoin Private and Verge. Also Pirate, Komodo and ZenCash which are hard-forks off of ZCash, with some additional privacy features built-in.
Word of Warning
Not all cryptocurrencies are anonymous, and without using a privacy-focused coin, a record of your transaction will live on a publicly available distributed ledger, forever. If you send of receive multiple payments, ensure you switch up addresses or use a mixer, to make it harder for anyone trying to trace your transactions. Store private keys somewhere safe, but offline and preferably cold.
Operating Systems
Windows 10 has many features, that violate your privacy. Microsoft and Apple are able to collect all your data (including, but not limited to: keystrokes, searches and mic input, calendar data, music, photos, credit card information and purchases. Identity, passwords, contacts, conversations and location data). Microsoft Windows is also more suseptible to malware and viruses, than alternative systems.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Qubes OS (containerized apps) | Open-source security-oriented operating system for single-user desktop computing. It uses virtualisation, to run each application in it's own compartment to avoid data being leaked. It features Split GPG, U2F Proxy, and Whonix integration. Qubes makes is easy to create disposable VMs which are spawned quickly and destroyed when closed. Qubes is recommended by Edward Snowden |
| Whonix (VM) | Whonix is an anonymous operating system, which can run in a VM, inside your current OS. It is the best way to use Tor, and provides very strong protection for your IP address. It comes bundled with other features too: Keystroke Anonymization, Time Attack Defences, Stream Isolation, Kernel Self Protection Settings and an Advanced Firewall. Open source, well audited, and with a strong community- Whonix is based on Debian, KickSecure and Tor |
| Tails (live) | Tails is a live operating system (so you boot into it from a USB, instead of installing). It preserves your privacy and anonymity through having no persistent memory/ leaving no trace on the computer. Tails has Tor built-in system-wide, and uses state-of-the-art cryptographic tools to encrypt your files, emails and instant messaging. Open source, and built on top of Debian |
| Parrot (security) | Parrot Linux, is a full Debian-based operating system, that is geared towards security, privacy and development. It is fully-featured yet light-weight, very open. There are 3 edditions: General Purpose, Security and Forensic. The Secure distribution includes its own sandbox system obtained with the combination of Firejail and AppArmor with custom security profiles. While the Forensics Edition is bundled with a comprehensive suit of security/ pen-testing tools, similar to Kali and Black Arch |
| Discreete Linux (offline) | Aimed at journalists, activists and whistle-blowers, Discreete Linux is similar to Tails, in that it is booted live from external media, and leaves no/ minimal trace on the system. The aim of the project, was to provide all required cryptographic tools offline, to protect against Trojan-based surveillance |
General Purpose Linux Distros
If you do not want to use a specalist security-based distro, or you are new to Unix- then just switching to any well-maintained Linux distro, is going to be significantly more secure and private than Windows or Mac OS. Since it is open source, majour distros are constantly being audited by members of the community. Also Linux does not give users admin rights by default- this makes is much less likley that your system could become infected with malware. There is no proprietary Microsoft or Apple software constantly monitoring everything you do, and building up a data profile on you. Some good distros to consider would be: Fedora, Debian, or Arch- all of which have a large community behind them. Manjaro (based of Arch), is also a good option, with a simple install process. Used by new comers, and expers alike. See comparison.
Improve the Security and Privacy of your current OS
If you want to stick with your current OS, then see this Windows 10 guide, by Heimdal Security- it will guide you through the settings that you should update, to minimise the amount that Microsoft and other third-parties track you. For Apple users, this Mac OS guide, will walk you through the equivalent steps. For Linux, you are far more secure by default, but there are a few steps to take, as seen in this Linux guide.
Mobile Operating Systems
If you are an Android user, your device has Google built-in at it's core. Google tracks you, collecting a wealth of information, and logging your every move. A custom ROM, is an open source, usually Google-free mobile OS that can be flashed to your device.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| LineageOS | A free and open-source operating system for various devices, based on the Android mobile platform- Lineage is light-weight, well maintained, supports a wide range of devices, and comes bundled with Privacy Guard |
| GrapheneOS | GrapheneOS is an open source privacy and security focused mobile OS with Android app compatibility. Developed by the team behind CoperheadOS. Graphene is a young project, and currently only supports Pixel devices, partially due to their strong hardware security |
Other Notable Mentions
Replicant OS is a fully-featured distro, with an emphasis on freedom, privacy and security. MmniRom, Recursion Remix, and Paranoid Android are also popular options. Alternativley, Ubuntu Touch is a Linux (Ubuntu)- based OS. It is secure by design and runs on almost any device, - but it does fall short when it comes to the app store.
To install apps, without Play Store- see F-Droid. For Google Play Service see MicroG
Word of Warning
It is not recommended to root, or flash your device with a custom ROM if you are not an advanced user. There are risks involved
- Although the above ROMs omit Google, they do open up other security issues: Without DM-verity on the system partition, the file system could be tampered with, and no verified boot stack, the kernel/initramfs also could be edited. You should understand the risks, before proceeding to flash a custom ROM to your device
- You will need to rely on updates from the community, which could be slower to be released- this may be an issue for a time-urgent, security-critical patch
- It is also possible to brick your device, through interrupted install or bad software
- Finally, rooting and flashing your device, will void your warranty
Browser Extensions
The following browser add-ons give you better control over what content is able to be loaded and executed while your browsing.
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Privacy Badger | Blocks invisible trackers, in order to stop advertisers and other third-parties from secretly tracking where you go and what pages you look at. Download: Chrome \ Firefox |
| HTTPS Everywhere | Forces sites to load in HTTPS, in order to encrypt your communications with websites, making your browsing more secure. Download: Chrome \ Firefox |
| uBlock Origin | Blocks ads, because ads track you. Download: Chrome \ Firefox |
| ScriptSafe | Allows you yo block the execution of certain scripts. Download: Chrome \ Firefox |
| WebRTC-Leak-Prevent | Provides user control over WebRTC privacy settings in Chromium, in order to prevent WebRTC leaks. Download: Chrome. For Firefox users, you can do this through browser settings. Test for WebRTC leaks, with browserleaks.com/webrtc |
| Vanilla Cookie Manager | A Whitelist Manager that helps protect your privacy, through automatically removing unwanted cookies. Download: Chrome |
| Privacy Essentials | Simple extension by DuckDuckGo, which grades the security of each site. Download: Chrome \ Firefox |
Word of Warning
Be careful when installing unfamiliar browser add-ons, since some can compromise your security and privacy. The above list however are all open source, verified and safe extensions
Mobile Apps
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| Orbot | System-wide Tor proxy, which encrypts your connection through multiple nodes. You can also use it alongside Tor Browser to access .onion sites |
| NetGaurd | A firewall app for Android, which does not require root. NetGuard provides simple and advanced ways to block access to the internet, where applications and addresses can individually be allowed or denied access to your Wi-Fi and/or mobile connection |
| Island | A sandbox environment, allowing you to clone selected apps and run them in an isolated box, preventing it from accessing your personal data, or devicce information |
| Exodus | Shows which trackers, each of your installed apps is using, so that you can better understand how your data is being collected. Uses data from the Exodus database of scanned APKs. |
| Bouncer | Gives you the ability to grant permissions temporarily, so that you could for example use the camera to take a profile picture, but when you close the given app, those permissions will be revoked |
| Haven | Allows you to protect yourself, your personal space and your posessions- without compromising on security. Leveraging device sensors to monitor nearby space, Haven was developed by The Guardian Project, in partnership with Edward Snowden |
| XUMI Security | Checks for, and resolves known security vulnerabilities. Useful to ensure that certain apps, or device settings are not putting your security or privacy at risk |
| Daedalus | No root required Android DNS modifier and hosts/DNSMasq resolver, works by creating a VPN tunnel to modify the DNS settings. Useful if you want to change your resolver to a more secure/ private provider, or use DNS over HTTPS |
| Greenify | Stops certain apps from running in the background. Was intended to be used to speed up your phone, and prolong battery life, but it also stops certain apps from collecting data and tracking your actions while running in the background |
| Secure Task | Triggers actions, when certain security conditions are met, such as multiple failed login attempts or monitor settings changed. It does require Tasker, and needs to be set up with ADB, device does not need to be rooted |
| Cryptomator | Encryptes files and folders client-side, before uploading them to cloud storage (such as Google Drive, One Drive or Dropbox), meaning none of your personal documents leave your device in plain text |
| 1.1.1.1 | Lets you use CloudFlares fast and secure 1.1.1.1 DNS, with DNS over HTTPS, and also has the option to enable CloudFlares WARP+ VPN |
| Fing App | A network scanner to help you monitor and secure your WiFi network. The app is totally free, but to use the advanced controlls, you will need a Fing Box |
| FlutterHole | Easy monitoring and controll over your Pi Hole instance. Pi Hole is great for security, privacy and speed |
| DPI Tunnel | an application for Android that uses various techniques to bypass DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) systems, which are used to block some sites (not availible on Play store) |
Other Notable Mentions
For more open source security & privacy apps, check out The Guardian Project, The Tor Project, Oasis Feng and Marcel Bokhorst- all of which are trusted developers or organisations, who've done amazing work.
For advanced users, the following tools can be used to closely monitor your devise and networks, in order to detect any unusual activity. PortDroid for network analysis, Packet Capture to monitor network traffic, SysLog for viewing system logs, Dexplorer to read .dex or .apk files for your installed apps, and Check and Test to check status and details of devices hardware
Online Tools
A selection of free online tools and utilities, to check, test and protect
| Provider | Description |
|---|---|
| ';--have i been pwned? | Check if your credentials (Email address or Password) have been compromised in a data breach |
| εxodus | Check how many, and which trackers any Android app has. Useful to understand how data is being collected before you install a certain APK, it also shows which permssions the app asks for |
| Panopticlick | Check if your browser safe against tracking. Analyzes how well your browser and add-ons protect you against online tracking techniques, and if your system is uniquely configured—and thus identifiable |
| Browser Leak Test | Shows which of personal identity data is being leaked through your browser, so you can better protect yourself against fingerprinting |
| IP Leak Test | Shows your IP address, and other associated details (location, ISP, WebRTC check, DNS, and lots more) |
| EXIF Remove | Displays, and removes Meta and EXIF data from an uploaded photo or document |
| Redirect Detective | Check where a suspicious URL redirects to (without having to click it). Lets you avoid being tracked by not being redirected via adware/tracking sites, or see if a shortened link actually resolves a legitimate site, or see if link is an affiliate ad |
| Blocked.org | Checks if a given website is blocked by filters applied by your mobile and broadband Internet Service Providers (ISP) |
| Virus Total | Analyse a potentially-suspicious web resources (by URL, IP, domain or file hash) to detect types of malware (note: files are scanned publicly) |
| Is Legit? | Check if a website or business is a scam, before buying something from it |
| Deseat Me | Tool to help you clean up your online presence- Instantly get a list of all your accounts, delete the ones you are not using |
| 10 Minute Mail | Generate temporary disposable email address, to avoid giving your real details |
| 33Mail | Automatically generates new email alliases, the first time you use them, to avoid revealing your real email address. Unlike 10 Minute Mail, these email addresses are permant, and get forwarded to your real email inbox |
Word of Warning
Browsers are inherintly insecure, be careful when uploading, or entering personal details
Note: In order to stay protected, it is important to also: Use strong and unique passwords, 2-factor authentication, adopt good networking practices and be mindful of data that is collected when browsing the web. See the full personal security checklist for all the details 🔐
Contributions are welcome, and appreciated - to propose an edit open an issue,
or open a PR.
See: CONTRIBUTING.md.
Licensed under Creative Commons, CC BY 4.0,© Alicia Sykes 2020
