privacyguides.org/docs/tools.en.md
2022-04-13 19:19:13 -05:00

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If you're looking for a specific solution to something, these are the hardware and software tools we recommend in a variety of categories. Our recommended privacy tools are primarily chosen based on security features, with additional emphasis on decentralized and open-source tools. They are applicable to a variety of threat models ranging from protection against global mass surveillance programs and avoiding big tech companies to mitigating attacks, but only you can determine what will work best for your use case.

If you want assistance figuring out the best privacy tools and alternative programs for your workload/use-case, start a discussion in our Reddit or Matrix communities!

For your convenience, everything we recommend is listed below with a link to the project's homepage. For more details about each project, why they were chosen, and additional tips or tricks we recommend, click the "Learn more" link in each section.

Web Browsers

Additional Resources:

Learn more...

* We do not recommend installing ToS;DR as a browser extension. The same information is provided on their website.

Operating Systems

Android

Android Apps:

Learn more...

Linux

Learn more...

* Qubes uses Xen to provide strong sandboxing between multiple Linux virtual machine installations, and can run most Linux applications. Learn more about Qubes...

Router Firmware

Learn more...

Service Providers

Cloud Storage

Learn more...

DNS

We recommend a number of encrypted DNS servers based on a variety of criteria. Some no-logging choices include MullvadDNS and Quad9, but we recommend you read our full page on DNS before choosing a provider. In many cases using an alternative DNS provider is not recommended. Learn more...

Email

Email Cloaking Services:

Self-Hosting Email:

Learn more...

Search Engines

Learn more...

VPN Providers

??? danger "VPNs do not provide anonymity"

Using a VPN will **not** keep your browsing habits anonymous, nor will it add additional security to non-secure (HTTP) traffic.

If you are looking for **anonymity**, you should use the Tor Browser **instead** of a VPN.

If you're looking for added **security**, you should always ensure you're connecting to websites using [HTTPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS). A VPN is not a replacement for good security practices.

[Learn more](vpn.md)

Learn more...

Software

Calendar/Contacts Sync

Learn more...

Notebooks

Learn more...

Email Clients

Learn more...

Encryption Tools

??? info "Operating System Disk Encryption"

For encrypting your operating system drive, we typically recommend using whichever encryption tool your operating system provides, whether that is **BitLocker** on Windows, **FileVault** on macOS, or **LUKS** on Linux. These tools are available out of the box and typically utilize hardware encryption elements such as a TPM that other full-disk encryption software like VeraCrypt will not. VeraCrypt is still suitable for non-operating system disks such as external drives, especially drives that may be accessed from multiple operating systems.

[Learn more](encryption.md##operating-system-included-full-disk-encryption-fde)

OpenPGP Clients:

Learn more...

File Sharing

Learn more...

Metadata Removal Tools

Learn more...

Multi-Factor Authentication Tools

Learn more...

Password Managers

Learn more...

Productivity Tools

Learn more...

Real-Time Communication

News Aggregators

Learn more...

Self-Contained Networks

  • Tor logo{ .twemoji } Tor
  • I2P logo{ .twemoji } I2P logo{ .twemoji } I2P
  • Freenet logo{ .twemoji } Freenet

Learn more...

Video Streaming Clients

Learn more...