
Privacy-friendly alternatives to Google - andeebe
https://tapmydata.com/how-to-quit-google/
======
LinuxBender
For chat, consider setting up your own Murmur server [1] and use Mumble to do
voice and text chat. It is not has happy-clicky as Discord, but the sound
quality is great and you can have thousands of people on a tiny VM. It is very
easy to deploy. It looks like people have created ansible playbooks for this
too. [2]

[1] -
[https://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Main_Page](https://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Main_Page)

[2] - [https://github.com/systemli/ansible-role-
mumble](https://github.com/systemli/ansible-role-mumble)

P.S. use their 1.3 RC version. It is very stable and much better than 1.2.

~~~
mont
Mumble is pretty crummy for text chat from my experience. I still use it for
voice on a fairly frequent basis, but having very ephemeral text logs (on
client restart), and a lack of pinging users makes it a huge pain to use for
text.

I would happily still use IRC however.

~~~
LinuxBender
Yeah, I prefer IRC too. I ended up shutting down all my IRC servers. Most
folks moved to Discord/Slack and it just wasn't worth the effort to maintain
them for my use case.

I only suggest murmur / mumble because they are super east to set up.

~~~
q3k
Have you tried Synapse/Matrix?

~~~
LinuxBender
A coworker suggested matrix, but I have been fine with murmur/mumble for my
use cases. If a lot of people needed text chat, I would crank up the ol' IRC
daemons and put TheLounge in front of it.

------
mikedd
I love how this always pops-up and how I always reply with these 2 links:

\- [https://prism-break.org/](https://prism-break.org/)

\- [https://droid-break.info/](https://droid-break.info/)

~~~
XzetaU8
Privacytools is another one worth mentioning

[https://www.privacytools.io/](https://www.privacytools.io/)

[https://github.com/privacytoolsIO/privacytools.io](https://github.com/privacytoolsIO/privacytools.io)

~~~
jammygit
Seconded, it’s a great resource. Just started with Joplin because of actually

------
oil25
How are these alternatives "privacy-friendly"? I'm pretty sure Opera, Vimeo
and many others are monetized and include advertising. Also, why does
something like Google Authenticator need a "privacy-friendly" alternative when
it doesn't even need Internet connectivity to work? Don't get me wrong, we
should put down Google products, but are the ones listed here really any
better for privacy and security?

~~~
Forbo
Yet Google Authenticator requests full network access. An alternative like
AndOTP doesn't.

~~~
lern_too_spel
Presumably for
[https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2653433?visit_id=...](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2653433?visit_id=636964758437289416-2889926197&p=timesync&rd=1)

------
rsync
Please consider adding rsync.net as a privacy friendly[1] alternative to
gdrive, etc.

We just added the 'rclone'[2] binary executable to our (very strictly limited)
environment which basically allows you to send/recv to and from _any cloud
service_.

So, not just a good alternative to google drive (et. al) but a very useful
"cloud storage swiss army knife" in general.

[1]
[https://www.rsync.net/resources/notices/canary.txt](https://www.rsync.net/resources/notices/canary.txt)
[2] [https://rclone.org/](https://rclone.org/)

~~~
Youden
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I _love_ the idea of rsync.net but
the pricing just cripples it. $40/TBmo up to 10TB, $30/TBmo up to 100TB or
$20/TBmo beyond that. And you have to buy the storage up front and pay for it
even if you don't use it.

To put this in perspective, I can get a Hetzner SX62 dedicated server for $72
USD/month. This comes with 4x10TB HDDs which I can put into RAID5, giving me
30TB usable storage. It also comes with an unlimited gigabit pipe, RAM and a
CPU. In total, this costs $2.4/TBmo.

If I want duplication in multiple countries (which isn't included in
rsync.net's base price?), I can buy a second one, increasing my costs to a
horrendous $4.8/TBmo, still a quarter of the cheapest price I can get at
rsync.net.

I get the "I don't want to manage the hardware" argument but 4x (arguably 8x)
is way too high a cost for me.

I'm aware of the Attic/Borg plan and I really like the idea but it's only
close to competitive at the highest 100TB+ pricing ($5/TBmo).

~~~
rsync
Your points are very well taken and appreciated.

Two things:

First, we are going to continue to slowly decrease the price per gigabyte, as
we have these past 14 years - and as always, existing customers just get
grants, or gifts, of extra space so that their price per GB always drops to
match our current pricing for new customers.

Second, just to clarify: "And you have to buy the storage up front and pay for
it even if you don't use it." \- please note that:

We can increase the size of your filesystem at any time, with no downtime
involved - so there is no need to overbuy in anticipation of future usage.

Further, you are granted a +10% grace at all times, so you always have some
room to grow.

Finally, the system automatically emails you as you get close to your limit,
so there is never an unexpected filling of space.

------
GuB-42
Privacy-friendly?

These are just alternatives to Google. Some are privacy-oriented, but others
are just not Google. They may, in fact, be worse than Google.

That's not a bad list. Even if the alternatives are not "private", not putting
all your eggs in one basket may be a good idea.

Noteworthy is the lack of Microsoft products in that list. Sure Microsoft
isn't known for being the champion of privacy, but neither are Dropbox and
Slack.

------
matty22
I've been looking for an alternative to Google Docs/Sheets/Slides/etc for a
while and I've seen these couple of suggestions come up a few times. Each time
I look at them, I find their websites to be incomprehensible to what their
product actually _is_. The worst of them is Coda. Looking at their landing
page, I have NO idea what Coda is or does. None of the other alternatives seem
to do what I want easily. I want to type in a URL, edit a spreadsheet, and
close my browser. I'm sure one of these alternatives does exactly that, but it
isn't obvious from their home pages that that is the case.

Classic startup landing page design where they forget to explain what their
product is to potential users/clients.

~~~
diggan
I never heard of Coda before so went to their landing page
([https://coda.io](https://coda.io)) to see if it could really be as bad as
you say it is.

The copy on the website is generally marketing heavy with things like "Coda is
a new doc that grows with your ideas" but things like "Coda is a new canvas
that blends tables and text together" makes sense to me, imagining that it's
like a document that also have tables, that you can do computations on (so
like Excel). The example videos/GIFs seems to show the functionality and when
I reached the end, I feel like at least have a slight idea what it's about.

Wouldn't be enough to compare it with other services, but I definitely have
"some idea" of what Coda is.

Am I alone in understanding this from looking at the website, without any
prior experience?

I do know some other examples that could fit into the "Classic startup landing
page design where they forget to explain what their product is to potential
users/clients" ending of your comment, but I don't think Coda missed the mark
on explaining what they do.

~~~
matty22
> I feel like at least have a slight idea what it's about.

But is a slight idea enough to make a purchase decision? I deduced that it's
some sort of application that combines a table and text. But that could look
and function 100 different ways. There's 4 or 5 animated gifs all doing
something completely different, and none of those is typing text into
something that looks like a spreadsheet. So I'm left wondering, does it have a
spreadsheet capability? Without digging further or watching product tour
videos, I have no idea.

~~~
diggan
As I said: "Wouldn't be enough to compare it with other services"

I was mainly replying to the "I have NO idea what Coda is or does".

> does it have a spreadsheet capability?

The first GIF
([https://cdn.coda.io/assets/21b38f7b35ac/img/welcome/doc/tabl...](https://cdn.coda.io/assets/21b38f7b35ac/img/welcome/doc/tables.webp))
shows a spreadsheet, as far as I understand that tiny demo.

I agree with you that it could be better, but so many other startups do a lot
worse that looking down on someone that is not perfect, hurts the cause of
"fixing shitty landing pages" rather than helps.

~~~
matty22
That first gif is a todo list, which is NOT a spreadsheet.

> I agree with you that it could be better, but so many other startups do a
> lot worse that looking down on someone that is not perfect, hurts the cause
> of "fixing shitty landing pages" rather than helps.

So you agree that it sucks, but it isn't the worst landing page, so it gets a
pass? I'm not on some crusade to fix shitty landing pages. I'm actively
looking for a replacement for an application I use in my day-to-day life. The
onus is on Coda to explain to me clearly and in 3s if their application meets
those needs. I'm simply pointing out that their landing page has failed to do
that FOR ME.

------
carlosgj94
For me the biggest problem is Youtube. The other solutions are not in the same
level of quality/quantity. DuckDuckGo feels way better as a product to me
(using sometimes the bang to use google in privacy mode). And ProtonMail is
good enough.

~~~
h4waii
If it's any help, NewPipe [0] is a FOSS YouTube client for Android which
doesn't require an account, doesn't require Google Play Services, and doesn't
(!) display ads.

Yes, it has subscription support and you can import/export that list to keep
it backed up.

It also has a TON of features, like PiP, background play (for video and
audio), downloading, and much, much more.

Ivory [1] might be the closest iOS equivalent, and Motionbox [2] and FreeTube
[3] the closest desktop equivalents.

[0]. [https://newpipe.schabi.org/](https://newpipe.schabi.org/)

[1]. [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ivory-video-
player/id129434748...](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ivory-video-
player/id1294347486)

[2]. [http://omega.gg/MotionBox/](http://omega.gg/MotionBox/)

[3].
[https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube](https://github.com/FreeTubeApp/FreeTube)

~~~
britch
I love NewPipe, it works fantastically.

I am nervous that Google will find a way to kill it if it gets big enough.
It's not exactly an alternative to YouTube, it's more of a band-aid.

~~~
swtrs
Due to YT constantly changing video decryption functionality, ~4-5 times a
year it breaks for multiple days. I fully expect it to be suddenly broken in a
year or two.

------
gavreh
For chat, what about [https://keybase.io](https://keybase.io) ?

------
projproj
As a replacement for Google images, Wikimedia Commons is pretty good[0]. I
made a image search site backed by Wikimedia Commons data with a UI more like
Google Images[1].

[0]
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
[1] [https://canweimage.com](https://canweimage.com)

------
tkjef
For anyone looking for more info on the Brave browser i did a quick writeup
about it: [https://www.tkjef.com/blog/what-is-brave-
browser/](https://www.tkjef.com/blog/what-is-brave-browser/)

Was a diehard Vivaldi user, but Brave's performance has won me over.

------
npsimons
Second Leaflet. When Google Maps dropped support for loading GPX files from
external websites (a handy way to share tracks ), I was forced to find my own
solution. I found Leaflet and a few hours later I was up and running with topo
maps and GPX tracks overlayed on my own webserver.

------
pepijndevos
What's missing from the list is Android and Google Play, the number one spy
device in my house.

As far as I know there is only iOS and Android forks. Android forks are an
option if your phone supports it, but living without Google Play (Services)
limits your app choices a lot.

Windows Phone and Blackberry sadly gave up the battle. Others like Ubuntu
phone and Firefox OS never really materialised.

As far as Google Play alternatives go, there is the Amazon store and F-droid,
but good luck finding even the most basic Android apps on either.

Honestly, I'd settle for a dumbphone with WhatsApp(extremely widely used here)
and a browser. Almost feels like we're coming full-circle to the first iPhone
with very few native apps and powerful web app capabilities.

~~~
jammygit
Cross your fingers for the librem phone

------
newscracker
Looks like a mix of alternatives picked from some site and collated here
without verification.

Some may not exist/work — checked some random links and found privateemail
throwing an error on registration and bravos having some statement about
working on something new, with the old one unavailable.

I’m also not sure if Discord, Slack, etc., really count as private
alternatives (well, there are people who diss Telegram on privacy).

~~~
imran3740
Same with Notion. If you read their privacy policy, data is not stored
encrypted at rest, so I wouldn't view them as privacy-friendly.

------
opticbit
[https://alternativeto.net/](https://alternativeto.net/) not all results will
be privacy focused.

some other alternatives

Browser waterfox and other forks

search yacy

email self hosted various vps serves

sheets/docs own/next cloud. libre/open office

video hooktube invidius

adwords a-ads

dns opennic

drive sia ipfs storj...

hangouts keybase bitmessage tox

images pixeldrain(sia)

~~~
bgdnyxbjx
Don’t host your own email. Unless you don’t want anyone to be able receive
your emails.

~~~
sekh60
I just started hosting my own email and haven't had trouble emailing Gmail,
though I have limited testing. I have SPF, dkim and dmarc all set up, would
that help?

------
00__00
If you own a telephone you are stuffed, google will get you. Your friends have
you in their contacts - that's it. You are done for.

------
challenger22
no Excel as an alternative to google sheets? aww.

