For years, the internet has been shrinking. Not in size, not in data, but in ownership. A vast, decentralized network of personal blogs, forums, and independent communities has been corralled into a handful of paved prison yards controlled by a few massive corporations. Every post, every “friend,” every creative work—locked behind closed doors, and you don’t have the keys.

The fediverse is a jailbreak. It’s not a product, not a single platform, it’s not something you can buy stock in or use to enrich yourself at the cost of our shared humanity. It’s a network of independent, interconnected social platforms, all running on open protocols like ActivityPub. It’s an ecosystem where you - not some incellionaire obsessed with eugenics - own your digital identity. Where your social graph belongs to you, not an algorithm’s shifting fucking whims. Where moving from one service to another doesn’t mean losing everything you’ve built and everything you’ve ever said.

We’ve been trained to believe that the way things are is the way they have to be. That Meta, Google, and whatever the hell Twitter is calling itself today are the price of admission to digital society. That you can’t have discovery without algorithmic engineering. That the internet was supposed to become a shopping mall where every interaction is measured in ad revenue. But none of this was inevitable. It was built this way—on purpose. And the fediverse offers something else: freedom.

This isn’t a utopian fantasy. It’s not a pipe dream, like web3’s non-existent decentralization. It already exists. Mastodon, Pixelfed, Lemmy, PeerTube, BookWyrm—these are real platforms, these are real people, these are real conversations.

The problem isn’t that the fediverse isn’t viable. The problem isn’t that it’s “too complicated.” The problem is that the giants of Silicon Valley have spent 20 years convincing us that anything outside their control isn’t worth our time.

And that’s just not bloody true.

We’ve all seen what happens when social media platforms treat users as a commodity rather than a community.

Creators who built entire careers on centralized platforms, only to see their reach strangled and manipulated by "bonus" programs and algorithms.

Friends and networks erased overnight by corporate priorities and billionaire egos.

Whole communities forced into digital exile because they didn’t fit the new monetization strategy.

The fediverse is an escape from that cycle. It’s digital self-determination.

The fediverse won’t succeed just because it’s better. It will succeed if and only if people choose it. If they reject the idea that being trapped in someone else’s ecosystem is just the cost of existing online. If they stop believing that “free” means surrendering ownership of your own connections, your own history, your own data. If they see that the internet wasn’t built to be a factory for engagement metrics and AI-generated content farms. It was built to connect us, not silo us to pad a wealth-extremist’s bank account.

We don’t need billionaires. And we sure as shit don't need their vision for the future of our web.

We need our vision.

The fediverse isn’t a distant dream—it’s here, right now, waiting for you to step outside the walls and see what’s possible.

The internet was meant to belong to everyone. And it still fucking can.

WHAT IF MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING in life, but to those who have built their empires on greed, nothing exists beyond wealth?

Ukraine has never been a country that moves for money. We have survived without it, with nothing but our will to endure. For centuries. But those who worship greed are not able to see this. They cannot understand the concept of a nation standing for something greater than profit.

The greedy do not understand the concept of dignity. They believe everything has a price because their own souls were bought long ago.

I am not here to talk about geopolitics. I am not here to talk about news. I am here to tell you about the Ukrainian soul and the Ukrainian spirit. About what it means to be Ukrainian in these days when our lives seem to be measured by business transactions.

I'm here to talk about that father from a village wiped off the map by Russian missiles, who stood in the wreckage of his home, clutching the only thing he managed to save: a photograph of his children. The roof and the walls had collapsed, but he stayed. He did not run. He did not beg.

Instead, he started rebuilding with his bare hands. No one paid him to do it. No one promised him a reward. He did it because this is his home.

Because this is Ukraine.

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And yet, some in the West dare to speak of money. As if our survival is something to be bought and sold. As if our resistance has a price tag.

Ukraine is not a country that moves for money. We move for dignity.

For decades, we have survived poverty and hardship with our heads held high. We have built our lives in circumstances most would call impossible. We have raised children in the shadows of genocide and occupation. We have cared for our elders when their homes were turned to dust.

Money has nothing to do with this.

But the greediest of the world, the ones who see this planet only in terms of profit and loss, will never understand this.

There is no man on Earth more consumed by greed than Donald Trump. It is his lifeblood, his purpose, his identity. He built an empire on it. He boasts about it. He takes pride in seeing the world as a transaction, where the only thing that matters is what can be bought.

Now, he looks at Ukraine’s suffering and asks, Why should we pay?

But here’s what Trump will never understand: Ukraine is not fighting because of money. Ukraine is fighting because we refuse to kneel.

While Trump counts money, Ukrainians count the ones we’ve buried.

If the West turns away, we will still fight. If the money stops flowing, we will still stand. Because this is not about aid. This is not about economics.

This is about survival.

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Donald Trump sees everything through money because that is all he knows. That is the world he has built for himself. He is a man whose empire is made of greed, whose legacy is the glorification of self-interest. So when he looks at Ukraine, he is blind to everything that truly matters.

Trump and Putin are the same kind of men. They believe everything is for sale because they have never fought for anything greater than themselves.

They will never understand why a mother risks her life to bring her child to school, even when the school is half-destroyed by bombs.

They will never understand why a teacher continues to teach in the ruins, writing lessons on broken walls.

They will never understand why a soldier, out of ammunition, still stands his ground, because surrender is worse than death.

They will never understand that there are things in this world that cannot be bought.

We will resist with or without the money of the world's wealthiest. Because our strength does not come from dollars. It comes from something no amount of money can buy.

It comes from the unshakable will of a people who refuse to bow.

Trump can cut his money. The greedy can turn their backs. But Ukraine will not fall. Because this war was never about dollars. It was never about negotiations. It was never about business deals.

It was always about dignity. And dignity is something the greedy will never recognize.

Our dignity is something that even the greediest person on Earth will never manage to destroy.

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🔖 If you believe in supporting Ukraine’s fight for its future and my words resonate with you, please consider a paid subscription. Your support keeps this work independent, sustainable, and accessible to all, ensuring Ukraine’s voice is heard when it matters most.

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📖 The Divine Comedian: Ukraine’s Journey Through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise is more than a book: it's my attempt to capture Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit in our darkest and brightest moments. If you want to see this war through the eyes of those who refuse to surrender, I invite you to read it. Download it for free in PDF and Kindle formats:

Download the book 'The Divine Comedian'

I don't run analytics tools on my blog or The Index.

Why would I?

I don’t write for numbers. I write for people.

There are no ads, no sponsors, and no investors to placate with colorful graphs and charts.

In my experience, most metrics measure the wrong things.

Page views, time on site, bounce rates—these are vanity metrics that create the illusion of progress.

They're designed for ad-supported businesses selling your attention to the highest bidder. They track what's easily countable, not what's actually valuable.

I’ve worked in publishing and marketing long enough to know what happens when you optimize for these numbers: sooner or later, you start writing for algorithms instead of humans. You train yourself - however unconsciously - to avoid topics that don't "perform well." You succumb to bullshit clickbait headlines. You break articles into multiple pages. You create content that performs well according to machines but it treats your readers like fools.

Your writing becomes predictable, safe, and forgettable.

I won’t participate in that system. I don’t pay attention to social media followers, likes or boosts, either. It’s all just noise.

I have two metrics that matter: newsletter subscribers and paid supporters. That’s it. To the exclusion of literally everything else.

My metrics measure commitment, not drive-by traffic. When someone subscribes to my newsletter, they're inviting me into their inbox—one of the last sacred spaces in our digital lives. When they become a paid supporter, they're making a declaration: "This matters enough that I'm willing to fund it."

These actions require deliberate choice. They can't be gamed or manipulated through SEO tricks. They are tangible proof of a genuine connection between creator and audience.

Without the distraction of real-time, faux feedback, I'm free to pursue ideas that might not immediately generate clicks, but profoundly impact a smaller group of committed readers who give a damn.

The internet’s only shot at a future is through creators and participants who reject the attention economy's false promises, who build direct relationships with each other, who create and share value instead of parasitically extracting it and feeding on each other in a data-driven frenzy.

Traditional analytics serve the old system—a system designed to commoditize your attention and sell it to advertisers. They measure what matters to platforms, they don't measure what matters to people.

I have no interest in becoming another content creator trapped on the hamster wheel of performance metrics, constantly tweaking my voice to please algorithms and advertisers who wouldn’t give a flying fuck about my message if push came to shove.

And push is, increasingly, coming to shove.

If opting out of the Internet of Surveillance somehow stunts my growth, I’m directionally okay with that.

I don’t need a weather app to tell me if it’s raining.

And I don’t need Google Analytics to tell me if people are reading.

Big Tech designed their platforms to keep you trapped.

YouTube, X, Instagram, and TikTok aren't neutral spaces. They're businesses built on capturing your attention and data. Their algorithms, notification systems, and content policies all serve one purpose: keeping you engaged on their terms. And their terms alone. There's no freedom here - except the freedom to leave.

The problem isn't that these platforms exist. There are always bad-faith actors in every ecosystem. The problem is that they've convinced the world that they offer the only legitimate way to participate online.

This is deliberate. When you post content exclusively on these platforms, you build their asset, not yours. When your audience exists only within their ecosystem, you depend on their permission to reach people. When your digital identity lives inside their databases, you surrender control of your online presence. And when your online presence is an innate part of your identity, you're sacrificing everything.

The open web offers a fundamentally different model.

Mastodon, PixelFed - the entire Fediverse - prove one thing: that social platforms can function without centralized control and that technology can connect people without surveilling their every move and controlling their information diet.

When centralized platforms face criticism, they evade. When they face competition, they copy. When they face regulation, they lobby - or just buy democracies. What they never do is relinquish control—their business model depends on it.

The fight for digital autonomy is political.

It's about whether we build systems that distribute power or concentrate it. Big Tech's dominance wasn't inevitable, and it's not unbreakable. But it's reinforced by the choices we make every damn day. Because over and over again, we choose easy. We choose platforms with less friction. We pursue mass audiences in the hope that we'll be granted enough attention to become one of the Chosen Few, the influencers, the wealthy.

Each time we post exclusively to Instagram, we strengthen their position. Each time we accept X's limits on expression, we legitimize their authority. Each time we pursue engagement solely within their systems, we validate their fuckery.

This isn't nostalgia.

It's pragmatism.

Progressive values - freedom, independence, and equity - demand decentralization. They are impossible to realize without systems where power flows to communities instead of doom-cult shareholders.

This is about who controls modern communication infrastructure and whether a handful of tech companies should continue to erode the global conversation and our social order in pursuit of unattainable, unrelenting perma-growth.

When you build on the open web, you're participating in an alternative system. When you join federated networks, you're playing a vital part in constructing alternatives to digital monopolies.

The major platforms are convenient.

But the open web offers something better: genuine ownership, community governance, and independence.

The open web developers aren't building faster, more addictive experiences. They're building infrastructure for digital dignity. They're creating spaces where your data isn't exploited, your attention isn't harvested, your expression isn't commodified, and hate isn't a key product line.

They're maintaining the core principle that technology should expand freedom rather than restrict it.

Choose independence. Choose the open web.

KANG: Look at them, Kodos. Foolish humans, trusting Silicon Valley billionaires with all of their data!

KANG & KODOS TOGETHER: <LAUGH MANIACALLY>

Welcome to the IRL Simpsons’ Halloween Special that is 2025.

From a never-ending list of woes, many of them preventable, there is one we can all do something about in under 10 minutes. Strictly for ourselves, of course. For businesses and larger infrastructures, it would be a much harder and longer process, but for individuals we can start today.

Some time ago, I went down a rabbit hole and came back wiser, stronger, and willing to learn more. Now, I sit at the precipice of another rabbit hole. This one is a complicated labyrinth of terms, conditions, and policies. If my previous spelunking excursions taught me one thing, it might be that spending lots of time on one obsession will not always yield results.

Context

Users (and companies) made a poor decision and put all their eggs in the same basket. Their digital lives are, for the most part, hosted on American platforms controlled by a handful Silicon Valley billionaires that have put profits over people.

Recently, I posted about the indefensible actions of these tech oligarchs. It is my (very strong) opinion that we should not only quit using the solutions proffered by Big Tech, but refuse an even larger set of software, services, and applications.

We are left with the question of How?, which is why I’m sat here now looking at this mess.

The mess

The Web is a mess in general, and this rabbit hole is no exception. One does not simple quit Big Tech, after all. You entered your relationship thinking you were just getting something for free, but it turns out they wanted your personal info. Now you’ve had enough, and this marriage is about to become a divorce. Marriage was about compromise: you got a free email account and some cloud storage, they got to learn about your cats and your kinks. Divorce is also about compromise, but with less interest on the future relationship.

You want out but don’t know where to go, so you turn to the Internet. Great knower of things and waster of free time. The hunt is on for not just getting away from Big Tech, but getting away from US-hosted services as a whole. And, like with any news or information, these rabbit holes can be categorized:

Obviously, you want to avoid the lies, conspiracies, and false information out there. The nuance between what is true and what is true but misleading is sometimes hard to see, but for this rabbit hole I noticed some differences right away.

You may have heard about how the truth is hard to handle? In this instance, the truth is long and detailed. If you want to really make your own decision you’ll need to dig into terms and conditions, privacy policies, and other documents that you simply do not have the time to read.

Alternatively, you could turn to lists. I like a good list, but any curated list on the web can be biased. Is that bad? Not so much. But, it could give you a false sense of virtue.

I think the European Alternatives project is wonderful. The presentation is nice, and it is easy to poke around. But, let’s imagine I’m not a fan of a certain search engine. Qwant, for example, is listed as an alternative search engine, but I’m not at all convinced they aren’t sharing data with Bing and Microsoft. That’s my bias and now that list has lost some credibility.

Stupid rabbit holes.

Other curated lists, like the Outside US Jurisdiction list is one I would put in the true but misleading category. The curator wants to make a good list and is doing the footwork, but they are also rejecting alternatives based on their understanding of those facts.

Take for example this exchange where the curator accuses another user of “care trolling” and here where they imply users are “simping” for corporations and then says they would “rather not have this turn into a debate” (they also gave themselves a thumbs-up). In the end they acquiesce and add a service to their list, but they needed some nudging.

Yet another list, this time of Canadian Alternatives appears more trustworthy to me. Plus, as a Canadian, I find it fascinating to see so many options that I have never heard of. Joan Westenberg also has a list, and straight up dubbed it the Trump-Proof Tech Stack (catchy), where they list their alternatives and why they like them. It is good to add that context.

Prevention is the best cure

Trusting random people on the Internet is how we started this mess. That kid in the hoody with a social network site? “Sure, I’ll give him my photos and date of birth,” you said as you signed up for Facebook. Google did have great products (search and mail), but they have since lost your trust. Much of your personal information is now in the hands of a few companies.

I’m tempted to make a list here, but I already have an older (and longer) post about this, and a slash page with my favourite software. Instead, I will make two broad suggestions. One curative, the other preventative.

Curative

What ails you? Make a list. Is it your email provider? Is it Spotify? Make a list, but don’t expect to fix everything in one day.

Request your data from those companies, and delete your account. Do not suspend.

Many alternative services allow you to import everything. Gmail, for example, will let you download your emails in a batch or transfer them to another service.

Recently, I have seen people quitting most social media (Twitter, obviously, but also Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn), Gmail, Outlook, cloud storage services, Spotify, Airbnb. Remember: you don’t need them, they need you. Your data is valuable to them.

Preventative

One thing I discovered after quitting Google was that I do not, in fact, need that cloud space or the photo service. Was it cool to be able to create a permanently shared photo album with my family? Yes, and I thought I would miss it. It turns out that I didn’t. The same goes for the 25 GB of Google Drive space I had accumulated (they just kept gifting me space).

So, ask yourself if you even need a replacement before rushing in and spending money on something that may disappoint you. A few DeGoogle waves ago, lots of users jumped on the Proton wagon. Now they are pissed off at Andy Yen. Look for companies with track records and don’t trust every list or tech influencer you read online.

To prevent future issues, start protecting your privacy. Don’t install every possible add-on that claims to protect your privacy (are you looking to reduce tracking or evade tracking?) and don’t be surprised when your favourite browser introduces new terms of use. Fallback to curative measures (get your data; delete) and try out different solutions.

Protect your friends and family too. Use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office so they can see it is just as good. Show them that Signal works better than the competition. Persuading people to give up something like WhatsApp can be hard, but if someone expects you to install an application to communicate with them and at the same time refuses to make the minimum effort for you, you’ll just have to stand your ground.

Finally, refuse generative AI. My anti-AI bias is no secret, but as a preventative measure it is necessary to avoid AI. If these companies were willing to train their models on pirated books, what do you think they will do with your data? As a reminder, keystroke deanonymization is a thing:

Keystroke biometric algorithms have advanced to the point where it is viable to fingerprint users based on soft biometric traits. This is a privacy risk because masking spatial information—such as the IP address via Tor—is insufficient to anonymize users.

Users can be uniquely fingerprinted based on:

• Typing speed.
• Exactly when each key is located and pressed (seek time), how long it is held down before release (hold time), and when the next key is pressed (flight time).
• How long the breaks/pauses are in typing.
• How many errors are made and the most common errors produced.
• How errors are corrected during the drafting of material.
• The type of local keyboard that is being used.
• Whether they are likely right or left-handed.
• Rapidity of letter sequencing indicating the user’s likely native language.
• Keyboard Layout as the placement of the keys on the keyboard leads to different key seek times and typing mistakes.

The AI revolution is not here yet, OpenAI is “burning through piles of money” and is “on course to burn over $26 billion in 2025 for a loss of $14.4 billion.” If people are investing in AI companies, it isn’t for the “product,” it is because they see potential value elsewhere, and the only thing they have is your data.

Final thoughts

This entire rabbit hole stinks of FUD. Hell, this blog post does too! Even the title of this post refers to the idiomatic expression “do not put all your eggs in one basket”, which is essentially a cautionary tale, implying that an unpleasant fate awaits all who use Silicon Valley tech.

Initially, I had hoped to frame this as some sort of PSA, “and knowing is half the battle,” type of post. Unfortunately, my own bias shines through line after line. In case it isn’t clear enough, let me spell it out one more time:

Your data is valuable, and it is yours. The companies—many of which originated in Silicon Valley—that have your data put profit over people and use that profit for political favours and to pay fines for breaking the law. They have no interest in your well-being. We need to let them know that they have betrayed their users and themselves for the sake of shareholder value. Fuck them.

The world can no longer trust American tech. If that sounds dramatic, take a step back and consider the facts.

The United States is a nation in the thrall of authoritarianism, owned and operated almost completely by a far-right doomsday cult intent on betraying every alliance, every contract, every promise it has ever made. A partisan billionaire has largely captured its infrastructure, and its decision-making is either erratic and illogical or dictated by interests that cannot and will not align with any reasonable principles of freedom, social progress, or ethical governance.

Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and other tech companies operating on American soil can talk a big game about their sovereignty, independence, and encryption. But talk may be all it is; there can be no guarantee that an authoritarian U.S. government will not compel American cloud, email, productivity, and messaging providers to open their databases and records to partisan law enforcement.

Even the tech you can trust is eventually going to run up against Trump and his crime family sooner or later. And there is no guarantee that they will have the resources, the recourse or the legal infrastructure to stare him down. Apple can fight Trump in the courts, but Trump is already testing the courts' legitimacy and ignoring their judgments. Microsoft - to their credit - didn't bow and scrape at Trump's inauguration, but they are far from siloed from U.S. Government contracts and the influence and control of an administration that doesn't give two fucks about privacy, freedom, or actual free speech, when it isn't enabling Nazism.

Meanwhile, The EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) - a legal mechanism established in 2023 to enable transatlantic data flows while ensuring EU citizens' data maintained adequate protection under GDPR when transferred to the U.S. - has been all but abandoned by the United States. The DPF replaced the invalidated Privacy Shield and was built on an Executive Order (14086) signed by President Biden that imposed new binding safeguards limiting U.S. intelligence agencies' access to European data and establishing a Data Protection Review Court (DPRC) where EU citizens could seek redress for privacy violations.

Trump effectively nullified this framework by signing an executive order to review and potentially revoke EO 14086, which formed the legal foundation of the DPF. By targeting the independent judicial review mechanism crucial for EU approval, Trump removed the protection that made EU-US data transfers legal. Without these safeguards, European organizations transferring data to American cloud providers now operate in a legal vacuum, as the fundamental basis for considering the U.S. an adequate destination for EU personal data no longer exists.

If you care about your rights, if you care about your data, if you're paying attention to U.S. decline, it's time to start looking for alternatives to American tech domination.

I've long been a proponent of simple tech. So I'm not looking to build a complex productivity stack with all the bells and whistles; all I want, all I need, is tech that works and does the job. And while in the past, privacy was a major concern, I'm taking that up a notch, trying to move as much of the technology I use off U.S. big tech platforms and servers and onto European / Canadian owned, operated, and hosted platforms, or open-source, encrypted, distributed software maintained by international teams who aren't driven by a growth-at-all-costs mentality.

I want to be clear.

The only way you can ever be truly confident in your data is to use e2e encrypted products, no matter where they're built or who is building them. And in the midst of the Global Backslide, there is no guarantee that any European nation can be counted on forever.

That being said, I think there is an argument to be made for sending a message, and telling U.S. big tech - who have assumed their own superiority and domination, and taken their users and their audiences for granted - that there are other options.

If that looks like Signal and Obsidian, independent apps that respect their users, fantastic. If it looks like shifting continents, so be it. The key part is to protect yourself and the data and the ideas you care about.

Here's What I'm Using

*Note - none of the links below are affiliate links. I'm not associated with any of these companies, and I'm not profiting off these recommendations or monetizing your clicks or your data.

My main productivity tool is ToDoist, a European-based task management app that prioritizes privacy, reliability, and user control without the data-mining practices of Big Tech. Developed by Doist, a remote-first company headquartered in Europe, it operates independently of U.S. regulatory shifts and political fuckery, and its always been a stable choice for users who want a productivity tool free from Silicon Valley surveillance. ToDoist does not sell user data and offers a clean, distraction-free interface with powerful features like natural language input, project collaboration, and cross-platform sync. I was using ToDoist before the U.S. went to shit, and I'll be using it until the last cockroach croaks in our future nuclear winter. But that's a story for another day.

I've been obsessed with iA Writer for years and write everything in it. It's a Swiss-developed, privacy-respecting writing app that prioritizes simplicity, focus, and user control without the distractions or data-harvesting practices of Big Tech. Built by Information Architects (iA), it operates independently of U.S. surveillance-heavy platforms, offering a clean, markdown-based writing environment free from corporate bloat or algorithmic interference. Unlike cloud-dependent alternatives, iA Writer keeps your documents local by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted sync through iCloud or other non-invasive storage solutions. Its European foundation and design philosophy is a damn good promise that writers, journalists, and professionals can work without worrying about data exploitation.

I'm already a Proton user. Proton is a Swiss-based, privacy-first company offering a full suite of encrypted tools—including email, cloud storage, a password manager, a calendar, and a VPN—designed to keep users' data secure and completely out of the reach of U.S. intelligence agencies. As a European foundation, Proton operates under some of the world's strongest privacy laws, with no dependency on the U.S. government, no data access for U.S. authorities, and no venture capital pushing for profit-driven compromises. While CEO Andy Yen's recent public statements have raised my hackles more than a little, Proton remains structurally committed to privacy, encryption, and user control, ensuring its ecosystem stays independent of political shifts. For now, its expanding set of services offers one of the most compelling privacy-respecting alternatives to Big Tech. If that changes, I'll update this.

I'm using Joplin for my notes. I don't need much from a note-taking app - I've come from Apple Notes, which is pretty stripped down to begin with, outside of its recent Apple Intelligence bloat. And I don't need AI features. I need a secure, encrypted place to keep drafts, ideas, text snippets, links, and Bob's Burgers quotes. Joplin offers an open-source note-taking and to-do application focusing on privacy and security, and the data/servers for its encrypted Joplin Cloud are located in France. Beyond that, you get end-to-end encryption for secure note storage, cross-platform availability (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS), Markdown support + rich text formatting, a web clipper browser extension for saving web content, robust search functionality, customizable organization with notebooks, Synchronization across devices via various services (Dropbox, NextCloud, WebDAV, etc.), a plugin system for extending functionality and import/export capabilities (supports Evernote, plain text, MD, PDF formats). Plus, Joplin stores notes locally first, giving you complete control over your data while allowing optional syncing.

For my browser (at the moment), I'm using LibreWolf, a privacy-hardened, independent fork of Firefox designed to strip out Big Tech's surveillance while maintaining full user control over security and customization. Developed by a community-driven, open-source project, it operates outside corporate influence, free from Mozilla's telemetry, sponsored content, and other data-collection mechanisms. As a European-aligned browser with no ties to U.S. intelligence agencies or government oversight, LibreWolf gives me a secure, fast, and tracker-free web experience without reliance on centralized control. With built-in uBlock Origin, enhanced fingerprinting resistance, and no forced updates or background connections, it's one of the most robust choices for privacy-conscious users who refuse to compromise.

But for a more solid European option and a companion mobile app, I use Vivaldi. It's a European-based, privacy-focused web browser designed for users who value security, customization, and independence from Big Tech surveillance. Developed by Vivaldi Technologies in Norway and Iceland, it operates outside the jurisdiction of U.S. intelligence overreach and is not vulnerable to the whims of the U.S. Unlike mainstream browsers that monetize user data, Vivaldi rejects invasive tracking, offers pretty robust built-in ad and tracker blocking, and gives users control over their browsing experience.

I have some decisions that I need to make about my analytics. I've pulled everything off Google Analytics and removed their trackers and tags, and I'll likely be moving to Fathom, based out of Canada. Fathom processes EU website traffic through EU-based infrastructure, specifically utilizing Hetzner Online GmbH’s data centers in Germany and Finland, making them a strong option. It's always tough paying for an alternative to a free tool. But nothing Google makes has ever or will ever be free.

Other Privacy-Positive Tech Alternatives from Europe & Canada

This is my list of open-source, privacy-centric, and - largely - encrypted tech platforms from Europe and Canada. In my honest opinion, these are strong alternatives to popular U.S. products (Chrome, Gmail, MS Office, social media, cloud storage, search, etc.).

I've either tried the tools below personally or I've walked through them with users who I trust, who trust them. I've verified as much of their privacy policies and their track records as I can.

In terms of the products themselves - they're not all perfect. They might not match trillion dollar U.S. products feature for feature. But if you're prepared to sacrifice everything else for a handful of features, this probably wasn't the post for you in the first damn place.

My goal is to provide a starting place to shift your entire tech stack to privacy-respecting, European-based solutions.

I'll keep updating this list each month, as needs and time demand.

*Again - no affiliate links. You can count on that, for every post on this blog. I don't profit from you as a reader in any way beyond your direct support, if you so choose.

Other Web Browsers (Alternative to Google Chrome)

• Mullvad Browser (Sweden) – Open-source privacy-focused web browser. Developed by VPN provider Mullvad in cooperation with the Tor Project, it’s a fork of Firefox designed to thwart tracking and fingerprinting.
  Advantages: Does not “phone home” to Google, blocks many tracking techniques by default, and can be used with Mullvad VPN for strong anonymity.
  Limitations: Lacks Chrome’s built-in Google account sync and some convenience features; for full IP privacy, it’s recommended to use a VPN alongside it.
  Website: mullvad.net
• Iridium Browser (Germany) – Chromium-based browser hardened for privacy. Iridium takes the open Chromium codebase and removes Google integrations and telemetry, preventing automatic data transfers to Google servers.
  Advantages: Open source and transparent, with default settings that maximize privacy (no search suggestions, no usage metrics sent out).
  Limitations: Does not support Google Chrome login/sync functionality; updates may lag slightly behind Chrome’s release cycle.
  Website: iridiumbrowser.de

Secure Email Services (Alternative to Gmail)

• Proton Mail (Switzerland) – Encrypted email service with end-to-end security. Proton Mail offers zero-access encryption, meaning even Proton cannot read user emails. Servers are based in Switzerland under strict privacy laws.
  Advantages: No ads, no tracking, and no data mining. Open source and independently audited.
  Limitations: Free accounts have limited storage and addresses; the interface is less integrated with third-party services than Google’s.
  Website: proton.me
• Tutanota (Germany) – Open-source encrypted email provider. Tutanota encrypts emails, calendar entries, and contacts by default.
  Advantages: Data is readable only on your devices, no ads, no tracking pixels, and no data mining.
  Limitations: Custom encryption means emails can only be accessed via Tutanota’s clients (no IMAP/SMTP for external email apps).
  Website: tutanota.com

Other European email providers include Mailbox.org and Posteo (Germany), which are privacy-focused but don’t offer end-to-end encryption by default. Kolab Now (Switzerland) is another open-source groupware-based email service.

Office & Productivity Suites (Alternative to Microsoft Office/Google Docs)

• LibreOffice (Germany) – Full-featured open-source office suite. Provides offline tools for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations using open formats.
  Advantages: Runs locally, with no cloud or telemetry by default, ensuring privacy.
  Limitations: Lacks real-time online collaboration out-of-the-box.
  Website: libreoffice.org
• OnlyOffice Docs (Latvia) – Open-source online office suite with collaborative editing. Supports real-time co-editing and change tracking, with strong Microsoft format compatibility.
  Advantages: Can be self-hosted, avoiding U.S. cloud servers.
  Limitations: Some advanced Microsoft Office features are missing.
  Website: onlyoffice.com
• CryptPad (France) – Privacy-first online office suite with end-to-end encryption.
  Advantages: No tracking, no ads, no data access for the server operator.
  Limitations: Some usability trade-offs due to encryption.
  Website: cryptpad.org

Cloud Storage & File Sync (Alternative to Google Drive, Dropbox)

• Nextcloud (Germany) – Open-source private cloud platform. Offers file sync, sharing, calendaring, and document editing under your control.
  Advantages: Can be self-hosted or used via EU-based providers for full data control.
  Limitations: Self-hosting requires some technical setup.
  Website: nextcloud.com
• Cozy Cloud (France) – Personal cloud and storage platform. Provides file storage, password management, and data collection automation.
  Advantages: GDPR-compliant with no tracking or data mining.
  Limitations: Not as feature-rich as Google Drive.
  Website: cozy.io

Other options: ownCloud (Germany) – similar to Nextcloud. Syncthing (peer-to-peer file sync) and Cryptomator (client-side encrypted cloud storage).

Social Media & Networks (Alternatives to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit)

• Mastodon (Germany) – Decentralized social network (Twitter alternative).
  Advantages: No ads, no tracking, user-controlled feeds.
  Limitations: The decentralized structure can be confusing at first.
  Website: joinmastodon.org
• Pixelfed (Canada) – Decentralized photo-sharing network (Instagram alternative).
  Advantages: No ads, no tracking, fully federated.
  Limitations: Smaller user base than Instagram.
  Website: pixelfed.org
• PeerTube (France) – Federated video platform (YouTube alternative).
  Advantages: No corporate algorithms, no tracking.
  Limitations: Smaller content library than YouTube.
  Website: joinpeertube.org
• Lemmy (Austria/Slovakia) – Federated link aggregation and discussion platform (Reddit alternative).
  Advantages: No tracking or ads, user-moderated content.
  Limitations: Fewer communities than Reddit.
  Website: join-lemmy.org

Messaging & Communication (Alternatives to WhatsApp, Slack, Zoom)

• Element (Matrix Protocol) (UK) – Secure chat and collaboration app.
  Advantages: End-to-end encrypted, decentralized.
  Limitations: Can be complex for new users.
  Website: element.io
• Jami (Canada) – Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging and calling.
  Advantages: No central server, maximum anonymity.
  Limitations: Requires both users to be online for real-time messages.
  Website: jami.net
• BigBlueButton (Canada) – Open-source video conferencing platform.
  Advantages: Can be self-hosted for full data control.
  Limitations: Requires a dedicated server to self-host.
  Website: bigbluebutton.org

Search Engines (Alternative to Google Search)

• SearxNG – Open-source metasearch engine. Aggregates results from multiple sources while stripping out tracking.
  Advantages: No profiling, no filter bubbles.
  Limitations: Some search engines may block Searx queries.
  Website: searx.space
• Qwant (France) – Privacy-focused search engine with its own index.
  Advantages: No personalized tracking or ad profiling.
  Limitations: Less comprehensive than Google.
  Website: qwant.com

Password Managers

• KeePass (Germany) – Offline, open-source password manager. Encrypts passwords locally using AES-256 or ChaCha20, ensuring no internet connection is required.
  Advantages: Fully offline, highly customizable, no subscription fees.
  Limitations: No automatic syncing, requires manual setup for multi-device use.
  Website: keepass.info
• KeePassXC (Germany) – Cross-platform fork of KeePass with a modern interface and browser integration.
  Advantages: Fully offline, cross-platform, supports browser extensions for autofill.
  Limitations: Requires manual syncing, no cloud integration.
  Website: keepassxc.org
• 1Password (Canada) – Zero-knowledge encrypted password manager with cross-platform support.
  Advantages: End-to-end encryption, Travel Mode for border security, breach alerts.
  Limitations: Subscription required, not fully open-source.
  Website: 1password.com
• Passbolt (Luxembourg) – Open-source password manager focused on team collaboration and self-hosting.
  Advantages: GDPR-compliant, fully self-hostable, no tracking.
  Limitations: Less user-friendly for individuals, mobile support in development.
  Website: passbolt.com

Look.

I'm not here to scold.

At the end of the day, what you do with your data and your money is up to you.

But I don't think it's unreasonable to ask some serious questions about U.S. tech - its provenance, its accountability to a dangerous political movement, and its role in fracturing democracy and social progress the whole world over.

We can and should send a message to U.S. tech leaders that their hegemony is not eternal, not set in stone. That there are consequences for their greed and their obsequiousness. There is a world of tech out there that isn't Silicon Valley owned and operated, doesn't bow and scrape to Donald Trump, and protects its user's rights - by law.

There are difficult choices that have to be made. Choices about who we are and who we want to be when the world is in crisis and people's lives and freedoms are at risk.

It's easy to laugh at people who "choose the mountain" - deliberately making their lives harder and more complicated to pursue their values. We laugh because we've been taught, we've been convinced that sincerity and idealism are cringeworthy, embarrassing to the point of pornographic discomfort.

But that cynicism didn't help us stave off the last gasps of bigoted, white supremacist power, and it won't help us fight against it.

We need the idealism that pushes ordinary people to make better decisions and stick to them.

Yes, even if that looks like switching email providers.

If you have other suggestions, alternatives or comments on the tools I've picked out, hit me up via the comments section here or my email (joan at joanwestenberg dot com)