Alternatives to Google, Facebook and reclaiming privacy.

I was asked to post this information here for the privacy and security aspects.

My use of alternative software & services started when I stopped using as many Google products & services as I could over ten years ago.

Between the actions of various governments, their officials, the EU, Google, Twitter, & Facebook over the last two years we now know who can't be trusted. FYI, just to be clear hosting data outside the US will not protect it from the NSA. Like they're foreign counterparts these groups go after everything on a global scale.

So if you own your own router when was the last time you updated it? ISP routers are niece & convenient but they have limited security. Buying your own or better yet building your own network firewall are far more secure options.

Facebook and Google track everything we do. The Facebook apps & Chrome shouldn't be running on your systems & devices. Many of Chrome's extensions also track you. If you must use Facebook than consider having a browser installed just for Facebook use.

Use Revo's free option to uninstall Chrome. Firefox is barely any better as the company is full of SJWs. Meanwhile Opera was bought out by the Chinese, so if you use this browser do not use their built in password manager.

At the time when I decided I didn't want Google or my ISP's email option that left Hotmail as the only service with comparable features to Google. So I used Microsoft/Hotmail for everything standard and Hushmail for stuff I wanted to keep private. Now I still use Microsoft but I use Virtru for encryption and Telegram for private communication.

So far Microsoft has been agnostic not interfering with auto complete or their searches. So for the time being I will have some of their services listed.

I have also kept Cyanogen OS listed and added the Cyanogen Mod fork.

So here is my big list of alternatives. If anyone has more suggestions hit me with a reply.

Email:

Scryptmail - Free, based in US, end-to-end encryption.

Protonmail - A fully encrypted email service, hosted in Switzerland.

Tutanota - A fully encrypted email service, hosted in Germany.

Mailfence - Based in Belgium, end-to-end encryption with Digital Signatures.

Privacy-Conscious Email Services List

VFEmail - Since 2001, providing businesses and end-users a quick and convenient way to ensure their own security when it comes to email.

Unseen.is - Private and Secure. Messaging, Calling, Email and Hosting from Iceland.

Outlook - The only full service gmail competitor.

virtru - Free for personal use, outlook encryption plug-in.

TorBirdy - an extension for Mozilla Thunderbird that configures it to make connections over the Tor network.

Encrypted Messenger Software:

Telegram (My pick) - Similar to What's App only independent, secure, & on all major platforms including the desktop.

Signal - Encrypted FOSS messenger, only on iOS & Android.

Threema - Designed to generate as little data on servers as possible, end to end encryption.

BBM - Old school with a big user base, fully encrypted, & a feed/channel system.

wire - Simple, secure, private—always end-to-end.

Ricochet - Anonymous instant messaging for privacy through the TOR network.

Tox.chat - Tox is easy-to-use software that connects you with friends and family without anyone else listening in.

Unseen.is - Private and Secure. Messaging, Calling, Email and Hosting from Iceland.

Matrix - Matrix is an open standard for decentralised communication.

Browsers:

Brave (Blink) - by former Mozilla CEO, in beta limited extensions. (My pick)

Vivaldi (Blink) - by former Opera CEO, full access to Chrome web store. (My runner up.)

Waterfox - 64bit, Firefox based.

Pale Moon (Goanna) - Firefox fork.

Midori (WebKit)

Light - A minimalist browser based on Mozilla source code.

Mobile Browsers:

Password Managers:

Search Engines:

DuckDuckGo - privately uses Yahoo (Bing). Has "bang" options.

StartPage - privately uses Google.

Bing - A full array of features and a rewards system you can sign up for.

Youtube Alternatives:

note: If you're a serious content creator than I suggest mirroring your channel on several of these:

Live Leak (My pick) This is the place to mirror your Youtube channel. They are anti-censorship.

vimeo <- A lot of original artistry content.

Break - Popular Youtube competitor that's been around awhile.

Vid.me <- Another good site to mirror your content.

Gvid - An experiment for a low cost, content neutral replacement for Youtube.

metacafe - Have been around awhile.

veoh - Have been around a long time.

Alernate DNS:

Mobile OS Alternatives:

OS Alternatives:

Qubes OS - A reasonably secure operating system.

Haiku - Inspired by the BeOS, Haiku is fast, simple to use, easy to learn and yet very powerful.

Social Media alternatives:

Diaspora.com - My pick while waiting on Gab.ai.

Gab.ai - Twitter alternative, waiting list to join.

Steemit - a blockchain-based social media platform where anyone can earn rewards.

BBM - Old school with a big user base, fully encrypted, & a feed/channel system.

seenlife - Privacy concious Facebook competitor.

Movim

GNU social

Grassfire - a fully featured social environment that includes user profiles, chat, instant messaging, user groups, user news feeds, media uploading/sharing, discussion forums and much more!

Voat.co - Reddit alternative.

VPN:

I2P - The invisible internet project, similar to TOR.

Greycoder - best vpn service reviews.

Psiphon

Lantern

Alternate/Developing web technology:

I2P - The invisible internet project, similar to TOR.

Dark Mail Technical Alliance - developing a unique end-to-end encrypted protocol and architecture that is the 'next-generation' of private and secure email.

LEAP - a non-profit dedicated to giving all internet users access to secure encrypted communication.

ZeroNet - Peer to Peer, Open, free and uncensorable websites.

IPFS - A peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol.

Matrix - Matrix is an open standard for decentralised communication.

Miscellaneous:

We Are The New Media <- List of alternative media & news sites.

Infogalactic - A wikipedia alternative

Greycoder - Privacy information & tech including VPNs.

Prism Break - Privacy information & software.

Muckety - Shows relationships between people, businesses, organizations, and governemnts.

Zcubes - Z is the first omni-functional platform for the next generation that brings the digital experience closer to you in the real world.

privacytools.io - provides knowledge and tools to protect your privacy against global mass surveillance.

Whonix - "offers you the most secure way to surf the web."

Edit 01: corrected error on Protonmail being hosted in Switzerland, not Sweden.

Edit 02: ok several new additions and some minor updates.

Edit 03: last round of updates for awhile.

Edit 04: Some brief updates, hopefully this is good for awhile. Jan 31, 2017

Edit 04.5: Some more brief updates and reorganizing. Feb 08, 2017

Edit 04.6: Added Grassfire to social media. Feb 10, 2017