What I use to protect my privacy that I would actually recommand to everyone to try as it does not requiere a lot of effort to use that instead of the GAFAM and Big Brother stuff !
Updated for 2026
Secure Swiss-based email with end-to-end encryption and zero third-party access. Available across devices, offering a free version to promote privacy.
ProtonMail is a fine e-mail provider. Their clients are open source, your e-mails are encrypted and they have a free tier which is really usable ! Hosted in Switzerland.
Worth mentioning :
Open source solution to protect your personal email address. Generous free plan with uncapped bandwidth and infinite sends/replies, self-hostable, lot of powerful features, open roadmap, you can count on SimpleLogin to guard your email inbox.
I never give a website my ProtonMail adress I always give them an alias generated with SimpleLogin. The free tier allow you to have 15 aliases for one e-mail adresse and the premium plan is really affordable ! You can activate and deactivate aliases any time so you don't get spams. Open source of course.
Worth mentioning :
addy.io Open source too
Firefox Relay This one is too
Cross-platform email client providing POP/IMAP support, robust filtering, multiple accounts, and chat. Extendable via add-ons with RSS/Atom, etc.
For you computer and mobile
If you don't want to use a web client Thunderbird is the go to. The UI is outdated but the app doesn't spy on you.
Mobile client is based on
K-9 Mail
Secure email app for Mac, iPhone, Android and Windows with AI Copilot, PGP encryption, read receipts and one unified inbox.
For iOS
I don't have good recommendations, Canary Mail looks to be the best but it's closed source !
Instantly translate content across 244 languages using powerful AI models. Drag the Kagi Translate bookmarklet for effortless one-click web page translations.
This translator is great and privacy respecting enough for me
Free and Open Source Translation API. 100% self-hosted, no limits, no ties to proprietary services. Built on top of Argos Translate.
A free and open source (self-hostable) translation API
Android clients :
LibreTranslator
TranslateYou
Worth mentioning :
Apertium
Always use strong and unique passwords, how to remember them ? You don't have to, use a password manager ! Also enable TOTP everywhere you can ! Or use a YubiKey if you can afford one.
Open-source password manager with AES-256 encryption and device sync. Store and access encrypted logins across platforms like iOS and Android.
BitWarden is going under a radical and discreet shift within the company: https://blog.ppb1701.com/the-quiet-renovation-at-bitwarden
A very good easy-to-use and cloud sync and open source password manager on a really nice freemium model. You can self host it if you want !
Worth mentioning:
Proton Pass
KeePassium for Apple devices, sync is paid service
1Password
Worth mentioning (if you don't need cloud sync or are willing to sync it yourself) :
KeePassXC on Desktop
KeePassDX on Android
Aegis Authenticator is a free, secure and open source app to manage your 2-step verification tokens for your online services.
TOTP on Android
I always go with Aegis. Secure, beautiful, easy-to-use and open source !
BACKUP YOUR SEEDS !!!
Generates, stores, and encrypts two-factor authentication tokens, enables secure backup, offers offline access, multi-device sync, and flexible import/export options.
TOTP on Android or iOS
Optional cloud sync with e2ee !
BACKUP YOUR SEEDS !!!
You should set a custom DNS, you can do it directly in the settings of Windows, macOS, Linux, Android (9+) and iOS (14+)
The Pi-hole® is a DNS sinkhole that protects your devices from unwanted content without installing any client-side software.
I host a PiHole that uses
Quad9 DNS and block all the ads and trackers that it can.
Worth mentioning:
Quad9 is a free, recursive, anycast DNS platform that provides end users robust security protections, high-performance, and privacy.
My DNS of choice ! Privacy focused ;) By default it only blocks malware stuff but they also have an unsecure version without blocking.
This protects your DNS queries from being snooped on by third parties when not connected to our VPN service as your DNS queries are encrypted between your device and our DNS server.
If you want to setup a DNS that block ads without running your own
Pi-hole MullvadDNS has a great free option to use !
Worth mentioning:
DNSCrypt is a protocol that authenticates communications between a DNS client and a DNS resolver. It prevents DNS spoofing. It uses signatures to verify that responses originate from the chosen DNS resolver and haven't been tampered with.
For iOS
DNSCloak is the only app you'll ever need to use a custom DNS for iOS 13 or below or if you want simplicity.
Based on DNS66, this projects aims to continue the goals of the original app with modern Android development practices.
For Android (old versions)
Android let you change your DNS in your network settings since A9 but if you have an older version go with DNSNet !
STOP thinking that a VPN will provide you anonymity, it's a trust transfer from your ISP to your VPN provider!
You might not need a VPN but if you think you do or want one:
Decentralized VPN with mixnet and zero-knowledge encryption, offering fast WireGuard and censorship-resistant AmneziaWG modes while hiding all user metadata.
My VPN of choice for most of my devices !
Free the internet from data collection with Mullvad VPN – a service that helps keep your online activity, identity, and location private. Only €5/month.
Windscribe VPN is your all-in-one solution for privacy, security, and unrestricted internet access.
If you can't afford a VPN but would need to use a free one use Windscribe, it's limited in many ways but protect your privacy better than all other free VPNs and most popular paid options.
Worth mentioning:
Proton VPN Another great Free VPN that is limited in a different manner
Calyx VPN Privacy Advocate Foundation Server proxy-like VPN
RiseupVPN Privacy Advocate Foundation Server proxy-like VPN
Comments
awesome list! you should really consider adding briar and tutanota
Tuta is mentioned in my email description but I don't really use it yet. I'm not really into e-mail but if I would have to chose a new email provider they would probably be in my top pick alongside posteo.
I don't use Briar, because it's hard to have people using it. And p2p for communication often come with poorer UX in my opinion. I have tested it with a friend, it's a cool project and it got recommended in some of my other lists but it's not part of my daily setup.
oh my bad i didn't notice you had tuta on there having ppl switch really is the hardest part. im tripping i kinda forgot this is your setup and not like a recommendation list
It's a akward mix of both my setup and recommendations. I would tend to recommend SimpleX more than Briar because as I said p2p communication is not a conveniant UX for people used to centralized system such as WhatsApp.