I’ve always struggled to find a balance between staying organized and keeping my data private. Most "free" productivity tools actually charge you with your personal information.
I’ve put together this list of privacy-oriented productivity apps that you can use for free. These are tools I actually use to manage my daily tasks, notes, and projects. Most of them are open-source.
Quick Disclaimer: I’m just a regular user who cares about digital rights, not a security pro. Always check the privacy policies yourself!
An encrypted messaging app focused on privacy, supporting texts, calls, photos, videos, files, and group chats, with no ads or trackers.
Open-source password manager storing passwords, notes, and attachments offline with AES-256 encryption, browser extensions, cross-platform support, and TOTP.
Koofr is a safe, secure and simple way to store, backup and share your documents, photos, videos and more. It offers up to 10 GB of free safe storage for your files with affordable upgrades and options to connect multiple cloud accounts.
Highly customizable browser with built-in ad and tracker blockers, Chromium compatibility, advanced tab management, cross-device sync, and strong privacy features.
Open source note-taking app with Markdown support, to-do integration, and synchronization with cloud services like Dropbox and OneDrive.
End-to-end encrypted app for email, calendar, and contacts, requiring no personal data, with open source code and quantum-resistant security.
Automatic time tracker for Windows, macOS, and Linux capturing work minutes across programs, files, browser tabs, emails, and calendars for project billing.
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, share research and cite your research sources directly in your favourite word processor, with 300 MB free online storage.
Free e-book manager offering library management, multi-format conversion, syncing to devices, news download as e-books, built-in viewer, editor, and privacy.
PaperShip is an iPad, iPhone, and Mac application designed to give you access to your Mendeley / Zotero library on-the-go. You will enjoy annotating your PDFs with highlights, notes, free text, drawings and much more!
