Throughout the years, we have been relying on big companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and others to give us access to their products to use our computers and phones, communicate on the online web, and store our files. However, as things have gotten worse with the years and the rise of gen-AI only making things worse, people are starting to question if they can even move to new services. However, the journey can be hard and there are so many options that non-tech savvy people are going lose patience and give up.
That is why I made this long and comprehensive list of mostly open-source alternatives to different things from computer OS, social media, to even TV. Many things are easy to move to, others are for more tech-savvy people, and this list doesn't even have all of the available options in any category! However, this is a great first step into trying new things and to slowly move away from big tech. You don't need to do it all at once, go step by step, decide if there are some services you can't stop using and which ones could use a switch and have fun!
Free cross-platform music client for desktop and mobile enabling manual playback, YouTube streaming, playlist creation, time-synced lyrics, and no ads.
Free cross-platform music client for desktop and mobile enabling manual playback, YouTube streaming, playlist creation, time-synced lyrics, and no ads.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
Free Spotify client.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
A free and open source podcastmanager for Android, allowing you to subscribe to podcasts (via iTunes database & OPML), automatically download episodes using powerful mechanisms and listen to them the way you like (speed, balance adjustments, etc).
A free and open source podcastmanager for Android, allowing you to subscribe to podcasts (via iTunes database & OPML), automatically download episodes using powerful mechanisms and listen to them the way you like (speed, balance adjustments, etc).
Only on Android phones and tablets.
Open-source, self-hosted streaming platform supports Android, iOS, podcasts, uploads, sharing, no ads or tracking, federated across decentralized instances.
Decentralized, open source music streaming; part of the Fediverse and ActivityPub.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
Audius is a streaming platform built for all musicians, not just those signed to labels. Build a fanbase, share your works in progress, and then publish your completed tracks for all the world to hear. Create, grow, and monetize, all without the need to graduate off the platform...
Another music streaming platform.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
Audio player and music organizer supporting advanced playback, wide format compatibility, streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, Subsonic, and album cover fetching.
Introducing Fossify Music Player – your gateway to uninterrupted musical enjoyment. Say goodbye to intrusive ads and hello to a seamless music experience designed to accompany you wherever you go.
Simple phone music player for your downloaded songs.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
Soulseek® is a unique ad-free, spyware free, and just plain free file sharing application. One of the things that makes Soulseek® unique is our community and community-related features. Based on peer-to-peer technology, virtual rooms allow you to meet people with the...
Soulseek® is a unique ad-free, spyware free, and just plain free file sharing application.
*Not open-sourced.
Android client for peer-to-peer file sharing built with C#, enabling searching with filters, wishlist, downloads, messaging, chatrooms, port forwarding, and full open-source access with no ads.
Seeker is a Soulseek client for Android written in C# (with Xamarin) supporting downloading, searching (including wishlist and filters), sharing, messages, chatrooms, port forwarding, user info, privileges, and more.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
Open-source Android app recognizing music via AudD and ACRCloud, storing results with full metadata, lyrics, and links, supporting offline use and robust library management.
Replaces Shazam.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
No more Amazon kindle, own your books.
Meet Libby. Discover ebooks and audiobooks from your local library. Brought to you by OverDrive.
Discover ebooks and audiobooks from your local library. Brought to you by OverDrive.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
*Not open-sourced.
Free e-book manager offering library management, multi-format conversion, syncing to devices, news download as e-books, built-in viewer, editor, and privacy.
Provides access to over 75,000 free e-books in multiple formats, including EPUB and Kindle, focused mainly on older literature with expired US copyright, no registration needed.
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online.
*Not open-sourced.
Myne is a FOSS Android application to download ebooks from the Project GutenBerg, it uses GutenDex API to fetch metadata of ebooks in the backend.
Myne is a FOSS Android application to download ebooks from the Project GutenBerg, it uses GutenDex API to fetch metadata of ebooks in the backend.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
Search engine of shadow libraries: books, papers, comics, magazines. Z-Library, Library Genesis, Sci-Hub. Fully resilient through open source code and data. Spread the word: everyone is welcome here!.
Openlib is an open source app to download and read books from shadow library (Anna’s Archive). The App Has Built In Reader to Read Books.
Openlib is an open source app to download and read books from shadow library (Anna’s Archive). The App Has Built In Reader to Read Books.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, it provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public.
The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, it provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public.
*Not open-sourced.
A BitTorrent community focused on Eastern Asian media including anime, manga, music, and more.
This site is the replacement for the discontinued NyaaTorrents.
![2019-02-07
[English Translated, by size]](https://img.alternativeto.net/s/309x197/jpeg/nyaa-v2_172655_full.png)
Free audiobooks from the public domain, volunteer recorded, open source, and accessible globally, hosted by Internet Archive.
Free audiobooks from the public domain, volunteer recorded, open source, and accessible globally, hosted by Internet Archive.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
Find and read manga.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
Leave WhatsApp, GroupMe and basic messenger for these options.
An encrypted messaging app focused on privacy, supporting texts, calls, photos, videos, files, and group chats, with no ads or trackers.
Replaces messaging and WhatsApp.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
Encrypted platform supporting private, identifier-free messaging, group conversations, file sharing, and audio/video calling, using a double-ratchet protocol.
Replaces messaging and WhatsApp.
Available on Android phones and tablets.
QUIK is an open source replacement to the stock messaging app on Android. It is a continuation of QKSMS.
QUIK is an open source replacement to the stock messaging app on Android. It is a continuation of QKSMS.
Only on Android phones and tablets.
More tools for your Linux computer.
Kleaner is an image metadata cleaner that can handle EXIF, IPTC, XMP and Comments. It is available under the GPL-3.0 license.
Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk again and again, you just need to copy the iso file to the USB drive and boot it.
Flatseal is a graphical utility to review and modify basic permissions from your Flatpak applications.
Fastfetch is a neofetch-like tool for fetching system information and displaying them in a pretty way. It is written mainly in C, with performance and customizability in mind. Currently, Linux, Android, FreeBSD, MacOS and Windows 7+ are supported.
A versatile client for SFTP, FTP, and other protocols for file transfer. It offers GUI choice, and supports automation and key authentication.
Open source virtualization tool supporting x86/AMD64, runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris. Offers portable, lightweight, ad-free use.
Synaptic is a graphical package management program for apt. It provides the same features as the apt-get command line utility with a GUI front-end based on Gtk+.
Erase unnecessary files like cache and cookies, maintain privacy, and optimize disk space on Linux and Windows. Supports various applications and uses.
![BleachBit user interface in dark mode [source: official documentation]](https://img.alternativeto.net/s/309x197/jpeg/bleachbit_608743_full.png)
Czkawka is a simple, fast, written in Rust and easy to use app to remove unnecessary files from your computer.
SD Card Formatter is a program that provides quick and easy access to all memory card formats like SD, SDHC and SCXC, and has been designed so that you can get rid of all the content stored on your SD card in one go.
These apps give you full control of your phone, like a new OS or root access or new call and camera apps.
/e/ is a fork of LineageOS that aims to be completely free of everything Google. Not only that, but there are a number of goals the developer has in mind for /e/ that more people feel are vital to a mobile operating system.
GrapheneOS is a privacy and security focused mobile OS with Android app compatibility developed as a non-profit open source project. It's focused on the research and development of privacy and security technology including substantial improvements to sandboxing, exploit...
In an effort to make things easy, and maybe even fun, AndroidPolice.com created APK Mirror. Over the past several months, they've been working to build a smooth, reliable, trust-worthy site to host the downloads users love.
Download app APK files.
*Not open-sourced.
FOSS app store.
Aurora Store enables you to search and download apps from the official Google Play store. You can check app descriptions, screenshots, updates, reviews, and download the APK directly from Google Play to your device.
microG GmsCore is a free software reimplementation of 
Google Play Services. It allows applications calling proprietary Google APIs to run on AOSP-based ROMs like .
Thank you so much for going through this list! I know this list is huge and all-encompising. As I said, this doesn't have all available options, so you could explore out there. What is important is to slowly learn to rely less on big tech companies and work on finding and supporting projects that respect our privacy. If you have any other recommendations, please let me know. Have a great day!
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![2019-02-07
[English Translated, by size]](https://img.alternativeto.net/s/618x394/avif/nyaa-v2_172655_full.png)
![BleachBit user interface in dark mode [source: official documentation]](https://img.alternativeto.net/s/618x394/avif/bleachbit_608743_full.png)
