Apps to keep your data private
Privacy is a far more serious concern than most people realize. Personal data could be used to steal your identity, and your money. It could also allow malicious people to track you or your loved ones and find opportune moments to do harm. Or on a simple level, it could be used to publicize information you just don't want to be public.
In an age where giving up your private info grants you access to some very helpful services and apps, it can seem impossible to protect that data. It is possible though. We've compiled a list of key services and apps that help you do just that.
Probably the most practical first stop to make when looking to ensure your data is private, privacytools.io offers a massive list of recommendations for privacy-focused software and services. It's a well-rounded source that really is indispensable for finding suitable apps.
- App Discovery Service
- Free • Proprietary
- Online
If you're using cloud storage, consider Cryptomator to automatically encrypt your files. It offers a transparent workflow that's dead simple, plus it's free, open-source and cross platform for desktop and mobile.
- Cloud Storage Service
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Flathub
- F-Droid
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
All your data typically goes through a router. OpenWrt is a Linux distribution that can be used on a wide variety of routers to provide a configurable, privacy-focused alternative to a router's default system.
- Router Custom Firmware
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
A list of privacy apps wouldn't be complete without mentioning Tor. It provides a way to remain anonymous while browsing, which can really help people in countries operating under a dictatorship. Tor itself doesn't necessarily entail perfect anonymity, it's best used with other privacy-focused software, and importantly, privacy-focused services, like those in this list.
- Anonymizing Network
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
Swedish based Mullvad is one of the few VPNs that rates well across multiple sources. It's a provider that clearly takes security and privacy seriously, enough to let you pay via cash by mail.
- VPN Service
- Paid • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- F-Droid
- WireGuard
- Qubes OS
- Tor
- OpenWrt
- Tomato
- IPFire
- pfSense
- OpenVPN
- DD-WRT
Based in Italy, AirVPN is one of a handful of VPNs that performed well in leak testing, results available at https://vpntesting.info/ . This is a worthy VPN that makes it known they care about your privacy, one of the best options for Windows users.
- VPN Service
- Paid • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
Regarding privacy, Windows 10 just isn't built to be trustworthy. Linux offers a great alternative and Qubes OS lets you use choose between various Linux distributions for freedom that doesn't compromise security.
- Operating System
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
- Fedora
- Xen
Tails provides an excellent way to operate securely on practically any computer. It's designed for live use so it can be installed on a CD or USB drive, letting you run an entire OS from that device without any detection from the PC's original system. It even works great on older PCs.
- Operating System
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
- Electrum
- Tor Browser
- GNOME
- Tor
- VeraCrypt
- Thunderbird
If you have an Android device, chances are likely your private data is not secure. Lineage OS offers an alternative to the stock Android system that isn't bundled with privacy offending apps. It's a fork of the immensely popular but now discontinued CyanogenMod, which works with quite a variety of devices.
- Mobile OS
- Free • Open Source
- Android
- Android Tablet
While not quite as widely supported device-wise as LineageOS, CopperheadOS is specifically built as a security and privacy hardened version of Android. If you've got a phone that supports it, it's a great option to ensure privacy.
- Android ROM
- Paid • Proprietary
- Android
Keep your local file-system private with free, on-the-fly encryption using VeraCrypt. It's available across multiple desktop platforms, including a portable version for Windows.
- Disk Encryption Tool
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
Windows 10 is a privacy disaster waiting to happen. If you absolutely must use use it, at least consider a tool to help undo the privacy mess underlying it. Destroy Windows Spying is one such tool, it's open source and dead simple.
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
Panopticlick is a super fast way to check if your browser is able to protect your privacy. Just visit the site and hit the "Test Me" button. It links you right to Privacy Badger as a viable solution to get protected.
- Free • Open Source
- Online
If you're only concerned about privacy and just want to block tracking scripts, Privacy Badger comes highly recommended. It's an open source browser extension that helps detect and block trackers.
- Ad Blocker
- Free • Open Source
- Online
- Microsoft Edge
- Google Chrome
- Opera
- Firefox
Often mistaken as just an ad blocker, uBlock Origin is actually a general purpose script blocker that happens to excel at blocking ads. It's an extension for Firefox and Chrome that potentially can block all scripts, including tracking scripts, to help maintain privacy when browsing.
- Ad Blocker
- Free • Open Source
- Microsoft Edge
- Vivaldi
- Google Chrome
- Pale Moon
- Thunderbird
- Opera
- Node.JS
- Chromium
- Mozilla Firefox
Replace your browser entirely with Brave. It's an out-of-the-box solution for those who want a privacy-focused browser that's still as capable as their current one. It's Chromium based but by default, it blocks ad and tracker scripts and is available on most platforms, desktop and mobile.
- Web Browser
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
If you're already settled with Firefox as a browser, no problem. It's a solid browser and is easily hardened for privacy and security with the right extensions. We've got a great list of those here: https://alternativeto.net/list/security-and-privacy-enhancing-firefox-add-ons
- Web Browser
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- BSD
- iPad
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- Flatpak
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Gecko
Another great browser of choice for those concerned about privacy, Tor browser is available for all the major desktop platforms.
- Web Browser
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- OpenBSD
Given the countless data breaches at high profile web services over the past few years, it's important to use different passwords across services so hackers who find a password for one won't necessarily get the passwords for others. Master Password offers a great solution for that, it's privacy focused, cross-platform for mobile and desktop, free and open-source.
- Password Manager
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
A widely recognized, privacy focused email provider, the Swiss-based ProtonMail is also in the process of launching a VPN as well. It's another helpful indication that they're good at privacy and worthy of their established name.
- WebMail Provider
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Tor
Seafile offers a secure and privacy-focused cloud-storage solution that's open-source, so you can host it yourself for the utmost privacy.
- Cloud Storage Service
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
With a history as decorated as Firefox, Thunderbird is highly recognized as a solid, cross-platform, desktop e-mail client with privacy built in.
- Email Client
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
Being open source provides an easy way to check on an app's security and privacy. Searx is a search engine with an open source code base that provides that layer of security. It keeps no logs, has no ads and no tracking scripts.
- Web Search Engine
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- Self-Hosted
- Cloudron
Signal is a highly decorated messaging app with privacy baked in. It serves no ads or tracking scripts, is open source and available across multiple platforms.
- Video Calling App
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Flathub
- Ubuntu
- Debian
Share pasted text and code in a totally safe and private way through Ghostbin. It's available online or as a self-hosted solution that's open source.
- Pastebin Service
- Free • Open Source
- Online
- jQuery
- Bootstrap
Turtl is a note app similar to Evernote, but built with privacy in mind. It's open source, easy to review how it works. And it can be self-hosted for the ultimate in privacy.
- Note-taking Tool
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
Need to send a secret message to someone? Encrypt your message into an audio file with DeepSound. Ensure the recipient has the key you encrypt it with and they'll be able to decrypt it to get the message.
- Free • Proprietary
- Windows
Syncthing offers a great alternative to insecure and non-private file syncing services and apps. It's an open source solution that's available across multiple platforms.
- File Sync Tool
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
- Cloudron
Your list and John's (https://alternativeto.net/list/2427/software-for-privacy) are the best on this site. You rock. Man, I miss JohnFastman.
BTW, man, I'd remove Brave. It packages its own ads in. Plus, it's Chromium-based.
I've seen a lot of flaming on Telegram, but honestly, I've never seen a problem in using it, tbh. Also for encrypted communication, I'd mention Tox.
And as a password manager, I'd mention Bitwarden.
Not really. Not unless you bought your bitcoin anonymously to begin with. Every bitcoin transaction is recorded in the blockchain. If you buy bitcoin to begin with using, e.g. a credit card, then all your future transactions can be traced back to you. Bitcoin is not inherently anonymous. In that respect Monero is more anonymous.
Really appreciate your clarification here, though my apologies for the late reply! In this case, I've gone ahead and removed Bitcoin since anonymity takes serious work to achieve with it. While it's possible, it's not there by default as you've noted. I'll check up on the other options like Monero. Thanks again.
Reply written Oct 27, 2018