You can now check and filter apps by their Country of Origin on AlternativeTo!
Some of you may have noticed that we recently introduced a new feature that shows the country of origin for each app. This was a long-standing request from several users, and we believe it adds meaningful context to help people make more informed decisions, whether based on privacy concerns, local regulations, or simple curiosity, especially in a time when geopolitical tensions and increasing surveillance policies are shaping the way technology is built and distributed.
The country of origin is shown in the app overview section, next to tags like license and platform, and can also be used as a filter when browsing or comparing alternatives. This becomes especially useful when combined with filters like license, platform, or features to better target what you're looking to find. For example, you can narrow down your filters when looking for VPN alternatives to U.S.-based services like Private Internet Access, focusing on options with Android support, AES-256 encryption, and an open-source license from 🇸🇪 Sweden, such as Mullvad, or secure iPhone messaging alternatives to Telegram based on 🇨🇭 Switzerland, with results including apps like Threema or Session. You can also explore full region-based lists if you want to expand your search across multiple countries, like cloud storage services from 🇪🇺 EU countries that comply with GDPR, especially if you're looking for alternatives to mainstream U.S. big tech companies like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive.
In recent weeks, we’ve also introduced small UI improvements, including quicker access to contribution tools, external links, and alternative lists via the sticky bar on all About pages, as well as expandable app cards on the homepage and alternatives listings, allowing you to view more app details without opening the full app page.
Just like other data on the site, country information is manually added and might still be missing from some apps, so we really appreciate community contributions to help fill in the gaps and improve coverage over time. We hope you find these new features useful, and thanks for helping us make this community-driven platform better every day!
Comments
Thank you very much for the update!
Only this update is a bit ambivalent... I'm afraid that it might turn out that software from some “questionable regions” will be avoided by users, and we - people from all over the world - might lose some really good opportunities. On the one hand I understand why people would choose to avoid software from these regions, but on the other hand, they have their gems too. Despite the dislike users have for the US and Adobe, it's hard to disagree with the fact that Photoshop is a really good software with a long history that has given professionals around the world the opportunity to realize themselves - and all people the opportunity to enjoy the work of these professionals. Exactly as China has its own good stuff, like the same SiYuan. So it seems that this kind of filtering feature might do some harm.
But on the other hand this feature likes the fact that you can see the software being developed in a certain region of the world. Like, for example, software from Japan, Korea, and China, where people's worldviews may be a little different, and it's just interesting to see how that affects the software. Although, of course, in the digital age, these local differences are not as pronounced, especially in the software industry.
Anyway, many thanks for this opportunity and for the website in general, it was really missed!
This is a great improvement, thank you for it
That is an awesome addition, thanks a lot for making alternativeto even better!
Very nice work! Even if it could be misleading for some large projects (like Debian, that comes from Switzerland?!) It's only missing an automatic dark mode (without having to enable it each time cookies are cleared) now ;)
We love you guys, one of my favorite websites on the internet! :)
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