The digital commons

Technitium DNS Server

for #Developer tools

Replaces
BIND
ISP DNS
Pi-hole

A full DNS server you can run yourself

Runbox

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

Norwegian mail on hydroelectric power

Tomb

for #Privacy

Replaces
BitLocker
VeraCrypt

Encrypted file containers for Linux, scripted

Transportr

for #Maps

Replaces
Google Maps

Public transport journeys without an account

Threema

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
Telegram
WhatsApp

Paid Swiss messaging with no phone number required

Tox

for #Messaging

Replaces
Discord
Skype
WhatsApp

A serverless chat protocol with many clients

Presearch

for #Search

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

A decentralised search engine with token rewards

Pixelfed

for #Photos

Replaces
Instagram

Federated photo sharing, no algorithm

PeerTube

for #Publishing

Replaces
Vimeo
YouTube

Federated video hosting that shares bandwidth

Windscribe

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
ExpressVPN
NordVPN
Surfshark

A VPN with a usable free tier and a built-in blocker

Peergos

for #Calendar

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Calendar
Google Drive

Encrypted storage, calendar and chat you can run yourself

Tuta Calendar

for #Calendar

Replaces
Google Calendar
Microsoft Outlook

An encrypted calendar inside the Tuta mailbox

Zed

for #Developer tools

Replaces
Sublime Text
Visual Studio Code

A fast code editor with collaboration built in

Posteo

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook
Yahoo Mail

A one-euro mailbox with no ads and no tracking

StartMail

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

A private mailbox from the makers of Startpage

VeraCrypt

for #Privacy

Replaces
BitLocker
FileVault
TrueCrypt

Full-disk and container encryption, audited

SimpleX Chat

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
Telegram
WhatsApp

Messaging with no user identifiers at all

Session

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
Telegram
WhatsApp

Messaging with no phone number, routed over a relay network

Standard Notes

for #Notes

Replaces
Apple Notes
Evernote
Google Keep

Encrypted notes built for the long term

SearXNG

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

A metasearch engine you can run yourself

Startpage

for #Privacy

Replaces
Google Search

Google results without the Google tracking

Privex

for #Hosting

Replaces
AWS Lightsail
DigitalOcean
Linode

Privacy-focused VPS hosting, crypto accepted

Mailbox.org

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Google Workspace
Microsoft Outlook

A German mailbox with an office suite attached

Mailfence

for #Calendar

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

Belgian mail with proper OpenPGP key management

Kontact

for #Calendar

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

KDE's integrated mail, calendar and contacts

NeoMutt

for #Developer tools

Replaces
Gmail
Mozilla Thunderbird

Mail in the terminal, configured exactly your way

Molly

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal

A hardened fork of Signal for Android

Logseq

for #Notes

Replaces
Evernote
Notion
Roam Research

An outliner that works on local plain-text files

Kagi

for #Search

Replaces
Bing
DuckDuckGo
Google Search

Paid search with no advertising at all

Obtainium

for #App-stores

Replaces
Google Play Store

Android apps straight from the developer

Kryptor

for #Developer tools

Simple file encryption and signing from the terminal

OpenStreetMap

for #Maps

Replaces
Google Maps

The map the world edits

OsmAnd

for #Maps

Replaces
Apple Maps
Google Maps
Komoot

Offline maps and navigation with every setting exposed

Metapho

for #Photos

Inspect and strip photo metadata on iOS

Notesnook

for #Notes

Replaces
Apple Notes
Evernote
Notion

End-to-end encrypted notes, fully open source

LibreOffice

for #Office

Replaces
Apple iWork
Google Docs
Microsoft 365

The full desktop office suite, free

KeePassXC

for #Passwords

Replaces
1Password
Bitwarden
LastPass

A password database you hold yourself

NordPass

for #Passwords

Replaces
1Password
Dashlane
LastPass

A password manager from the Nord suite

llamafile

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot

Run a language model from a single file

Mojeek

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

A genuinely independent crawler, built in the UK

Mobile Verification Toolkit

for #Privacy

Forensic checks for signs of phone compromise

Nostr

for #Privacy

Replaces
Threads
X (Twitter)

A protocol for relays, not a platform

Odysee

for #Social

Replaces
YouTube

Video on the LBRY protocol

Replaces
Bluehost
GoDaddy

Anonymous-friendly hosting from Iceland

Disroot

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Gmail
Google Drive
Google Workspace

A volunteer-run suite of free-software services

K-9 Mail

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

The open-source Android mail client, now Thunderbird

GNOME Evolution

for #Calendar

Replaces
Microsoft Outlook

A full groupware client for the GNOME desktop

Claws Mail

for #Email

Replaces
Microsoft Outlook
Mozilla Thunderbird

A fast, keyboard-driven mail client

Canary Mail

for #Email

Replaces
Apple Mail
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

A mail client with encryption and AI assistance

GnuPG

for #Email

The reference implementation of OpenPGP

CoMaps

for #Maps

Replaces
Apple Maps
Google Maps

A community-governed fork of Organic Maps

Element

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Discord
Microsoft Teams
Slack

The flagship Matrix client, federated and self-hostable

Delta Chat

for #Email

Replaces
Signal
Telegram
WhatsApp

A messenger that runs on ordinary email

Jami

for #Messaging

Replaces
Skype
WhatsApp
Zoom

Peer-to-peer calls and chat with no accounts

Cwtch

for #Messaging

Replaces
Discord
Signal
WhatsApp

Metadata-resistant group chat over Tor

Internxt Drive

for #Privacy

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Drive
OneDrive

Encrypted cloud storage from Spain

FairEmail

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook

A privacy-first mail client for Android

Cryptomator

for #Privacy

Replaces
Boxcryptor

Client-side encryption for any cloud drive

ExifCleaner

for #Photos

Drag a file in, metadata comes out

ExifEraser

for #Photos

Offline metadata removal on Android

GrapheneOS

for #Operating-system

Replaces
Apple iOS
Google Android

A hardened Android build for Pixel phones

CalyxOS

for #Operating-system

Replaces
Google Android

A privacy-focused Android build with microG

Joplin

for #Notes

Replaces
Apple Notes
Evernote
Microsoft OneNote

Markdown notes that sync wherever you choose

CryptPad

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Docs
Microsoft 365
Notion

Collaborative documents the server cannot read

Ente Photos

for #Photos

Replaces
Amazon Photos
Google Photos
iCloud Photos

End-to-end encrypted photo backup

Cryptee

for #Notes

Replaces
Evernote
Google Docs
Google Photos

Encrypted photos and documents, Estonia-based

IVPN

for #Privacy

Replaces
ExpressVPN
NordVPN
Surfshark

A VPN with anonymous account IDs and no email

Invidious

for #Privacy

Replaces
YouTube

A YouTube front-end with no Google

Briar

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
Telegram
WhatsApp

Messaging that works with no internet at all

bitchat

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
WhatsApp

Messaging over Bluetooth mesh, no internet needed

AdGuard DNS

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
Cloudflare DNS
Google Public DNS
ISP DNS

Filtering DNS you point a whole network at

Brave Browser

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
Google Chrome
Microsoft Edge

A Chromium browser with blocking built in

Brave Search

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

An independent search index

1984 Hosting

for #Hosting

Replaces
AWS
GoDaddy
Google Cloud

Icelandic hosting with a civil-liberties stance

VSCodium

for #Developer tools

Replaces
Visual Studio Code

VS Code without the telemetry

NewPipe

for #Video

Replaces
YouTube

YouTube without Google

qBittorrent

for #Media

Replaces
uTorrent

Torrents without the adware

Tally

for #Productivity

Replaces
Google Forms
Typeform

Forms that work like a doc

Ubuntu

for #Operating-system

Replaces
macOS
Microsoft Windows

Linux for everyone

ONLYOFFICE

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Workspace
Microsoft 365

Office editors with high Microsoft format fidelity

Monnett

for #Social

Replaces
Facebook
Instagram
X (Twitter)

Chronological, algorithm-free social network

Bluesky

for #Social

Replaces
Threads
X (Twitter)

A microblogging network on the AT Protocol

Mastodon

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bluesky
Threads
X (Twitter)

Federated social media, thousands of servers

Thunderbird

for #Email

Replaces
Apple Mail
Microsoft Outlook

The long-running open-source mail client

Tuta Mail

for #Email

Replaces
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook
Yahoo Mail

Encrypted email with open-source clients

Tresorit

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Drive
Microsoft SharePoint

End-to-end encrypted storage built for teams

Quake AI

for #Ai

Replaces
AWS
Google Cloud
Microsoft Azure

Compute hosting with a privacy-focused policy

IncogNET

for #Hosting

Replaces
DigitalOcean
GoDaddy
Namecheap

Hosting with a free-expression policy, crypto accepted

Bahnhof Cloud

for #Hosting

Replaces
AWS
Google Cloud
Microsoft Azure

Swedish hosting from an ISP with a privacy record

Ubuntu Touch

for #Operating-system

Replaces
Apple iOS
Google Android

A mobile OS that is not Android underneath

LineageOS

for #Operating-system

Replaces
Google Android

Android without Google, on a very wide range of devices

ImageOptim

for #Creative

Image compression that drops metadata on the way

Scrambled Exif

for #Photos

Strip photo metadata from the Android share sheet

MAT2

for #Photos

Metadata removal across many file types

ExifTool

for #Developer tools

The reference tool for reading and stripping metadata

Ricochet Refresh

for #Messaging

Replaces
Signal
WhatsApp

Chat with no metadata, over onion services

Obsidian

for #Notes

Replaces
Evernote
Microsoft OneNote
Notion

A Markdown knowledge base over a local folder

TriliumNext

for #Notes

Replaces
Evernote
Microsoft OneNote
Notion

A hierarchical notebook for large personal archives

Anytype

for #Notes

Replaces
Airtable
Evernote
Notion

A local-first, encrypted alternative to Notion

EtherCalc

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel

A collaborative spreadsheet with no accounts

Etherpad

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Docs
Microsoft Word

The original real-time collaborative pad

Collabora Online

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Workspace
Microsoft 365

LibreOffice in the browser, self-hosted

Docs (La Suite numerique)

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Google Docs
Microsoft 365
Notion

A Franco-German public-sector alternative to Google Docs

Grist

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Airtable
Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel

A spreadsheet with a real database underneath

KeePassDX

for #Passwords

Replaces
1Password
Google Password Manager
LastPass

A KeePass database manager for Android

KeePassium

for #Passwords

Replaces
1Password
iCloud Keychain
LastPass

A KeePass client for iPhone and Mac

Psono

for #Collaboration

Replaces
1Password
Bitwarden
LastPass

A self-hostable password manager for teams

1Password

for #Passwords

Replaces
LastPass

The polished commercial password manager

PhotoPrism

for #Photos

Replaces
Google Photos
iCloud Photos

A self-hosted photo library with local AI tagging

Piwigo

for #Photos

Replaces
Flickr
Google Photos
SmugMug

A photo gallery for organisations and archives

Jan

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot

A desktop app for running models offline

KoboldCpp

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Google Gemini

A single-binary local model runner

Duck.ai

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Google Gemini

Anonymised access to hosted chat models

Euria

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot

A Swiss-hosted assistant with no data retention

MetaGer

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

A German non-profit metasearch engine

Qwant

for #Privacy

Replaces
Bing
Google Search

A French search engine building its own index

RethinkDNS

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
ISP DNS

A firewall and DNS blocker for Android, no root

Control D

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
Google Public DNS
ISP DNS
NextDNS

A configurable resolver with per-device rules

Sync.com

for #Collaboration

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Drive
OneDrive

Zero-knowledge storage built for teams

Filen

for #Privacy

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Drive
OneDrive

Zero-knowledge storage from Germany

Fastmail

for #Calendar

Replaces
Gmail
Google Calendar
Microsoft Outlook

A long-established independent mail and calendar host

EteSync

for #Calendar

Replaces
Google Calendar
Google Contacts
iCloud

End-to-end encrypted calendar and contact sync

Tor Browser

for #Browser

Replaces
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox

The browser built to break the link between you and what you read

Pi-hole

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
ISP DNS

A network-wide ad blocker on your own hardware

LibreWolf

for #Browser

Replaces
Google Chrome
Microsoft Edge
Mozilla Firefox

Firefox, hardened by default

NextDNS

for #Dns

Replaces
AdGuard DNS
Cloudflare DNS
Google Public DNS

Ad and tracker blocking at the DNS level

Firefox

for #Browser

Replaces
Google Chrome
Microsoft Edge
Safari

An independent browser engine

Privacy Notes

for #Notes

Replaces
Apple Notes
Evernote
Google Keep

Notes with no email or password

NordVPN

for #Privacy

Replaces
ExpressVPN
Mullvad VPN
Proton VPN

A widely-used commercial VPN

Surfshark

for #Privacy

Replaces
ExpressVPN
Mullvad VPN
NordVPN

A mainstream, multi-device VPN

Immich

for #Photos

Replaces
Google One
Google Photos
iCloud Photos

Your own photo library, self-hosted

Ollama

for #Ai

Replaces
ChatGPT
Claude
Google Gemini

Run AI models on your own machine

Jellyfin

for #Audio

Replaces
Emby
Plex

Your own Plex, with no phone-home

Incogni

for #Identity

Automated data-broker opt-outs

Organic Maps

for #Maps

Replaces
Apple Maps
Google Maps
Waze

Maps that work with no signal

OpenCut

for #Creative

Replaces
Adobe Premiere Rush
CapCut

An open-source CapCut alternative

Mullvad

for #Privacy

Replaces
ExpressVPN
NordVPN
Surfshark

A VPN with no email required

DuckDuckGo

for #Browser

Protection. Privacy. Peace of mind.

OBS Studio

for #Video

Recording and live-streaming

uBlock Origin

for #Ad-blocking

Replaces
AdBlock
AdBlock Plus
Privacy Badger

Block, not bargain

Bitwarden

for #Passwords

Replaces
1Password
Dashlane
Google Password Manager

Remember one password

Proton

for #Calendar

Replaces
1Password
Gmail
Google Workspace

Privacy, end to end

Ghost

for #Publishing

Replaces
Mailchimp
Medium
Substack

Publishing you own

NEXTCLOUD

for #Storage

Replaces
Dropbox
Google Calendar
Google Drive

Safe home for all your data

Signal

for #Messaging

Replaces
iMessage
Messenger
WhatsApp

Speak freely