Hello! I’m finally back from a long break. I am now living happily in Berlin, Germany. It is safer now to post and make podcast episodes and much more. I hope you make use of this guide to protect yourself and your community online. A compiled list of tools and alternatives will soon be on my website.

Surfing the web

Google currently owns ≈90% of the search engine market share and ≈40% of the pay-per-click ads market. These statistics have been steadily rising over the years and shows how much Google is monopolizing.

The DuckDuckGo search engine never tracks you. It comes with an ad tracker blocking and cookie blocking, help stop your data from being collected. There are no subscription fees that lock away basic features which is very nice.

The Proton Ecosystem

If you aren’t already using it, consider migrating from Google (Mail, Drive, Passwords etc.) to Proton, a company that puts people before profits especially when it comes to privacy. Proton services are operated by Proton AG with strict Swiss laws that explicitly state principles of “privacy by design” and “privacy by default”.

They are pretty much identical to Google, but with some restrictions. I would recommend paying for Proton Unlimited if you are currently paying for any other cloud storage and migrating your data. If you just need the mail service though, the free plan works well for me, but Mail Plus is only 2$/month with some nice perks.

The NoLog.cz Suite

Nolog.cz is the ultimate privacy system, similar to Proton, does not require and account. Their main tool is a Google Drive alternative called CryptPad that has docs, presentations, spreadsheets, and forms.

They also have a Github alternative, a password manager, and even a video conferencing app. You can find all the services their website. Though, I wouldn’t switch to this as your main ‘ecosystem’ due to the lack of some important features.

In other news…

TikTok is now able to track your “racial or ethnic origin, national origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status” according to their newly updated United States Privacy Policy. TikTok will also use any content you make to train AI models. This is a main change made by Oracle, TikTok’s American data manager and owner.

There are some better alternatives to popular social media platforms, that I will cover in part 2.

Sources and extended resources:

TikTok’s Updated U.S. Privacy Policy

Data Protection in Switzerland - DLA Piper

Learn about Proton and our vision for a better internet - Proton

Proton’s guide to Big Tech alternatives - Proton

If you are interested in donating to an organization right now consider purchasing some Kids For Justice merchandise. All proceeds for this campaign go to Human Rights First, and organization helping immigrants and marginalized communities.