this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
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My journey towards more European, open source, privacy-oriented, and decentralized alternatives (lemm.ee)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by ceiron@lemm.ee to c/buyeuropean@feddit.uk
18 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Over the past few months, I embarked on a rewarding digital journey to move away from US big tech and towards more European [EU], open source [FOSS], privacy-oriented [P], and decentralized [D] alternatives.

I'm sharing my experience here in case it can be useful to others, as well as to gather any additional thoughts or suggestions:

  • Desktop OS: Microsoft Windows 11 --> OpenSUSE Tumbleweed + KDE [EU][FOSS]
  • Web browser: Google Chrome --> Brave --> Vivaldi --> Mozilla Firefox + Strict privacy settings, uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Conset-O-Matic [FOSS][P]
  • Email: Gmail --> Infomaniak Mail [EU][FOSS]
  • Calendar: Google Calendar --> Infomaniak Calendar [EU][FOSS] + OneCalendar [EU]
  • Files: Dropbox --> Infomaniak kDrive [EU][FOSS]
  • Photos: Google Photos --> Infomaniak kDrive [EU][FOSS]
  • Notes: Google Keep --> Notesnook [FOSS][P]
  • Social Media:
    • Facebook --> Nothing
    • Twitter/X --> Mastodon (mas.to) [EU][FOSS][D]
    • Reddit --> Lemmy (lemm.ee) [EU][FOSS][D]
  • AI Chatbot: OpenAI ChatGPT --> Mistral AI Le Chat [EU]
  • Videos: Youtube --> Unwatched [EU][FOSS][P]
  • Podcasts: Apple Podcasts --> Spotify --> Pocket Casts [FOSS]
  • Translate: Google Translate --> DeepL [EU]
  • Maps: Google Maps --> Organic Maps [EU][FOSS][P]
  • Weather: Apple Weather --> YR [EU]
  • Online payments: PayPal --> Revolut [EU]
  • Password manager: LastPass --> Mozilla Firefox --> Bitwarden [FOSS][P]
  • Online shopping: Amazon --> Cdiscount [EU]
  • Travel booking: Booking.com --> Direct booking

And here's the list of things I couldn't let go of:

  • Mobile OS: iOS | I have a business iPhone which is also my personal phone
  • Messaging: WhatsApp | The network effect is too big here: family, friends, local businesses, etc
  • Streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ | These come basically for free with my ISP and are too convenient for the moment (esp. w/ kids)
all 19 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] cantences@anonsys.net 3 points 1 day ago

@ceiron

Email & Calendar: Infomaniak

  • Alternatives: Proton Mail/Calendar (Switzerland), Tutanota (Germany), Mailbox.org (Germany).

Files & Photos: Infomaniak kDrive

  • Alternatives: Nextcloud (self-hosted or via trusted EU providers like Hetzner or OwnCube).

Social Media: Mastodon, Lemmy

  • Tip: You should also try Friendica.

Podcasts: Pocket Casts

  • Alternatives: AntennaPod (FOSS, Android), or gPodder (Linux desktop).

Maps: Organic Maps

  • Tip: Try OSMAnd+ for more advanced features. Or MagicEarth from PlayStore.

Weather: YR

  • Alternative: Breezy Weather

Sticking Points & Realities

Messaging: WhatsApp

  • Network effect is real. For privacy, encourage Signal or Element (Matrix), but WhatsApp is hard to avoid for most.
[–] vegantomato@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Email: Gmail --> Infomaniak Mail [EU][FOSS]

Requires a phone number. If you live in an EU country, that phone number will be connected to your real identity due to recent laws in the EU forcing telephone companies to identify their customers. An "Infomaniak" email will most likely be connected to the user's real identity.

From their website:

The free offer is available in the following countries: Suisse, France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Allemagne, Italie, Autriche, Espagne, Portugal, Monaco, Australie, Canada, Chili, Corée du Sud, Danemark, Estonie, États-Unis, Finlande, Grèce, Hongrie, Irlande, Islande, Israël, Japon, Lettonie, Lituanie, Mexique, Norvège, Nouvelle-Zélande, Pays-Bas, Pologne, République slovaque, République tchèque, Royaume-Uni, Slovénie, Suède, Turquie.

A telephone number corresponding to the country is required.

Not a good choice if you want anonymity.

[–] ceiron@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Well spotted - I’ll look into it. What do you use? A self-hosted email server/domain?

[–] exchange12rocks@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

mailbox.org - they even specifically state "there's no need for you to tell us your real name"

[–] klobuerschtler@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

I also use mailbox. It's fully hosted in the EU as well.

[–] vegantomato@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

For an anonymous email, Tuta should be good.

Protonmail is also an alternative, but that one requires you to have another email address iirc.

Both of these are European.

Be aware that if you use an email for personal business, like buying stuff online, your email address will be connected to your identity indirectly regardless. So it depends on what you are going to use it for. It might be that it won't matter (in your case) that the address is linked to your identity through the phone number if you are already linking it to yourself in other ways.

[–] Riptide889Try@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

I recommend using email aliases, such as SimpleLogin, addy

[–] kahdbrixk@feddit.org 5 points 2 days ago

Perfect example for what I'm still pondering about. Maybe this will help my own journey.

I'll check out infomaniak!

[–] sanity_is_maddening@lemm.ee 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You're doing great. I've been on this ride for a while... I'm just glad to see more people hop on due to recent events making what was obvious to me for so long obvious to a lot more people. I would still say not enough numbers though, but better than six months, or a year or two ago.

I would say that challenge comes with what personal value is bestowed upon what. Let's say that the most common hard switches for people are youtube and whatsapp. But if you are a person who never liked Youtube and just used standard sms to chat with people, then the challenge will be elsewhere. Or like you said, for you the streaming services are a big source of convenience with you and your kids. For me, that one wasn't a hard one, as I generally prefer what Filmin and Mubi have to offer as a catalog. For some YouTube is irreplaceable, and I understand why, but I think YouTube is one of the worst things to have happened to the world since it was bought by google like a decade and a half ago. And in this decade and a half look at what has been happening to social discourse and the societal unravelling that came with it... I saw the rise of Gamergate and saw this ending this way more than over a decade ago. Polarisation recalibrated what was already a terrible algorithm for engagement. And the grifters and all the vile ones smelled that putrid scent of opportunity. Not to mention the building of a system that seeks outrage and rewards deranged and unhinged behaviour. Doesn't even matter if it is performative or not. Google and Meta are the source of all I consider horrifying in our silly quasi-global dystopian society. So those ones weren't also hard for me due to that motivation being such a great one for me. Then there's Amazon, Microsoft, Apple... and why the hell are people that say they hate Elon Musk still using Twitter (no, I won't call it by the other name), why?

But the answer will always be habit and convinience (they tend to overlap and sometimes be one and the same) to which one can bestow more value than the morals which one believes one possesses and even proclaims to have.

Even though I degoogled my phone, used a variety of browsers and search engines over the years, am a big Linux Stan, etc etc, I only quit reddit to join lemmy here very recently. Why did I take so long? Reddit has been terrible for quite a few years now too. We're all creatures of habit, and habits are hard to break. But we better start breaking them before they break us and take the world along with them.

And so I thank you for your efforts and I shared my thoughts to say this...

We do what we can, at the pace we can muster. And as long as we look at tomorrow with the same outlook and attitude to keep on, then that's enough.

If there were a lot more people like you we wouldn't be in the mess we are now. I just hope I behave and act in a way that fits that same description.

Have a great life and keep doing what you already do.

[–] Blaze@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

Thank you for sharing!

[–] thatonecoder@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Good job! Also, just to clarify, there is bitwarden.eu (yes, it is official). Furthermore, uBlock Origin makes Privacy Badger useless.

[–] ceiron@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Indeed, my account and data are on the bitwarden.eu servers.

I’ll look into the functionality overlap between Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin - thanks.

[–] noodlejetski@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] ceiron@lemm.ee 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don’t see Privacy Badger being mentioned on the don’t bother list though

[–] noodlejetski@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago

third bullet point. or Ctrl+F.

[–] camilobotero 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Did you try Joplin instead of Notesnook? It’s from France and completely FOSS and for free.

[–] ceiron@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

I’ll look at it again but IIRC the interface was a bit too complicated and feature-rich for what I needed. It looks like Joplin is a full-blown alternative to OneNote while I’m just after an app to manage a few to-do lists.