For people who want to be free from Google, there is a good news that now exist 3 providers of ethical alternatives namely Framasoft.org, Disroot.org, and PrivacyTools.io. They provide all the services gratis so ethical services will be accessible for everybody. By ethical service I meant network service that based on free software and with commitment to user privacy as privacy-security community recommends it. By all-in-one here I meant as close as possible to Google in number of services they provide. This can't be avoided to introduces you to new names to you like Searx, Nextcloud, Gitea, and such free software that are now popular in our community. I hope this review reaches as many audiens as possible to make people aware about existence of privacy services. Now let's go!
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Background
I got idea to write this after seeing recently PrivacyTools.io started to provide ethical online services based on Searx, Nextcloud, and Etherpad. I really am glad with that.
Names
In technical community like ours, we cannot help to know about names. Here are several names important:
- Searx: search engine (software) that can be installed to your computer. While provided as service, Searx replaces Google.
- Nextcloud: server storage (software). While provided as service, Nextcloud replaces Google Drive.
- Jitsi: video conference (software). This replaces Google Hangouts (or Microsoft Skype).
- Etherpad: note writing on the web (software) with multiuser collaboration feature. This replaces Evernote.
- Gitea: Git web interface (software). This replaces GitHub or the discontinued Google Code.
- Discourse: web forum (software). This replaces vBulletin.
- Matrix: federated chat (protocol). A matrix service connects Instant Messengers into one.
1. Framasoft.org
Framasoft organization is a long time supporter and promoter of software freedom and user privacy. Do you know PeerTube technology? They created it. Do you know DeGoogle movement? They built it. Do you know who in our community talks a lot about decentralization/federation? They are one among few groups doing it. More about Framasoft you could read at Wikipedia.
Framasoft is the oldest between these three. All Framasoft services are gratis. Framasoft provides all online services except email. So at Framasoft you could expect to find replacements to Google+ and Docs, but not Gmail. This is the point it differs to Disroot at least for today. I supply my opinion at the end about it. One more thing important, unlike at Google, here your account is not centralized (one account for all services) so you should create new one at every service. If you love Framasoft, you will have many accounts. Lastly, Framasoft is actually the most visually interesting as you can see at its Contributopia by famous free software artist David Revoy.
Framabee
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Framalink
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2. Disroot.org
Note: personally I do not agree with demonstration like what Disroot website depicts a lot but I really agree with ethical services it provides.
Disroot website explains perfectly:
"Disroot is a platform providing online services based on principles of freedom, privacy, federation and decentralization. No tracking, no ads, no profiling, no data mining!"
Disroot services are all gratis except for additional storage. And in my opinion Disroot is the best all around ethical service provider that closest to completely replacing Google for now. My reasons are three [1] it is the only one that provide Gmail replacement with POP/IMAP [2] the entire services are provided in English unlike Framasoft's, the second one closer [3] unlike Framasoft or PTIO it has one account for all services.
| Disroot Search Google Search replacement Disroot Email Gmail replacement Disroot Pads Google Doc word processor replacement Disroot Forum Forum Disroot Bin Pastebin replacement Disroot Polls Google Forms replacement Disroot XMPP Instant messaging platform for all people | Disroot Cloud Many in one Google replacements are here:
Disroot Diaspora (registration closed) Facebook replacement Disroot Board Collaboration project management on web Disroot Upload Replacement to Google Drive or ZipShare for file sharing |
3. PrivacyTools.io
PrivacyTools by BurungHantu is a website that recommends ethical software and services that saves users against global surveillance. It is the youngest among these three. For a long time this source of privacy information only focused at recommendations. But since recently, good news for us, it started to provide online services for public like search engine, blog hosting, social network, instant messaging, pastebin, and source code hosting. Like Framasoft and Disroot, services under PTIO are all gratis. In other words, PTIO serves as a replacement to Google Search, Blogspot, Twitter, Evernote, and GitHub in one place.
| Searx Search engine Google replacement Matrix Instant messaging Mastodon Twitter replacement | PrivateBin Pastebin replacement Writeas Blogspot replacement Discourse Forum Gitea GitHub replacement |
My Opinions
I have no position in security nor privacy commentaries against those 3 services I respect above. Let PRISM Break and PrivacyToolsIO forums, the people who are entitled to it, give their commentaries about it. Here I only noted my personal opinions or more likely suggestions I believe constructive for them.
- Framasoft: I think it needs English translations completed for a lot of pages as most people cannot access if it's only available in French. If you master French and English, you could help translate Framasoft here.
- Disroot: I admire great efforts behind Disroot services. But I really like if the pictures presented are not protests.
- PrivacyTools.io: I think it needs time to prove themselves as a good ethical service provider as they have proved themselves as the best privacy recommendation resource.
- For readers: we all need services like they provide but they need our helps especially funds and promotions. If you could donate, please donate, as we community cannot succeed without it. If you could promote them, like I did with this article, please promote. There is no meaning of a public service if public do not know about it.
- About email: seeing how awesome Framasoft and PTIO are, but they do not provide email service, just made me more aware that providing email service is very difficult even for big organizations. Replacement to Gmail is nearly impossible today except for Disroot. And this is why I regard Disroot more than them, at least for now, because it provides email service with POP/IMAP gratis like Gmail did but unlike Gmail, Disroot is ethical. I said "POP/IMAP" because other providers like ProtonMail could provide ethical email at no cost, but without POP/IMAP.
Let's enjoy their services!
Further Readings
- https://degooglisons-internet.org - a big list by Framasoft on ethical online services so people could be free from Google (this is the De-Google-ify movement established by them)
- https://switching.software - newbie-friendly list of so many ethical software and services that replace the unethical ones
- https://prism-break.org - similar recommendation site like PTIO but unlike PTIO it does not (or has not yet) have online services
- https://restoreprivacy.com - independent review site by sven to VPNs and Google alternatives that often recommends Framasoft and Disroot
- https://thatoneprivacysite.net - independent review site by thatoneprivacyguy, similar to RestorePrivacy, with thorough tables comparing VPNs and Emails
- Framasoft Review by OpensourceCom
- Disroot Review by ProPrivacyNet
This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.