Privacy friendly technology to replace your US-based email, browser and search

From your email In your web browsing, it is very likely that your daily online life will be dominated by a handful of tech giants (i.e. Google, Microsoft, and Apple). But some attitudes to using digital services based on the United States have been changing as Big Tech has been ruling for the second Trump administration, which has taken a positive stance on foreign policy, and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ravaged the administration.

While the move from digital services in the United States is not new, they will intensify in recent months. European companies have begun to move away from some American cloud giants in favor of local services that process data, and European officials have worked hard to shift to local technology, with less risk in the home country. For example, the French and German governments have created their own document word processors for competing with Google Docs.

Meanwhile, a consumer poll released in March put 62% of people from nine European countries saying that large U.S. tech companies pose a threat to the continent’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, the list of non-US technology alternatives and European technology options has surged visitors in recent months.

For the most widely used technology services (email, web browsers, and search engines), we have passed some privacy-centric alternatives and have chosen some options you might want to consider. There are other options, but the purpose of these organizations and companies is to minimize the data collected and often put privacy first.

However, there are warnings. Although many of the services on this list are based outside the United States, there is still some potential to rely on the large-scale technology services themselves, for example, some search engines can use results or indexes provided by Big Tech, and companies may use software or services created by U.S. technology companies (such as cloud hosting). So trying to keep your distance completely may not be as simple as it seemed initially.

Web browser

Mulwad

Mullvad is headquartered in Sweden and may be known for its VPN, but in 2023, the organization partnered with the digital anonymous service TOR to create the Mullvad browser. The open source browser, which is only available on the desktop, says it does not collect user data and is focused on privacy. The browser is designed to prevent people from tracking you through the browser fingerprint when moving on the web, and in addition, it has a “private mode” that can isolate the “private mode” that enables cookies by default. Its privacy policy says, “The basic policy of Mulvad is that we never store any type of activity log.” The browser is designed to work with Mullvad’s VPN, but is also compatible with any VPN you may use.

Vivaldi

Wired’s Scott Gilbertson swears to Vivaldi and calls it the best browser on the web. Norwegian summary browser is available on desktop and mobile devices, indicating that it does not introduce your behavior. “The website you visit, what you enter in your browser, download, we can’t access that data,” the company said. “It either stays on your local machine or is encrypted.” It also blocks trackers and hosts data in Iceland, which has a strong data protection law. Its privacy policy says it anonymous IP addresses and does not share browsing data.

search engine

Qwant French search engine Qwant has built its own search index, crawling over 20 billion pages to create its own network records. Creating search indexes is an expensive and laborious process, so many alternative search engines don’t create extensive indexes, but instead use search results from Google or Microsoft’s Bing – using their own data and algorithms to enhance them. Qwant said it uses Bing to “supplement” search results that have not been indexed. Besides that, Qwant says it does not use targeted ads or store people’s search history. “Your data remains confidential and the processing of the data remains the same,” the company said in its privacy policy.

Mojik

Located outside the UK, Mojeek has established its own web crawling and indexing, saying its search results are “100% independent”. Search engines do not track you, it says in its privacy policy that only some specific information logs are kept. Its privacy policy says, “Mojeek eliminates any possibility of tracking or identifying any particular user.” Instead of using clicks or personalized data to create ratings, it says that it could mean two people are searching for the same thing, and can receive the same search results in different countries.

startpage

StartPage says in the Netherlands that when you make a search request, the first thing is that it deletes your IP address and personal data, it does not use any tracking cookies. The company uses Google and Bing to provide search results, but says it is a “intermediary” between you and your provider. It says on its website: “StartPage submits your query to Google and submits the results anonymously on your behalf and returns them privately to you.” “Google and Microsoft don’t know who made the search request, but they only see Startpage.”

ecosia

The nonprofit search engine Ecosia uses its money to help plant trees. The company also offers a variety of privacy commitments when you search for it. Based in Germany, the company does not collect too much data and does not use search data to personalize ads. Like other search alternatives, Ecosia uses Google and Bing’s search results (which one you can choose in the settings). “We only collect and process the data needed to provide you with the best search results (including your IP address, search terms and session behavior data). The company says on its website. The information it collects is to provide search results from its large technology partners and detect fraud. (At the end of 2024, Ecosia will work with Qwant to build more search engine infrastructure in Europe).

Email provider

Proton Mail

Headquartered in Switzerland, Proton started with a privacy-centric email service and built a range of applications including cloud storage, documents and VPN rival Google. The company said it cannot read any messages in people’s inboxes and provides end-to-end encryption for emails sent to other Proton email addresses, and a way to send password-protected emails to non-Proton accounts. It blocks trackers in emails and has multiple account options, including free and paid options. Its privacy policy describes information that companies can access, including the email addresses of the sender and recipients, as well as the IP address where the message comes from, the subject line of the message, and when the email was sent. (Although Switzerland has strong privacy laws, the government recently announced that it may require encrypted services to retain users’ data, which Proton has re-pushed).

Tuta

Once called Tutanota, based in Germany, Tuta says it encrypts email content, subject lines, calendars, address books and other data in its inbox. “The only unencrypted data is the user’s email address and the sender and recipients’ recipients,” it said on its website, adding that developers cannot access the user’s encryption key. Like Protons, emails sent between TUTA accounts are end-to-end encrypted, and you can send password protected emails when another email provider sends messages to the account. The company also has an end-to-end encrypted calendar and offers free and paid plans.