Practical software for keeping your messages, passwords, files and browsing to yourself. Most of it is free, and the paid options are cheap compared to the alternative.
End to end encrypted messaging with the smallest amount of metadata retained of any mainstream app. The protocol is the industry standard, and the organisation behind it is a non-profit with nothing to sell you.
Encrypted mail under Swiss jurisdiction, with calendar, drive and VPN in the same subscription. Search across encrypted mail is weaker than Gmail, which is the honest trade.
The only reputable VPN with a genuinely unlimited free tier, audited and open source on every client. The free servers are slow, and they are safe.
Buy an account number with no email address, pay in cash if you want, and pay the same flat rate forever. No affiliate programme and no fake discounts, which tells you a lot.
Routes traffic through three relays so no single point sees both who you are and what you asked for. Slow by design, and the correct tool when a VPN is not enough.
Open source password manager with an unusually complete free tier and the option to self-host. The default recommendation for almost everybody.
More polished than Bitwarden, with better sharing, travel mode and family setup. Worth the money if a less technical household is going to have to use it.
A local encrypted vault file with no cloud service in the loop at all. You handle sync and backup yourself, which is exactly what some people want.
The main browser not built on Chromium, with container tabs and strong tracking protection. Keeping it installed also keeps the web from being one rendering engine.
The content blocker to install, light on memory and free of any acceptable-ads arrangement. Full functionality now lives in Firefox rather than Chrome.
Search without a profile following you around, plus a browser and email forwarding service. Results are behind Google on obscure queries and fine for most of what you look up.
Encrypts a folder before it syncs to Dropbox, Drive or iCloud, so the provider holds only ciphertext. Simple, open source and it does not change how you work.
Full disk and container encryption, the maintained successor to TrueCrypt. Dated interface, thoroughly audited cryptography.
A live operating system on a USB stick that routes everything through Tor and forgets the session on shutdown. Built for journalists and sources in genuine danger.
End to end encrypted notes with a long-term commitment to data longevity and open formats. Fewer features than Notion or Obsidian by deliberate choice.
Check whether your accounts appeared in a known breach and get told when it happens again. Five minutes here is the highest return security work most people can do.
A non-profit, non-affiliate guide to privacy tooling with clear criteria for every recommendation. Read this before you trust any VPN review you found in a search result.