Here is a list of recommended apps to minimise tracking.
Why those apps ?
Most of those apps are available on smartphone, which should be your first line of defence nowadays. We selected FOSS (free and open source software) apps as much as we could, with some E2E encrypted features when available.
This list has been established based on various sources, on our experience, on external rating parties like εxodus… It might not be perfect. You should you not trust us, and you are always encouraged to make your own investigations (you can comment this page and share your experience).
All those apps should equipped your devices. Our favourites apps are mentioned with a ⭐.
Tracker-free apps we recommend
Password Manager
Password managers are essential to store unique email aliases and unique passwords.
- Keepass, free, open source
- Bitwarden ⭐, free sync, unlimited items, open source, great password manager (0 tracker guaranteed in the APK version)
Authentication, MFA, TOTP
MFA complete passwords.
- 2FAS ⭐, free sync, unlimited items, open source
- RaivoOTP, free, mac only, sync
- Aegis, free, open source, but no sync
- Yubikey ⭐, no free (physical token), very strong
VPN
Good paid VPN are excellent to change your IP address, but they are also great to block ads, trackers, etc…
- NordVPN ⭐, zero tracker + blocker in the APK version
- SurfShark, idem
- Proton VPN, idem
- PIA VPN, open source, not too expensive, but based in the US
Web browser
Web browsers must be used rather than proprietary apps, every time it is possible.
- DuckDuckGo, free, open source, no tracker
- Firefox ⭐, free, open source, possibility to add various privacy plugin (and a dark mode)
- Brave, free, open source
- TOR, free open source, secure but slow
Search engines
Search engines must not be full of useless risky ad-ons to keep them secure.
- Startpage ⭐, tracker-free, displays Google results
- DuckDuckGo, tracker-free, displays Bing results
- Qwant, tracker-free, hosted in France
Mails – encrypted at rest only
- Informaniak ⭐, 20 GB free, no ad, no tracker, based in Switzerland
Mails – E2E encrypted
Full encrypted services are of cours more secure, but complicated to integrate with external clients / apps.
- Tutanota, 1GB free, German app, open source
- Skiff, 10GB free, open source, USA
- Proton Mail ⭐, 1GB free, Swiss app, open source
- Mail Fence, 500MB free, Belgium app
Email aliases
You should have as many aliases as services you register.
- DuckDuckGo ⭐, free with unlimited alias
- Simple Login, 10 alias max in the free version
Calendar
OneCalendar, free (dark theme in paid version only), open source
Proton Calendar: free (limited features), open source
Messenger
Secure E2E messenger are more secure than standard (not encrypted) emails.
- Session ⭐, free, fork of Signal, open source, anonymous and decentralised
- Signal, free, open source (but need your phone number)
- Threema, paid, open source
Cloud – encrypted at rest only
Such cloud are excellent for collaborative work and offer free features to edit your documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint… like).
- kDrive ⭐, 15GB free, based in Switzerland, with free collaborative office suite
Cloud – E2E encrypted
E2E encrypted services are used to store data, but are not so convenient for collaborative work and multi-editing…
- MEGA, 20GB free, all folders encrypted by default
- pCloud ⭐, 10GB free, 1 folder encrypted with Crypto (paid) or with Cryptomator (free), based in Switzerland
- IceDrive, 10GB free, 1 folder encrypted, based in the UK
Data encryption tool
- Cryptomator ⭐, free, open source, optimized for cloud encryption but works perfectly well for folders you smartphone or computer
Notepad
- Standard Notes ⭐, free, sync, unlimited items, open source, E2E encrypted
- Obsidian, free
- Joplin, paid, open source
Other
- Weawow ⭐, free, great weather app and widgets from Japan, no tracker
- OSMAnd ⭐, free (limited offline maps), open source, with GPS and tracks
- Musicolet, free, 100% offline app which scan your device
Disclaimer
Please note, some apps might be very secure, however, there is always a risk of interference with regulations and nation states (cf. our post on 5-eyes).
This may happen without the knowledge of the developper or without any possibility for the developper to communicate on it. That is why open source and external audit provide some first strong levels of assurance on the client side; but not on the server side.