Google Alternative Apps: 2021 With a Bang!

Don’t you just love Google?

Me: “ Yes! I mean, no. Aaaah you know what it’s complicated.”

Isn’t every relationship? Maybe yours isn’t but mine with Google is no walk in the park, I promise.

Let’s face it the transition isn’t easy but, nobody said it should happen overnight. Imagine going from Windows to Mac, or IOS to android, or even Windows mobile… Lumia if available? The bottom line is, this wouldn’t be easy it requires time, understanding, and practice.

Take it one step at a time don’t rush but whenever you’re ready to explore something different, open source, and secure give these a shot it shouldn’t hurt. It usually doesn’t.

Google Search -Alternative

I’d risk and say that generally Google is the best search engine but just not good at security and privacy, it’s just not part of their menu. As an alternative, and my personal favorite try Duckduckgo a privacy focused search engine based in the US. I go in detail about this and more search engines you can try here.

Gmail-Alternative

Your online purchases are tracked using your receipts, other types of data is also used for marketing purposes. If you want to share a secret consider using anything else but Gmail. You can go for pronton mail which is great, no logs or trackers. Pronton also has a paid plan, and a lot more services but the free version is a good start.

Google Chrome

Firefox! Simply use Firefox. You can make changes to your liking like adding extensions changing the search engine, and more or you can download a version of firefox prepared for certain online actvities like Waterfox or icecat.

Google Drive

Dropbox? Good alternative, but not your best option when it comes to security, so instead you can go for Own-cloud. The primary difference between this and Dropbox is the fact that Own-cloud is open source.

If Owncloud doesn’t do you wonders perhaps Nextcloud might, this one is also open source both were developed in Germany.

Google Calendar

Lightning Calendar is simple and easy to use. Thunderbird is open source and all of this is backed up by Mozilla the same people behind Firefox.

Google Documents

That’s what Docs stands for right?

I confess leaving Google Docs won’t be easy I’m a regular user but hey, we have to move on eventually right? Introducing to you …

Privacy focused with encryption, a must try. And, YES this is free to use. To know more visit their website.

Besides Cryptpad you can also go for Libreoffice which unfortunately is offline, more like a free and open source version of Microsoft office but still gets the job done. Available for Windows, comes pre-installed on some Linux Distributions compatible with MacOS, android, IOS, and chromebooks.

Google Translate

Deepl translates and comes with a built-in dictionary.

Linguee is also a great choice, a dictionary and translator ideal for short phrases and words.

Google Analytics

After using an alternative or two you end up realizing that you may be getting a bit of too much information, or rather irrelevant to your cause. Preserving viewers IP addresses seems like a dream but it isn’t.

Matomo! Security is a must with Matomo and your private data is private. If you don’t like Matomo you can easily use Clicky instead which anonymizes visitor IP addresses by default, lightweight and easy to use.

Google Maps

Have you ever heard of OpenStreetMap?

Your best Google Maps alternative free and easy to use. OpenStreetMap comes pre-installed on some Linux Distributions like PureOS. For mobile (Android & IOS) OsmAnd is a great option for online, offline mobile maps and navigation.

Android OS

Changing this, and that will surely get some things done but what is more effective than changing the entire Operating system? If you’re up for the cause here are some options;

LineageOS

Free, and Open Source distribution for devices that are based on android. Open Source apps on an Open Source Operating system, what more could you ask for? This project has been around for at least 4 years and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Ubuntu Touch

Do you enjoy using Ubuntu on your computer? Then use it on your phone as well, take ubuntu with you everywhere you go. Free, and Open Source power to you.

Replicant

An Android OS with emphasis on privacy and security. Tested on various Samsung mobile devices, it might just be what you’re looking for.

This puts an end to our list, and a new start to your security journey. Make everyday a Cyber Security awareness day.

This story was previously published on Medium https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/google-alternative-apps-2021-with-a-bang-73a9fcb26a3d