If you could pick one non-U.S. tech, product, or service to switch to, what would you recommend, and why? Open-source and self-hosting options welcome!
@zackwhittaker #Fairphone5 (with e/OS) has probably been my favourite non-US hardware purchase.
For non-US software alone I'd say #protonmail (or their whole suite)
I do not use any more:
- Amazon
- Apple subscriptions (Apple Music, TV etc.)
- digital cloud
- AWS
- CloudFlare as domain register
- American big tech social media (all deleted)
- MS Office on my private machines (still forced at work, but am working on that)
All big American tech. NO MORE! We will never trust you again!
I am moving forward with removing US big tech companies from my life.
#EU don’t want to do sanctions against US, we the people will!!!!!
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@seven_708/115918033421946886
Fair shout from @steg I forgot to say what I replace all this with:
I forgot to mention as well that I replaced Edge browser (at work) with #vivaldi browser. Never looked back 🙃
- Amazon: this one is complicated, but I simply made a step back and realized that I am not supporting local businesses. I will now try to purchase local first, and if that is not possible, I will be looking for the stuff I want on the net via #ecosia (search engine, which I forgot to mention that I replaced google with), so that I purchase directly from small business (if possible)
- this one is simple, I revered curse and started purchasing blue rays again (movies), mp3 for music (no subscription)
- digital cloud and AWS where problematic, you get addicted to the ease of clouds: replacement’s: I de-centralized 1. #infomaniak_com (domain registrations) 2. #MythicalBeasts (cloud servers) from the UK 3. #BunnyVPN (this one is still in progress, but this will fully replace CloudFlare CDN)
- social media has been completely replaces with #mastodon
- MS Office on my private machines has been replaced with two packages: 1. #protonmail (email, calendar, and cloud drive) 2. #libreoffice for documents
This was not easy, but baby steps and we can get there!
Hope this helps whom ever wants to join the move #boycottusa
I do not use any more:
- Amazon
- Apple subscriptions (Apple Music, TV etc.)
- digital cloud
- AWS
- CloudFlare as domain register
- American big tech social media (all deleted)
- MS Office on my private machines (still forced at work, but am working on that)
All big American tech. NO MORE! We will never trust you again!
I am moving forward with removing US big tech companies from my life.
#EU don’t want to do sanctions against US, we the people will!!!!!
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@seven_708/115918033421946886
Fair shout from @steg I forgot to say what I replace all this with:
I forgot to mention as well that I replaced Edge browser (at work) with #vivaldi browser. Never looked back 🙃
- Amazon: this one is complicated, but I simply made a step back and realized that I am not supporting local businesses. I will now try to purchase local first, and if that is not possible, I will be looking for the stuff I want on the net via #ecosia (search engine, which I forgot to mention that I replaced google with), so that I purchase directly from small business (if possible)
- this one is simple, I revered curse and started purchasing blue rays again (movies), mp3 for music (no subscription)
- digital cloud and AWS where problematic, you get addicted to the ease of clouds: replacement’s: I de-centralized 1. #infomaniak_com (domain registrations) 2. #MythicalBeasts (cloud servers) from the UK 3. #BunnyVPN (this one is still in progress, but this will fully replace CloudFlare CDN)
- social media has been completely replaces with #mastodon
- MS Office on my private machines has been replaced with two packages: 1. #protonmail (email, calendar, and cloud drive) 2. #libreoffice for documents
This was not easy, but baby steps and we can get there!
Hope this helps whom ever wants to join the move #boycottusa
PSA We are happy about the wealth of privacy focused classic email providers (proton, tutanota, posteo, mailbox.org etc) but they are not geared for instant secure messaging. Do yourself, family and friends a favor and use delta with any of the many https://chatmail.at/relays
Or setup a relay of your own if you feel like it.
Or use a a dedicated chat email address on your own or any classic email server that has reliable service and no obnoxious rate limits or annoying spam handling.
Cheers.
@delta #protonmail and #tutamail doesn't even support #imap, right?
Auf dem letzten Tag des Jahres noch nach #protonmail gewechselt und ein fabrikneues ThinkPad Z13 bei Ebay geschossen, auf dem ich wohl #Linux Mint installieren werde.
Mein #digitalindependenceday wird ein ganzes Jahr werden 🥳
Ok so I decided to take the plunge and let my #protonmail subscription lapse and give @mailbox_org a try.
They're running a "2 years for the price of 1" offer right now which came out at the perfect time to convince me, as it sets the price for their standard offer down to 1.5€ a month.
I'll need to live with it for much longer before I can attempt a fair comparison of their service vs Proton, but so far, here is what I have to say:
Their web portal for the service feels a tad janky at times, with some screen not even properly localized, and an overall lack of polish. This is especially unflattering compared to Proton's web interface, which is really snappy and slick (and not in German -- unless I want it to be...).
On the other hand, I truly appreciate that they went for a sober -- if entirely forgettable -- design language for it, compared to the black and purple infosec mall ninja aesthetic that Proton decided to go for. So there is definitely that!
IT. DOES. NOT. FUCKING. SAY. "AI". ANYWHERE!!!! Not once! Yay!!! Please keep it up, @mailbox_org !
Configuration for advanced features isn't as user friendly as Proton's, but on the other hand their documentation is very complete and detailed. I'm fine with that, but I certainly can understand not everyone would be.
Feature-wise, the custom domain support is very good (that's the one thing I needed the most, tbh). Even with the standard plan, it does not limit the number of external domains you can bind, only the total number of aliases you can have which is ample (50 aliases for external domains + 25 aliases on their mailbox.org domain), and it supports catch all addresses. This is plenty for a single user (it is for me, at least), and much better than Proton, which limits you to a total 10 aliases, and a single external domain.
I have not yet dived into their encryption options, but it looks like that they offer several modes, including one that does not involve sharing the private key with them, which, aside from the obvious, also 1) doesn't force you to use their web client 2) Isn't orthogonal with using your own GPG key client side (without having to share that key with them too). All in all, I don't know if I'll bother with that at all (since, like with Proton, all of this doesn't mean much if the people writing to you / that you write to don't use encryption on their end), but it's worth looking into, IMO.
As for everything else (instant messaging, video conferencing, vpn, office suite, free pony, etc...) I don't care about any of it. Just like with proton before, I need email. That's what I'm paying for. The rest I don't give two shits about. YMMV.
So anyway, as I said I'll need more time before I can form a viable opinion on the service but so far I like it. It's no doubt a "nerdier" option compared to Proton (and that's saying a lot, I guess), but not nearly as much a hosting your own mail server.
The feature set is really good (for me anyway) and the price is right (even without the discount, 2.5€/month is still cheaper than the competition).
If, from a technical standpoint, it just works (i.e. it sends and receives emails), I think I'll have found myself a winner!
RE: https://systemli.social/@anneroth/115586803185165508
I give Gmail the slowest possible treatment🐌 🐢 —if I respond at all.
A few years ago, I reached my breaking point with Gmail’s escalating privacy issues and chose to stop replying to Gmail addresses entirely. At first, it felt a bit harsh, but I soon realized: if people genuinely need to reach you, they’ll find another way. And indeed, they have.
Now, I only respond to emails from providers that respect privacy. Gmail users either wait weeks for a reply—or switch to services like ProtonMail or Tutanota once they notice their messages go unanswered. It may sound strict, but this approach has surprisingly encouraged better digital habits around me.
Has anyone else tried refusing Gmail emails as a quiet protest against data mining?
@anneroth
#Privacy #EmailSecurity #DigitalMinimalism #ProtonMail #Tutanota #Google #SurveillanceCapitalism #FLOSS #Encryption #Fediverse
Considering very seriously (again) to refuse to exchange emails with people who are using #Gmail.
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/11/gmail-is-reading-your-emails-and-attachments-to-train-its-ai-unless-you-turn-it-off
RE: https://systemli.social/@anneroth/115586803185165508
I give Gmail the slowest possible treatment🐌 🐢 —if I respond at all.
A few years ago, I reached my breaking point with Gmail’s escalating privacy issues and chose to stop replying to Gmail addresses entirely. At first, it felt a bit harsh, but I soon realized: if people genuinely need to reach you, they’ll find another way. And indeed, they have.
Now, I only respond to emails from providers that respect privacy. Gmail users either wait weeks for a reply—or switch to services like ProtonMail or Tutanota once they notice their messages go unanswered. It may sound strict, but this approach has surprisingly encouraged better digital habits around me.
Has anyone else tried refusing Gmail emails as a quiet protest against data mining?
@anneroth
#Privacy #EmailSecurity #DigitalMinimalism #ProtonMail #Tutanota #Google #SurveillanceCapitalism #FLOSS #Encryption #Fediverse
Swiss surveillance could become worse than US
If passed, chat, email & VPN providers from #Switzerland must:
🚨 Log IP addresses
🚨 Ask for ID upon sign up
🚨 Decrypt data upon request
Swiss Bundesrat is still discussing this draft bill, decision will likely be made in 2026.
Let's fight for #privacy! 👉 https://tuta.com/blog/switzerland-surveillance-plan
@Tutanota They sure as hell won’t change their bank privacy laws, potentially exposing the crimes of billionaire and political elites.
Will dump Proton and mag on their brand if this BS passes.
Don’t try to lick the vic. We’re privacy focused and hella vocal #protonmail #DataPrivacy #CybersecurityandDataProtection
So apparently Protonmail search does look at the body of emails now.....
I was renewing an #Insurance policy this morning and they said they no longer accept @protonprivacy emails addresses because 'they are associated with fraud'. WTAF?
They used my #Protonmail address happily for 3 years. Where has this change come from? Is this #BigTech selling #CyberSec #InfoSec products which just happen to lock end users into their products?
#Allianz since you asked.
I was renewing an #Insurance policy this morning and they said they no longer accept @protonprivacy emails addresses because 'they are associated with fraud'. WTAF?
They used my #Protonmail address happily for 3 years. Where has this change come from? Is this #BigTech selling #CyberSec #InfoSec products which just happen to lock end users into their products?
#Allianz since you asked.
I'm thinking about migrating my personal emails to #mailbox.org now that my yearly subscription with #protonmail is coming to an end.
Does anyone have an experience to share about a similar move?
Their "Standard" plan for 30€/year (paid annually) is looking like what I need (I'm currently on a "mail plus" plan with protonmail).
I've thought about it, but I don't think I can be arsed hosting my own mailbox, tbh.
Hi #Rust developers! My Calendar team at @protonprivacy is #hiring! We are looking to fill several positions at our offices in #Barcelona, #Geneva, and #london
**Job Description: https://grnh.se/op1xycx2teu**
#Proton is office-first, with people coming in 3 days a week. Lunch is provided for you!
Please boost if you know a great Rust developer! If **I know you, please reach out directly** and I can refer you directly!
@protonprivacy We are also looking for a #Senior #Android #engineer: https://grnh.se/2ik1dfd2teu in either #London or #Geneva.
We are ramping up on the development of new #ProtonCalendar apps, written in #Rust using #UniFFI and other goodies... so please share this widely if you know someone who is looking!
We sometimes hire #remote candidates as well, but not often. Everyone is in #Europe, plus/minus 1 timezone. I enjoy this so much: no more late-night meetings with California 😸
@protonprivacy We're also #hiring #juniors: https://grnh.se/tfdgi4f2teu, this time in #Skopje, #Barcelona, and #Prague.
This is for the #ProtonMail Inbox team (an umbrella for Mail and #ProtonCalendar where I sit). The Desktop team covers things like #MailBridge, a tool that allows you to setup a local #SMTP and #IMAP server which will transparently decrypt your emails *locally* and let you connect a regular #email client like #Thunderbird or #Outlook. This is #OpenSource: https://github.com/ProtonMail/proton-bridge!
Hi #Rust developers! My Calendar team at @protonprivacy is #hiring! We are looking to fill several positions at our offices in #Barcelona, #Geneva, and #london
**Job Description: https://grnh.se/op1xycx2teu**
#Proton is office-first, with people coming in 3 days a week. Lunch is provided for you!
Please boost if you know a great Rust developer! If **I know you, please reach out directly** and I can refer you directly!
@hardtech @revengeday @Tutanota Just as a FYI, note that @Tutanota doesn't actually offer standard encrypted emails ( #OpenPGP, #GPG or #PGP which has been used for decades): https://tuta.com/encryption
You of course don't notice this if you only send emails between Tuta users, but if you try to send an encrypted email externally, well then the whole thing breaks down and you end up having to arrange a secure way of sending a password to the recipient: https://tuta.com/support#encrypted-emails-external
@hardtech @revengeday @Tutanota I only realized this recently... and I was rather surprised to see this since I see #Tuta mentioned here and there as an alternative to #ProtonMail.
Exchanging passwords by hand is... worse than what I had 20 years ago when I would encrypt my emails to by university friends using #Gnus in #Emacs 😄
