Why avoid US tech companies?
US companies are legally bound by American surveillance law, meaning your data can be accessed by US authorities even when stored in Europe. GDPR offers limited protection against US federal demands.
CLOUD Act
Forces US companies to hand over data stored anywhere in the world upon government request, including data on European servers.
FISA Section 702
Authorises mass surveillance of non-US persons using data held by US tech platforms, without a warrant or notification.
GDPR vs US law conflict
EU courts have repeatedly found that US surveillance law conflicts with European fundamental rights. Schrems I and II both invalidated EU-US data transfer agreements.
Storing data on European servers does not protect you from US law if the company is American-owned.
Popular products to replace
What to switch, category by category
Tuta Mail
Germany EU
Fully encrypted email based in Germany. Open-source and independently audited.
Alternative to: Gmail, Outlook, Vk Mail
Email
Internxt
Spain EU
Spanish zero-knowledge cloud storage founded in Valencia in 2020. Open-source, end-to-end encrypted, ISO 27001:2022 certified. Audited by Securitum in 2025. 1M+ users, EU data centres via OVHcloud, post-quantum encryption. Also offers VPN and antivirus.
Alternative to: Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, Onedrive, Icloud
Cloud storage
Murena
France EU
French company offering /e/OS, a de-Googled Android operating system, and Murena Cloud, a privacy-respecting alternative to Google Workspace. Founded by Gaël Duval, creator of Mandrake Linux. Phones shipped with zero Google services. EU-hosted cloud.
Alternative to: Google Workspace, Icloud, Google Drive
Cloud storage
Filen
Germany EU
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from a small German team, with all servers in Germany. Zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption, open-source apps, and one of the most generous free tiers in the category at 10GB - a genuinely private alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive.
Alternative to: Dropbox, Google Drive, Onedrive
Cloud storage
Twake Workplace
France EU
Open-source collaboration suite developed by French company Linagora. Combines Matrix-based messaging, cloud drive, mail, and calendar in one platform. EU-hosted and self-hostable.
Alternative to: Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dingtalk
Team communication
Olvid
France EU
French end-to-end encrypted messenger certified by ANSSI, the French national cybersecurity agency. Unlike Signal, requires no phone number or personal data to register. Used by the French government, recommended by French Prime Minister for ministerial communications.
Alternative to: Imessage, Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram, Messenger, Wechat
Messaging & chat
Fluxer
Sweden EU
Fluxer is open-source chat, voice and video software from Sweden, built as an alternative to Discord. It began as one student's project and now has a small team. Self-hosting unlocks every premium feature for free.
Alternative to: Discord
Messaging & chat
MetaGer
Germany EU
A privacy-focused metasearch engine run by the German non-profit association SUMA-EV. It blends results from multiple sources, hides your IP behind an anonymising proxy, and is open source. No profiling, no ad-tracking.
Alternative to: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu Search, Yandex Search
Search engines
Swisscows
Switzerland EFTA
Swiss search engine founded in 2014 by Andreas Wiebe, hosted in a high-security data center in a former military bunker in the Swiss Alps. No IP logging, no tracking cookies, no user profiling. Family-friendly content filtering built in by default.
Alternative to: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu Search, Yandex Search
Search engines
Qwant
France EU
French privacy search engine founded in 2013. No user tracking, no data reselling. In 2024 partnered with Ecosia to build the European Search Perspective (EUSP), Europe's first independent search index. Acquired in 2023 by Octave Klaba, founder of OVHcloud.
Alternative to: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu Search, Yandex Search
Search engines
CryptPad
France EU
End-to-end encrypted collaboration suite. Docs, spreadsheets, and kanban boards. The server never sees your content.
Alternative to: Google Docs, Notion, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides
Project management
SoftMaker Office
Germany EU
German office suite from Nuremberg with word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation apps that read and write Microsoft formats natively. A free version, FreeOffice, is also available. Runs offline, so your documents stay on your device.
Alternative to: Microsoft 365, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides
Office suite
mailbox.org
Germany EU
A privacy-first email and groupware service from Berlin, run by long-time Linux specialists Heinlein Support. Encrypted mailboxes, calendars, contacts, and an online office - all hosted in certified German data centres and powered by green electricity, with no ads and no tracking.
Alternative to: Gmail, Outlook, Vk Mail
Email
Mastodon
Germany EU
German non-profit social network founded by Eugen Rochko in 2016. Federated and open-source, with no ads, no algorithms, and no single point of control. Used by 47M+ accounts across 80,000+ independent servers. Hosts the European Commission's official server.
Alternative to: X Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin
Social media & communities
Pixelfed
Open-source federated photo sharing platform built on ActivityPub. Choose a European instance or self-host for full data sovereignty. No ads, no algorithms, no data mining. Major EU-hosted instances include pixelfed.social and pixelfed.de. Available on iOS and Android.
Alternative to: Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok
Social media & communities
Mobilizon
France EU
French open-source federated event platform originally created by Framasoft and now maintained by French non-profit Kaihuri. Organise events and groups without ads, tracking, or data exploitation. Federated via ActivityPub: host your own instance or join an existing one.
Alternative to: Facebook, Meetup, Eventbrite
Social media & communities
Twake Workplace
France EU
Open-source collaboration suite developed by French company Linagora. Combines Matrix-based messaging, cloud drive, mail, and calendar in one platform. EU-hosted and self-hostable.
Alternative to: Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dingtalk
Team communication
Stackfield
Germany EU
German all-in-one collaboration platform combining team chat, project management, video conferencing, and document editing. All data stored exclusively in Germany with end-to-end encryption. ISO 27001 certified. Used by 10,000+ companies.
Alternative to: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Dingtalk
Team communication
Wire
Switzerland EFTA
Swiss end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform for enterprise and government use. Backed by Schwarz Group (Lidl/Kaufland), hosted in the EU, and used by security-conscious organisations across Europe.
Alternative to: Imessage, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, Wechat, Dingtalk
Team communication
Joplin
France EU
Open-source note-taking app created by French developer Laurent Cozic. Supports end-to-end encryption, Markdown, web clipping, and sync via Joplin Cloud (France-hosted) or self-hosted. Available on all platforms with a rich plugin ecosystem.
Alternative to: Notion, Evernote, Apple Notes
Note-taking
XWiki
France EU
French open-source enterprise wiki founded in 2004 in Paris. Used by Amazon, Lenovo, and governments across Europe for knowledge management and collaboration. Self-hostable with full data sovereignty. Also the company behind CryptPad.
Alternative to: Notion, Confluence, Google Docs
Note-taking
Tuta Notes
Germany EU
End-to-end encrypted note-taking built into Tuta Mail by German company Tutao GmbH. Post-quantum TutaCrypt encryption. Notes stored on own German servers. Included in all Tuta plans including free.
Alternative to: Notion, Evernote, Apple Notes, Google Keep
Note-taking
OsmAnd
Netherlands EU
A powerful offline maps and navigation app built on OpenStreetMap, developed by a company in the Netherlands. Detailed offline maps, hiking and cycling routes, and deep customisation, all without tracking where you go.
Alternative to: Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze
Maps & navigation
Magic Earth
Netherlands EU
A privacy-first navigation app from Amsterdam-based General Magic, built on OpenStreetMap data. Turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic, and offline maps, with no account required and no tracking of where you go.
Alternative to: Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze
Maps & navigation
Sygic
Slovakia EU
A Slovak GPS navigation app with detailed offline maps covering more than 200 countries. Turn-by-turn voice guidance, speed-limit warnings, and traffic, all usable without a data connection - one of Europe's most popular navigation apps.
Alternative to: Google Maps, Waze
Maps & navigation
Qdrant
Germany EU
Open-source vector database built in Rust for high-performance similarity search. Self-host it or use Qdrant Cloud with EU regions – a European alternative to Pinecone.
Alternative to: Pinecone
Databases
Weaviate
Netherlands EU
Open-source vector database from Amsterdam with built-in vectorization and hybrid search. Self-host it or run Weaviate Cloud – a European alternative to Pinecone.
Alternative to: Pinecone
Databases
Mistral AI
France EU
France's leading AI lab. Powerful open-weight models built and hosted entirely in Europe.
Alternative to: Chatgpt, Claude, Gemini, Github Copilot, Microsoft Copilot
AI tools & APIs
Blender
Netherlands EU
Dutch open-source 3D creation suite covering modelling, animation, rendering, video editing, VFX, and motion graphics. Maintained by the Blender Foundation, a non-profit in Amsterdam. Used by studios and individual artists worldwide. 100% free, no subscription.
Alternative to: Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro
Design tools
Kdenlive
Germany EU
Free open-source non-linear video editor maintained by KDE, the German-rooted open-source community. Available on Linux, Windows, and macOS. Supports multi-track editing, wide format support, and GPU-accelerated rendering. Trusted by content creators and educators.
Alternative to: Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Davinci Resolve
Design tools
Darktable
Germany EU
Free open-source photography application and RAW developer. Handles photo management, RAW processing, and non-destructive editing. Community-maintained with strong European contributor base. Available on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Used by professional photographers.
Alternative to: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop
Design tools
CryptPad
France EU
End-to-end encrypted collaboration suite. Docs, spreadsheets, and kanban boards. The server never sees your content.
Alternative to: Google Docs, Notion, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides
Project management
OpenProject
Germany EU
Berlin-based open-source project management platform with Gantt charts, Scrum and Kanban boards, time tracking, and wiki. Self-hostable with full data sovereignty. Used by governments and enterprises across Europe. No US parent, no CLOUD Act exposure.
Alternative to: Clickup, Basecamp, Notion, Monday Com, Asana, Jira
Project management
Collabora Online
United Kingdom Europe
LibreOffice in the browser, built by Collabora. Integrates with Nextcloud for a fully European document editing suite.
Alternative to: Google Docs, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides
Project management
LanguageTool
Germany EU
A grammar, spelling, and style checker from Germany that supports more than 30 languages. The core engine is open source and can be self-hosted, and the company processes data in Germany under GDPR - a privacy-respecting European alternative to Grammarly.
Alternative to: Grammarly
Translation tools
Reverso
France EU
A French translation and language-learning platform offering context-based translations, conjugation tables, grammar checking, and a bilingual dictionary. Long-established and Paris-based, it shows how phrases are used in real sentences across a dozen languages.
Alternative to: Google Translate
Translation tools
DeepL
Germany EU
World-class AI translation from Cologne. Outperforms big-tech rivals on European languages. All data processed in Germany.
Alternative to: Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, Amazon Translate
AI tools & APIs
KeePass
Germany EU
KeePass stores your passwords in a single encrypted file that stays on your device, with no cloud account and no company able to see your vault. Free, open-source, and maintained from Germany since 2003.
Alternative to: Lastpass, 1password, Dashlane
Password managers
Proton Pass
Switzerland EFTA
End-to-end encrypted password manager from Proton AG in Geneva. Open-source clients, zero-knowledge architecture, and built-in email alias support via SimpleLogin.
Alternative to: Lastpass, 1password, Dashlane, Bitwarden
Password managers
Passbolt
Luxembourg EU
Luxembourg-based open-source password manager designed for teams and enterprises. End-to-end encrypted with GPG, fully auditable, self-host or use Passbolt Cloud. Raised €7.6M in 2025.
Alternative to: Lastpass, 1password, Keeper
Password managersStart somewhere.
Switching everything overnight is not realistic. Start where it matters most: your email, your cloud storage, your business tools. Replace one thing at a time.
The European Alternative already exists.
Pick Europe.