Curated privacy tools

Browser-encrypted notes with burn-after-reading—ciphertext on the server, key in the link fragment.

End-to-end encrypted notes and documents for persistent, cross-device personal writing.

Excellent for long-term encrypted note-taking—not intended for one-time secret handoffs.

Client-side encryption for files before they sync to mainstream cloud providers.

Best for securing folders on Dropbox, Google Drive, and similar services you do not fully trust.

Open-source password manager with free personal vault and cross-device sync.

Local, open-source password vault—no cloud required if you prefer full control.

Exceptionally polished UX and strong audit history—often the easiest recommendation for families.

Trade-off: entirely closed-source and cloud-dependent, which draws fair criticism from open-source purists.

The consensus default for secure mainstream chat with open protocols.

Trade-off: requires a phone number for registration, which may not suit high-anonymity threat models.

Encrypted email from Proton with zero-access architecture and a free tier.

German encrypted email (formerly Tutanota) with built-in calendar and contacts.

Lightweight email aliasing to mask your real address on sign-ups.

Trade-off: solid for basic masking, but lacks advanced custom-domain routing compared to dedicated alias services.

Advanced, configurable email aliasing—now part of the Proton ecosystem.

Ideal for complex identity separation and custom domains; deeper than lightweight relay tools.

Mainstream browser with strong tracking protection and open development.

Routes traffic through three independent relays—the standard for strong anonymity and censorship circumvention.

Trade-off: significantly slower browsing; many mainstream sites trigger aggressive CAPTCHAs.

Lightweight open-source blocker for ads, trackers, and malware domains.

Out-of-the-box tracker blocking built on Chromium.

Trade-off: the built-in ad/rewards model and cryptocurrency features split the privacy community. Best for users who require Chromium compatibility.

Search engine that does not build advertising profiles from your queries.

Privacy-first VPN with anonymous account numbers and no long-term logs policy.

VPN from Proton with free tier and Swiss jurisdiction.

Independent VPN with transparent ethics and multi-hop options.

Check whether your email or phone appeared in known data breaches.

Find step-by-step guides to enable two-factor authentication on popular services.

Hardware security keys for phishing-resistant two-factor login.

Open-source disk encryption for full volumes and encrypted containers.