How To Find Open-Source Alternatives To Almost Every App

We love the convenience and feature-rich nature of the apps and products big corporations can offer you, but we’re also proponents of personal autonomy and control over your online experience. However, it’s one thing to just turn your back on the big corporations; it’s another to do so mindfully and ethically.

Thankfully, finding viable alternatives to major apps and services that align with your values is much easier thanks to Ethical.net’s collection of Ethical Alternatives & Resources. The curated list includes software, tech, websites, and organisations that put privacy, user rights, and sustainability first. The list will be an excellent resource for those looking to reduce their digital and physical footprint and reclaim some online agency.

While well-known picks like the DuckDuckGo search engine, Firefox and Tor internet browsers, and Tutanota email service are included (among many others), the Ethical Alternatives & Resources list goes beyond just one-to-one replacements to Google, Microsoft, or Apple products.

You’ll find recommendations for open-source crowdfunding, banking, and web hosting options; social media networks like Mastodon, Friendica, and Pixelfed; and even altruistic digital gaming store Humble Bundle and privacy-focused streaming platforms like Resonate, Mubi, and more.

Outside of the numerous tech and software picks, the list also includes a handful of media sources on environmentalism, meditation, and activism, and resources for ethical fashion brands, tech manufacturers, charities, and more. Users are also able to submit their own recommendations to be added to the list.

As is true for all open-source and independent tech, there are some concessions one must make when swapping out the convenience of large, interconnected app ecosystems for decentralized alternatives — but that’s also part of the appeal.

Besides, with a little work and planning, you can create your own personal platform that can do most of what we’ve come to expect from, say, Google’s various services, and the Ethical Alternatives & Resources tech list is a great place to start for such a project.