Privacy Tools

A practical password manager with a free plan that is enough for most people.

Use when You need one place for all passwords.

A password manager that fits well if Proton is already where your email and VPN live.

Use when You already use Proton and want passwords in the same ecosystem.

Limit Bitwarden is still the cleaner default when you want a dedicated password manager.

A clean authenticator app for the second code many important accounts should ask for.

Use when You want a simple app for login codes.

A free Android authenticator with encrypted backups and good control over your 2FA vault.

Use when You use Android and want a strong authenticator app.

A physical security key that makes account takeover much harder than SMS or app codes alone.

Use when You want stronger protection for your most important accounts.

Limit Buy two keys if you rely on it, because losing the only one can lock you out.

A Chrome-like browser with built-in ad and tracker blocking, good for work accounts and web apps.

Use when Use it as the work browser when websites expect Chrome compatibility.

Limit It is Chromium-based, so keep Firefox for personal browsing and browser diversity.

A strong everyday browser choice when you want browser diversity and full extension support.

Use when Use it as the personal browser so daily life is not inside the Chrome ecosystem.

Limit Some work sites are built around Chrome assumptions, so Brave may be smoother there.

A privacy-focused browser that blocks many trackers and keeps the interface simple.

Use when Use it as a simple extra browser when you want low setup and fewer decisions.

Limit It is not the main work-and-personal split; Brave plus Firefox covers that better.

A powerful blocker for ads, trackers, and many junk web requests.

Use when Use it on Firefox when you want the strongest normal blocker path.

Limit Do not stack it with every other blocker; that creates breakage and confusion.

A tracker blocker focused on stopping third-party tracking behavior while staying easy to understand.

Use when Use it when you prefer an EFF/nonprofit tracker blocker with simple defaults.

Limit It is not the strongest all-purpose ad blocker; uBlock Origin is the default blocker path.

A tracker and ad blocker with clear tracker visibility for normal users.

Use when Use it when you want visible feedback about which trackers a page loads.

Limit Treat it as a blocker path, not one more extension to pile on top of uBlock.

A broad ad-blocking family with browser extensions, apps, and DNS filtering options.

Use when Use it for Safari, iOS, or when you want one blocker ecosystem across apps and DNS.

Limit Do not install it just to stack another blocker on top of uBlock Origin.

A practical daily search default when you want less tracking than the usual default.

Use when Use it as the default search engine for everyday queries.

Limit Results can still depend on partner indexes, so keep alternatives for research.

A useful search alternative when you want different results and less dependence on Google or Bing.

Use when Use it when you want search results from an independent index.

A useful alternate search index for special research, not a daily privacy recommendation.

Use when Use it only when you need different results for research, especially when other indexes feel stuck.

Limit Do not treat it as a private search engine. Treat it as a different lens.

A privacy-focused email provider that also fits well with SimpleLogin, Proton Pass, Drive, and VPN.

Use when You want a serious personal email account outside Big Tech defaults.

A privacy-focused email alternative for people who want encrypted email without joining the Proton ecosystem.

Use when You want a private email provider that is not Proton.

Creates different email addresses that forward to your inbox, so one leak does not poison your real address.

Use when Use aliases for shopping, trials, forums, newsletters, and any site you do not fully trust.

Limit Paid features matter if you want many aliases, custom domains, or heavier daily use.

Email masks that forward to your real inbox so websites do not get your main address.

Use when Use it for quick masks on newsletters, stores, and accounts you may abandon later.

Limit Simple is the point; SimpleLogin and addy.io are stronger for heavier alias workflows.

A Duck address forwards mail to your inbox and can reduce common email tracking.

Use when Use it when you want a free, simple forwarding address for signups and newsletters.

Limit It is lighter than a full alias manager with custom domains and advanced rules.

An email alias and forwarding service for people who want stronger control over online identities.

Use when Use it when you want many aliases, a custom domain, or more control for cheap.

Limit It is more power-user than Firefox Relay or DuckDuckGo Email Protection.

Creates random Apple-managed forwarding addresses for apps, websites, and signups.

Use when Use it if you already pay for iCloud+ and live mostly inside Apple devices.

Limit Useful for Apple users, but not a cross-platform default.

Encrypted messaging for friends, family, and groups without turning communication into a project.

Use when You want private messages that normal people may actually install.

A protective DNS provider that blocks many known malicious domains before apps connect.

Use when Use it when malware and phishing blocking matter more than ad blocking.

Limit DNS is not a VPN: it does not hide your IP address or make browsing anonymous.

A filtering DNS service that can block ads, trackers, and malicious domains before apps connect.

Use when Use it when you want DNS-level ad, tracker, and family filtering without installing browser extensions everywhere.

Limit DNS filtering is coarse: it can miss in-app tracking and can break some domains.

A configurable DNS firewall for blocking malware, trackers, and unwanted domains across devices.

Use when Use it when you want custom blocklists, profiles, logs, and more control than a simple DNS switch.

Limit More control means more setup and more ways to over-filter your own internet.

A practical VPN choice when you want something understandable and already trust Proton.

Use when You already use Proton or need a simple VPN for travel and public Wi-Fi.

Limit A VPN does not fix bad passwords, phishing, or posting personal data publicly.

A privacy-focused VPN with simple pricing and anonymous account numbers.

Use when You want a standalone VPN that is not tied to an email account.

Limit It is a separate service to manage if you already pay for Proton.

A straightforward encrypted cloud drive for documents you do not want sitting in a default Big Tech account.

Use when Use it when you want simple encrypted cloud storage inside the Proton ecosystem.

Limit It is still a cloud account; backups and account recovery still matter.

Encrypts files before they go into a cloud account, so the provider cannot read the contents.

Use when Use it when you still need Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive for sensitive files.

Limit If you lose the vault password, the files are gone.

An open-source cloud platform for file storage, sharing, calendars, contacts, and collaboration.

Use when Use it when you want files, sync, and collaboration under your control or a trusted managed provider.

Limit Privacy depends on who runs the server and how well it is maintained.

A no-root Android firewall for controlling which apps can connect.

Use when You use Android and want to block some apps from reaching the internet.

Limit It is useful, but normal people should not start here before passwords and 2FA.

A serious Linux desktop option for people who want a maintained, modern system.

Use when You want Linux for real work, not a hobby project.

Limit Changing operating systems is a guide-level move, not a five-minute privacy fix.

A familiar Linux desktop that makes the first move away from Windows feel less dramatic.

Use when You want the easiest normal-person Linux switch.

Limit Still an operating-system change, so it belongs in a guide, not as step one.

An excellent gaming-focused Linux option when the goal is Steam, controllers, and a gaming-first environment.

Use when Use it only for a dedicated gaming machine or console-like Linux setup.

Limit Do not make it your sensitive work/privacy machine; gaming setups need broader compatibility and more moving parts.

A free Google removal path for eligible personal information showing in search results.

Use when Use it when your phone, address, email, or similar personal info appears in Google Search results.

Limit It can remove a Google result, not the original page or the data broker profile.

A low-cost service for removing personal profiles from many people-search and data-broker sites.

Use when Use it in the US when you want a cheap broker-removal service instead of doing every opt-out manually.

Limit Broker removal is country-dependent and never permanently finished.

A data broker exposure and removal service with a useful free scan and paid removal tiers.

Use when Use it when you want broker scans, screenshots, and removal reports before paying for heavier cleanup.

Limit Good reports do not change the core problem: brokers can re-collect data over time.

A paid personal-information removal service focused on reducing exposure across data broker sites.

Use when Use it when you want a more established paid broker-removal service and reports.

Limit More expensive than cheap opt-out services, so compare coverage before paying.

A Consumer Reports app for sending privacy requests to companies from one place.

Use when Use it in the US when you want help asking companies to delete data or stop selling it.

Limit It targets company privacy requests, not every people-search broker profile.

A breach-exposure checker that shows where an email address has appeared in public breach data.

Use when Use it to check whether an email address appears in known breaches before you clean accounts up.

Limit It does not remove the breach; it tells you where to change passwords, add 2FA, or switch aliases.

A directory of account-deletion links and difficulty notes for many online services.

Use when Use it when old accounts still hold your data and you need the deletion page fast.

Limit It points you to deletion paths; it does not delete accounts for you.

Converts risky documents into safer PDFs by processing them inside a sandbox.

Use when You need to open a suspicious PDF or office document more safely.

Limit It is for suspicious files, not a replacement for basic caution.

A useful research site for finding alternatives when an app, service, or platform no longer fits.

Use when You want to find replacements without starting from random search results.

Limit It is a discovery tool, not a privacy guarantee.