Curated list of privacy & security-focused software and services I recommend
Browsers
Mozilla Firefox with arkenfox.js applied. Switched to LibreWolf with my own hardening script applied to it. If you need to use Chrome, use ungoogled-chromium. Take a look at the recommended Browser Extensions also!
Search Engines
Don’t use Google! My standard recommendation would be DuckDuckGo. I have been using a self-hosted instance of SearNXG for some time now and I am quite happy with it. Brave Search and Mojeek maintain thier own indexes, seperate from Google and Bing. You can find a list of public SearNXG instances here.
Password Managers
KeepassXC on my laptop KeePassDX on my phone.
I have used 1Password and Bitwarden before, but I dont need my vault to be synced all the time. If I need the current version of my vault on my phone, I use LocalSend to transfer it to my phone.
Messaging
Matrix all the way! I host my own server for family and friends (if I can convince them to switch). Signal for everyone else. Also, don’t use WhatsApp!
Email is generally not secure - use PGP whenever possible. Avoid using free email providers (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, GMX). Providers to use instead: Posteo and Mailbox.org both cost only 1€/month for basic functionality. If you don’t want to spent any money, at least choose the free plan of ProtonMail or Tuta.
Email Clients
I use Mozilla Thunderbird.
Browser Extensions
Privacy Badger identifies trackers by monitoring when the same third-party domains show up on different websites and use techniques like cookies or fingerprinting. uBlock Origin relies on filter lists for blocking. Decentraleys provides local copies of common scripts instead of calling to 3rd-party network. I still don’t care about cookies removes annoying cookie warnings from websites. Vimium is nice if you want to add vim-style shortcuts to your browser. One of my favorite extensions is LibRedirect. It redirects YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok and other websites to alternative privacy-friendly frontends.
Mobile Apps
I hate smartphones. I own a Pixel 6a with GrapheneOS installed on it, but it has no mobile plan and never leaves the house.
Still here are a few useful apps: Orbot is a system-wide proxy that encrypts all your traffic and hides it from your ISP. It uses the TOR Network. Molly (Android-only) is a fork of Signal that encrypts your message data at rest, prompting you to enter a passphrase when you unlock the app. It also securly shreds memory content after closing. KeepassXC is a great KeePass client for Android. Use KeePassium if you are on iOS. Organic Maps is a very good offline maps app for Anroid and iOS. FitoTrack is a app for tracking your workouts. I track my workouts with a Garmin fenix 5 and visualize them with my app garmr.
If you are on Android don’t use the Play Store, use F-Droid or Obtainium to download your apps. If you are dependant on Apps that is only avaliable on the Play Store, use the Aurora Store to obtain them.