As awareness grows of the countless problems caused by Big Tech, more and more people are seeking alternatives that are more transparent and privacy-respecting, and less harmful in terms of their socio-environmental impact, damage to democracies, use in wars and as a means of violence against marginalised communities.
Often, however, we end up using these very same platforms to publicise evidence of the harm they cause, feeling trapped within a mainstream model. May First recently launched "Cutting The Cord", a publication addressing the dependence of our movements on Big Tech and the need to grow an autonomous technology ecosystem. As a next step, the "Rise Against Big Tech" campaign listed free, more community-centred services such as email, online meetings and cloud storage services. The coalition behind the campaign includes members of APC MayFirst and Progressive Technology Project.
Earlier this year, The Guardian ran a feature on the growing public interest in moving away from dominant corporate platforms such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple and X to more rights-respecting and sustainable alternatives, mentioning APC member GreenNet as one example of an ethical internet service provider.
More ethical alternatives to digital services are also explored in APC's series, Building a Free Internet of the Future, which focuses on the experiences and perspectives of individuals and communities supported by the NGI Zero (NGI0) grants for free software, open data, open hardware and open standards projects.
Aiming to support those seeking alternatives, as well as reinforcing APC's commitment to promoting free/libre and open-source software (FLOSS), open standards, and the open sharing of knowledge, we drew on the resources of our community to prepare a simple list of everyday alternatives below that can be helpful for people of all technical skill levels.
Whether or not to move away from mainstream technologies is neither a simple decision, nor one that can be made at an individual level, and will have different implications in different lived realities. Often the communities we wish to engage with are on these platforms, or the open-source alternatives can still seem difficult to use, bearing in mind our habits and the design of Big Tech platforms specifically engineered to hold the user’s attention for as long as possible. Due to power and regulatory imbalances – such as those involved in the net neutrality debate – occasionally a commercial option may consume less data and be able to operate in areas with low connectivity. Sometimes, however, it is not even necessary to switch platforms. Depending on personal circumstances, simply leaving them altogether may also be an option, as well as a way of minimising one’s digital footprint and breaking with the addictive practices employed by some Big Tech to retain users’ attention. At other times, we inhabit both worlds in parallel. In any case, here are some options for those wishing to explore the alternatives.
- Our member TEDIC suggests several secure email options for setting up accounts, such as ProtonMail and Riseup.
- APC FLOSS policy also indicates Thunderbird as an email client to handle mail and replace commercial options like Microsoft's Outlook.
Sharing: Cloud storage and collaborative services
- The Rise Against Big Tech website highlights that there are several popular open source programs used for Cloud storage, including Nextcloud.
- Cryptpad can be a good alternative to share documents and work with collaborative writing/editing.
- Teamtype enables real-time collaborative editing of local text files. You can use it for pair programming or note taking, for example.
- APC FLOSS policy also recommends OnlyOffice, a complete online office suite, and Etherpad lite, a collaborative editing pad with simple formatting options.
Staying in touch: Online meetings, message services and chats
- According to the Rise Against Big Tech campaign, online meetings are often the easiest to move to a new provider since the critical feature set is fairly standard and most alternatives have a similar enough interface to Zoom, the dominant corporate player, including Jitsi Meet and BigBlueButton.
- For individual or group chats and messaging, there are excellent and easy to use non-corporate alternatives to corporate tools WhatsApp or Telegram. Signal is one of the best known alternatives and has a very similar user interface.
- The campaign indicates alternatives to Slack, another class of team-based chat that is more designed for corporate environments, including MatterMost and Zulip.
Digital communications: Website and social media
- The Rise Against Big Tech campaign recommends open source platforms like WordPress and Drupal for building websites.
- On the website navigation level, our member TEDIC recommends less Chrome and more Firefox or Tor Browser as more secure browser options.
- On the hosting side, our member May First maintains infrastructure so one can host websites, set up email accounts, share documents and hold video calls.
- This interview introduces PeerTube, a network of independent, self-managed and interconnectable platforms that can be an alternative to YouTube. You can see it in use at APC’s media centre.
- For alternative social media platforms, TEDIC points to Mastodon and Bluesky as decentralised platforms where each community sets its own rules.
- The Engine Room explored a transition to alternative social media platforms for social justice organisations in the Majority World. Their research found that a transition to a “pluriverse” of options could be the most viable way forward: this might include repurposing existing platforms, embracing low-tech approaches, and developing innovative alternatives that meet the needs of social justice organisations and marginalised communities.
Staying connected and safe in the first place
- Internet shutdown game: APC created this game with the aim of helping to organise an engaging and informative training activity that sheds light on the various methods of internet shutdowns and ways to counteract them.
- You can use KeePassXC to set up and manage all your passwords in a safer way.
- Two APC members, Colnodo and eQualitie, have launched Areopagítica, a digital security platform designed to protect democracy and the free flow of information. The initiative provides grassroots organisations, journalists and activists with a dedicated helpdesk, practical resources and training to mitigate online risks during challenging electoral periods. (Available in English and Spanish).
- For protecting websites against malicious digital attacks, our member eQualitie offers Deflect as an alternative to Cloudflare for ensuring websites stay online and accessible.
- To protect your data while browsing, RiseupVPN offer a free VPN to create an extra layer of security while online.
This piece lists some starting points in specific areas, but there are many other options available. Are you part of the APC community and would like to suggest a resource for this list? Please send it to communications@apc.org