Get out of the big tech trap

A few large technology companies dominate our lives. The new flower pots are just an Amazon click away and are on our doorstep 24 hours later. The best way to reach friends, work colleagues and even your grandma is via WhatsApp. Even doctors’ appointments can be arranged via Meta’s messenger service.

The answer to the question of how your favorite football club played can be quickly “googled.” Google also offers its own cloud system and Google Maps, the most popular geo app on the market. The best way to use all these services is to use Google’s own email service Gmail, which comes with the Android operating system on your smartphone.

Most of us trust Google, Meta, Microsoft and co. with almost every aspect of our lives. By linking many different services, Google, like Microsoft and Apple, keeps users in an almost closed system. Programs from other providers are only partially compatible and switching is often time-consuming.

The term “big tech” focuses on dependency and concentration of power

These technology companies are referred to as “big tech”. The term refers to the enormous market power, financial strength and social influence of the corporations. They control central access to the digital public sphere and infrastructure, to communication and work services. This means that a few private corporations play a decisive role in deciding who is allowed to participate, what information is presented and what sensitive information users have to disclose.

It has long been no secret that they use their power to diligently follow our digital footsteps, collect information about us and store personal data. Nor has it been a secret that they violate data protection laws and consumer rights in the process. Added to this is the political proximity to the Trump government and far-right ideologies.

So it’s high time to turn our backs on Big Tech and become more digitally sovereign. The change is not just a question of data protection, but also a step towards digital self-determination. But is that even possible? And which services should you use instead? We have put together a selection of alternatives.

WhatsApp is part of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Group. Messages are encrypted, so Meta cannot see the chat content. However, the company captures metadata and therefore knows who and where you are and when or for how long you communicate with other people. This data is more revealing than you might think. It can allow conclusions to be drawn about social relationships, habits, whereabouts, political or professional networks and private life situations. The company can also access chats with its own “Meta AI”. Meta has announced that it will use this content to train the AI.

What are good alternatives?

Well-proven alternatives to WhatsApp are Signal and Threema. Both services are encrypted and the source code is open source. This means that the program code is publicly available. Independent experts can therefore check whether the service delivers what it promises.

Although Signal is based in the USA, it is owned by a non-profit foundation. Signal uses servers from Amazon and Google, but the encryption prevents Amazon and Google from accessing the data. Signal itself does not collect any metadata. In addition to high standards of data protection and privacy, the service is also known for its data economy. Around 14 percent of Germans use Signal, and the trend is rising. There is both an app and a desktop version and encrypted video and audio chats are possible with many participants.

Threema, for example, can also be used without a phone number. It is therefore considered even more trustworthy. However, switching to Threema is more tedious, as it is difficult to find existing contacts who use the service without a number. Threema comes from Switzerland and is still relatively unknown in Germany. According to the Federal Network Agency, only five percent used it in 2023. One reason for this may be that the app costs between 5 and 6 euros for a one-off payment.

What are bad alternatives?

It is less advisable to switch to iMessages (Apple) or Google Messages (Android). iMessage and Google Messages also collect metadata. Google uses this data for advertising purposes.

The messenger app Telegram is also not a good alternative and is less trustworthy than Meta in the opinion of the editorial team. Telegram is not encrypted by default and can access message content. In general, Telegram behaves in a conspicuously non-transparent manner. In 2022, the Federal Office of Justice imposed fines of 5.125 million euros, partly because Telegram had not provided legally compliant reporting channels for criminal content or a summonable address in Germany. Users can spread conspiracy narratives and illegal content on the platform largely unregulated. Time and again, entire groups have come to light in which sexualized violence against women and children is discussed. Pawel Durow, the owner of the platform, not only stands idly by, but also defends this as freedom of expression.

While Meta is rightly being harshly criticized, the Meta service Whatsapp is at least subject to strong supervision in the EU under the Digital Services Act. Telegram stated in 2024 that it had 41 million users in the EU. Online platforms with more than 45 million users are subject to direct supervision by the EU Commission and must comply with stricter transparency and moderation requirements.

Researchers and supervisory authorities suspect that Telegram is deliberately keeping its user numbers low. According to an analysis by tech magazine Wired, Telegram has at least 50 million European users. Research by Follow the Money also reveals that Telegram is deliberately trying to avoid being classified as a very large online platform in order to avoid regulation.

Possible hurdles in the transition

Whatsapp is one of the most widely used messenger services. This makes it difficult to do without it completely. To make the switch easier, it is a good idea to switch as a group of friends or family. This way, you take your most important contacts with you and can get used to the new app together

What a person searches for online reveals an enormous amount about them. Search engines such as Google, Bing (Microsoft) and Safari record where a person lives, where a person travels, what a person likes to eat or which doctors they go to and what health complaints they potentially have. Google and Microsoft use this knowledge to create a detailed profile of a person and place (personalized) advertising for search queries. In 2025, Google generated around 224 billion US dollars in revenue from advertising on Google searches and services such as Google Maps and Gmail. Google’s total revenue amounted to around 400 billion US dollars.

Search works so well primarily because billions of people use Google every day. Every search query provides new signals about what people are looking for, clicking on and finding relevant. This allows the company to continually improve its services. For smaller search engines, this creates a cycle that is difficult to break out of. Anyone who occasionally uses other search engines is therefore not only giving them a chance, but also helping to build better alternatives with every query.

What are good alternatives?

The German search engine Ecosia aims to make online searches as sustainable as possible. With every query, the first website suggestions are so-called affiliate links, i.e. advertising. These are provided by Google and Microsoft. The company covers its operating costs with the advertising revenue. Surpluses are used to support tree-planting projects. To date, Ecosia has planted over 250 million trees in more than 35 countries. Search queries and IP addresses are stored for one week in compliance with the GDPR and then deleted.

The Dutch search engine Startpage describes itself as the "safest search engine in the world". It sends search queries to Google anonymously. In addition, it does not collect IP addresses from users and does not use cookies. Startpage relies on contextual advertising, meaning that ads are based on the search term and not on personal data.

Because the alternatives mentioned hardly collect any data about users, the search results do not come close to the personalized results (over time) of a Google search. However, this is not necessary for most everyday search queries.

Similar to search engines, browsers also know a lot about their users. Browsers are programs used to open websites. Providers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Apple’s Safari record which pages are visited, how long users stay there and what they click on. Google also allows third parties to monitor users when they search online.

Google Chrome is by far the most widely used browser worldwide with a market share of almost 70 percent on the desktop; in Germany, the share is around 51 percent. Many websites, developer tools and standards are therefore effectively geared towards Chrome. This can lead to sites working well in Chrome, but less well in Firefox, Safari or smaller browsers. Such market power also reduces the incentive to develop alternatives.

What are good alternatives?

A very good open source alternative is Firefox, developed by the non-profit organization Mozilla. Users can customize many settings according to their wishes. If you select the "Strict" option, activity tracking, trackers and harmful advertising are blocked.

In addition to Firefox, Chromium-based browsers can also be a good alternative to Chrome. Chromium is the open source framework on which Google Chrome is based. Many other browsers such as Opera or Vivaldi (both from the EU) are also based on it. Ecosia also has its own Chromium-based browser. They have a similar structure to Chrome and work well with many websites and extensions, but are not tied to Google.

Chromium-based browsers are better than Chrome if you want less Google in your browser. However, they do not completely solve the problem of the lack of browser diversity because they are still based on the same technical foundation as Chrome.

A tip from the editorial team: The browser extensions ublock Origin and Privacy Badger protect against ad tracking and work with almost every browser.

Contracts, invoices, travel bookings, contacts and calendar data are often stored in the mailbox. For Google (Gmail) and Microsoft (Outlook), this is a goldmine of personal information. Although they protect emails from external attacks, they can access emails themselves. Google also states this in its privacy policy: "We also collect the content you create, upload or receive from others when you use our services. This includes, for example, emails that you write." Google and Microsoft use the information collected for advertising purposes, among other things. Gmail or Outlook addresses may seem free, but you actually pay with personal information.

What are good alternatives?

The German companies Mailbox.org and Posteo.de offer ad-free email services with open standards, little tracking and better data protection functions. Posteo also connects well with Apple Calendar, while synchronization with Google is less good. Another plus point: Posteo and Mailbox.org claim to use green electricity.

Both mail services are available from one euro and, depending on the tariff, Mailbox.org also includes a calendar, address book, Office, Drive and the video tool OpenTalk. Mailbox.org is therefore also suitable as a Microsoft 365 alternative.

What are bad alternatives?

Services such as GMX.de, T-online.de or WEB.de are German providers, but the free offers are also financed via advertising tracking. “We and our up to 266 partners process personal data”, including incoming emails and attached documents, as stated in the GMX.de consent banner and privacy policy.

Possible hurdles during the changeover

The biggest hurdle when switching e-mail addresses is not the new mailbox, but the old address. Over the years, it has often become the central login for banks, authorities, stores and private contacts. Important emails in the old mailbox must either be exported, transferred to the new mailbox or archived locally. This can take time, especially with large mailboxes.

All these services and contacts need to be informed about the new e-mail address. Some will still continue to write to the old address for years. You should therefore not delete the old account immediately, but leave it running for a transitional period. It also makes sense to set up an automatic reply and automatically forward important mail contacts to the new address.

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini have become everyday tools and companions for many people. They formulate their emails with ChatGPT, ask for advice on problems and share intimate thoughts. However, the best-known chatbots belong to large US companies. They are not transparent about how their technology works and what exactly happens to the information entered. What is certain, however, is that most providers use chat content to further train the AI.

If the AI offerings of a few large companies in particular are used, they have an enormous influence on what information is displayed to users. In addition, tech companies store user data on US servers and are subject to the US Cloud Act. This states that US companies must grant US authorities access to information, including that of foreign users.

What are good alternatives?

The most secure chatbots are those that run locally on your own device or with European, data protection-compliant providers. Chatbots that run locally have the advantage that the shared information does not leave the computer. However, they need powerful RAM and graphics memory. Many normal laptops are not yet equipped for this.

The French company Mistral has developed its own model with “Le Chat” . Mistral uses chat content to train the AI by default, but this can be deactivated in the settings. For tech-savvy users and organizations, there are European providers such as Aki.io, which provide open source models on EU infrastructure.

One alternative is Ecosia AI Chat, the AI model of the Ecosia search engines. Ecosia AI Chat draws on the AI models of other providers such as ChatGPT, but forwards requests anonymously and is therefore more data protection-friendly. Specifically, metadata is removed, meaning that chat content can no longer be traced back to a person. However, personal, financial, health or other sensitive information in the chat is forwarded to ChatGPT and Co. The AI takes sustainable aspects into account when responding. Ecosia is based in Germany, which means it is subject to European data protection guidelines, and does not store any chat content itself. It also claims to operate the AI chat using renewable energy.

As with most alternatives to market-dominating providers, many European models offer fewer functions. They also provide less personalized responses because they collect less data and do not engage in profiling. However, these models are usually sufficient for everyday inquiries.

What are bad alternatives?

More and more people are using the AI chatbot Claude from Anthropic instead of or in addition to ChatGPT. Anthropic describes itself as an ethically responsible AI manufacturer. It has therefore rejected a contract with the US government, which wanted to use the technology to monitor its own population, among other things. However, the fact that the US could use Anthropic’s technology for mass surveillance and the semi-autonomous killing of non-US citizens did not bother the company. So neither ChatGPT nor Claude offer data protection for Europeans. What’s more, Anthropic’s investors include Amazon, Google and Microsoft. The same companies that are lobbying against effective digital regulation in Europe.

Perplexity also has data protection concerns. The US company is designed for fast and precise research and automatically provides source documents with the answers. However, Perplexity also claims to collect chat content and data from users’ devices. For example, the app requires access to location data, camera, microphone, voice recognition, photo gallery and even contacts. As US companies, Perplexity and Claude must also hand over the collected data to US authorities in case of doubt.

Cloud storage is a digital storage location. Photos, emails, contracts, invoices, tax documents, health data, private notes and other files are not stored locally on the computer or cell phone, but on an external server. This allows access via different devices and often serves as a backup if a device is lost or broken. Although they are practical, they bundle a lot of sensitive data in one place.

"When we use a cloud service, […] we relinquish control and responsibility and must rely on our data being adequately protected," writes the German Federal Office for Information Security. This is not always the case with US providers. Cloud providers have access to users’ files for technical reasons. This enables functions such as file previews or automatically appearing photo flashbacks. However, companies can also analyze this information and use it for advertising purposes. The US Cloud Act allows US authorities to demand access to all information stored by cloud providers such as Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Apple.

What are good alternatives?

Cloud providers based in Germany and the EU that process data there are subject to European rules. These restrict the processing of personal data more than many non-European services. But even with European providers, you should pay attention to the extent to which providers have access to the files.

The German company Mailbox.org offers an email service as well as a cloud that can include emails, calendars and contacts as well as data. For 3 euros per month, you get 5 GB of drive storage and 10 GB of email storage. Users can also share and edit files or entire folders with non-Mailbox customers via guest access. Data can also be stored in the cloud in encrypted form.

Another privacy-friendly alternative is Nextcloud. Nextcloud is not a single cloud like Dropbox, but open source software that you can operate yourself or use with a European hosting provider such as Hetzner Storage Share or IONOS Managed Nextcloud. Nextcloud offers a wide range of functions as well as additional security measures such as two-factor authentication and various forms of encryption.

Proton Drive is a cloud storage solution from Switzerland that relies on strict security measures such as end-to-end encryption. This means that Proton itself cannot view files, folders and file names without the user’s consent. 5 GB of storage space is free.

What are bad alternatives?

Switching to Dropbox is less recommendable, as Dropbox is also a US company. According to the privacy policy, user data is processed and transferred to the USA. Information such as file size, upload time and device information can also be processed. Dropbox also uses "machine learning, artificial intelligence and algorithmic analysis" to "suggest better content and personalize experiences".

Possible hurdles in the transition

For people who already use cloud storage, it is often deeply intertwined with their everyday lives. Content on their cell phone is automatically backed up to the cloud, calendars are usually stored in the cloud and people work on projects with others there. A lot of data accumulates over time. A changeover is not technically difficult for most services, but it can be time-consuming. Documents stored on Google Drive or Microsoft Office in particular (e.g. doxc formats) cannot always be transferred without loss. PDF files and open document formats (e.g. .odt and .ods) are generally easy to transfer.

Further paths to digital self-determination

It is rarely possible to get out of Big Tech completely overnight. The services are too deeply rooted in everyday life, work and communication for that. But not everything has to happen immediately. Even individual changes, such as switching to a different messenger, a more privacy-friendly search engine or a European cloud provider, reduce dependencies and strengthen your own control over data. Digital self-determination does not start with the perfect system, but with the first step.

In this list, we have focused on applications that people use frequently in their everyday lives. However, there are of course other services where it is worth trying out alternatives, such as streaming services for music and films. We took a look at possible European social media platforms as alternatives to Instagram, TikTok and Facebook back in February. We have summarized reasons why you should no longer use X (formerly Twitter) here. We also debunked concerns about switching away from X and wrote a guide to switching.

For a larger overview, we recommend the website "European Alternatives". Austrian software developer Constantin Graf has been collecting European alternatives to digital products and services there since 20222. The "Digital Independence Day" initiative also offers further "switch recipes", which also contain brief technical instructions.

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