There’s a growing interest in European alternatives to US-dominated tech. This is true not only of defense, like Eurofighter Tranche 4 instead of Lockheed Martin F-35, but also for everyday apps in phones and laptops that Europeans use. The main driving force behind this is of course the chaos that the Trump administration has caused at the international scene, turning US policy from white to black. The actions of the Destruction Of Government by Elon, or DOGE have implications not only in the US but globally. Of course there are also other drivers, like the desire for stronger data privacy, aligning with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The balance between “sound” regulation and bureaucratic red tape killing innovation and possibilities is still something that the European union has to master.
Anyway here’s are some possibilities, keeping in mind that the landscape is constantly evolving:
Mail:ProtonMail (Switzerland): Known for its strong encryption and privacy focus. Many European hosting providers offer email services with GDPR-compliant data handling.
Calendars:Often integrated with mail services like ProtonMail. Open-source options like those within the Nextcloud ecosystem.
Browsers:Opera (Norway): Offers extensive customization and privacy features.
AI:Europe is investing heavily in AI research. Companies like DeepL (Germany) are making strides in natural language processing. There are many european AI research initiatives, and open source projects.
Office Packages: LibreOffice (Germany): A powerful open-source office suite, a strong alternative to Microsoft Office. Nextcloud (Germany) also offers office suite capabilities.
Alternatives to YouTube: Platforms that use the PeerTube (France) software. PeerTube is a decentralized, federated video platform powered by ActivityPub. This allows for many independant video hosting sites to communicate with eachother.
Social Media:Mastodon (Germany): A decentralized, open-source social network, offering an alternative to X (formerly Twitter). The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) launched the official ActivityPub microblogging platform (EU Voice) of the EU institutions, bodies and agencies (EUIs), based on Mastodon, they hade a two year project 2022 to 2024.
Search Engines:Qwant (France): Focuses on privacy, avoiding user tracking. Ecosia (Germany): A search engine that plants trees with its profits. Startpage (Netherlands): Focuses on privacy, and returns google search results, but without the tracking.
Translation:DeepL (Germany): Known for its high-quality translations.
The “best” choice will of course depend on your specific needs and priorities. Open-source software often relies on community support, which can be a strength but also a potential limitation. European digital sovereignty is an ongoing process, and the tech landscape will continue to evolve.
I have started using Opera and Proton, and those work very well for me. Social media is something I try to avoid, especially X and Facebook. Bluesky is boring and also from the US even if it gives you more control.
I have tried LibreOffice, but my habits using Microsoft Excel are very hard to change. We are after all creatures of habit.
Georg Henrik Wrede 