There are multiple good reasons for rethinking the tools and platforms we use for our digital lives.
You might be concerned about privacy, avoiding AI, reducing dependence on big US companies, or other things.
I’ve started thinking about it, and this post is a quick notepad of resources I’ve found in case they help anyone else. It may change over time.
Criteria
No specific recommendations here. But I think there are two headings to look at.
- Ethical — used here in a very broad sense to refer to the issues you care about.
- Performance — does it work well and have the features you want? (This part you can get through standard reviews.)
Ethical
Ethical Consumer — How to find an ethical web browser. Lot of discussion text, useful summary lists at the end.
Ethical Consumer — Email providers. Overall scores and discussion (detail on scores for subscribers).
European alternatives. A site suggesting Europe-based providers across a range of digital categories. (Tip: you can search for a particular product/service you want alternatives for, if finding their category is too much.)
Choose the EU cloud. Another site with Europe-based service providers.
Getting off US tech: a guide. Article by podcaster and writer Paris Marx.
Performance
Tech Radar — Best web browsers of 2026. A review example.
Tech Radar — Best secure email provider. A review example.
Tech Radar — Best cloud storage of 2026. Inc Europe-based options pCloud and Internxt. (There’s a big discount on first year of Internxt in Jan ’26.)
The Independent — Proton Mail review. Included mainly because at time of writing there’s a discount link in a red box toward the bottom, for anyone thinking of trying Proton at a paid level.
PC Mag — The Best Email Encryption Services for 2026. Currently also has a Proton discount link.
Notes
Proton. The website can be frustrating. It has a lot of landing pages for particular products, and they don’t let you compare levels of price/features. Best bet is to go to the home page, and to products from there — then you can find the detail. (But for any discount offers you might want to go through their landing page.)
Search engines. Perhaps the easiest tweak is your browser’s default for searching, to stop feeding AI and big tech ad revenue. Eg Ecosia — I noticed you still have to stop it giving AI suggestions, but at least that’s a simple click.