Taking back control of your digital life

This guide brings together the software and services I recommend for better protecting your digital privacy and maintaining control over your data.

The recommendations presented here are primarily based on criteria such as privacy protection, minimizing data collection, encryption, transparency, security, and the ability to retain control over personal information.

Every piece of software mentioned has been personally tested. The opinions and recommendations therefore rely on both the technical characteristics of each solution, its privacy policy, and long-term real-world use.

This document is not intended to be exhaustive and should be viewed first and foremost as a personal experience and feedback guide. A popular or feature-rich product may still be discouraged if it requires excessive trust in a third party or collects more data than necessary. Conversely, some lesser-known solutions may offer stronger privacy guarantees.

To discover additional privacy-focused alternatives, I also recommend visiting PrivacyTools [ privacytools.io ].

Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Notes

I Have to Stay on Windows

If you MUST remain on Windows (business software requirements, Linux-incompatible games, or the lack of a viable alternative), avoid the Microsoft Store whenever possible.

Prefer traditional installation methods such as:

• .EXE
• .MSI
• WinGet
• Chocolatey

Applications distributed through the Microsoft Store generally rely on an additional packaging layer (UWP/MSIX), which can increase their size, slow down startup times, and lead to more compatibility or permission-related issues.

Why Is Ubuntu Listed Among the Systems to Avoid?

Ubuntu heavily promotes the use of Snap across part of its software ecosystem.

I consider Snap comparable to the Microsoft Store because it comes with several drawbacks:

• Dependence on a centralized infrastructure
• Larger applications
• Longer startup times
• Permission issues related to sandboxing
• More complex troubleshooting and debugging

For these reasons, I personally prefer Linux Mint, Debian, Fedora, or Arch Linux.

Why I Am Wary of Snap, Flatpak, and the Microsoft Store

These technologies aim to isolate applications inside a separate environment (sandbox).

While this approach provides certain security benefits, it also introduces several drawbacks in my experience:

• Larger application sizes
• Duplication of numerous dependencies
• Higher disk space usage
• Slower startup times
• Potential permission management issues

For example, an alternative file manager may have difficulty accessing certain directories or devices properly when it is heavily sandboxed.

A Word of Caution About pCloud Encryption

I personally encountered issues while using pCloud's encryption feature: several documents became inaccessible after a few months.

In addition, the encryption provided by pCloud is NOT applied to all service features, particularly some backup-related functions.

As a precaution, I therefore recommend using Cryptomator alongside pCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, or similar services.

Why I Do Not Recommend Certain Popular VPNs

CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, and NordVPN benefit from extensive advertising and strong brand recognition. However, marketing reputation alone is not a sufficient criterion when it comes to privacy.

Before choosing a VPN, you should verify:

• Independent security audits
• Logging policies
• The provider's security incident history
• The location of the parent company (5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes)
• The company's transparency

This is one of the main reasons why Mullvad and Proton VPN are among my recommendations.