Privacy Tools

Browsers

Tor Browser (recommended for Android and Desktop)

  • Official Tor Project browser that enables connecting to web sites anonymously over the Tor network
  • Only available on Android & Desktop

Onion Browser (recommended for iOS)

  • iOS, free, endorsed by Tor Project
  • If you switch apps alot, you’ll probably want to change the Tab Security setting to Forget at Shutdown or Remember Tabs:

Brave (recommended for regular web browsing)

  • a regular browser with some extra attention to privacy
  • ad blockers
  • desktop beta has a Tor tab
  • a crypto currency that pays you for your attention to privacy safe ads

VPNs

ProtonVPN (recommended)

  • Switzerland
  • No logs, 30 day free trial
  • Free account: just VPN, no Tor (but you can still run a Tor Browser your self)
  • Plus account: VPN + Tor. Useful for using Tor on iOS (but no support for .onion addresses). Has a few VPN + Tor nodes, one in TX, USA.

NordVPN (best $ value)

  • Panama
  • No logs, free account
  • Offers one “onion over VPN” server in the Netherlands

Orchid (blockchain, innovative)

  • Cutting edge, Web 3.0, decentralized blockchain technology – no link to identity, bank account, email, etc. Paid for with their OXT crypto token currency.
  • Earn $12 in Orchid crypto tokens by watching a short Coinbase.com video tutorial

Messaging

Signal (a good baseline)

  • secure by default
  • Ed Snowden approved
  • similar to SMS messages
  • mobile number is identity
  • It helps to set your name and share your contact with a group. Make sure when you tap on the group heading, that you see the phrase “This group can see your profile

Riot.im

  • good for a community with multiple real-time chat rooms on different topics
  • iOS, Android, and Desktop
  • E2EE encrypted by default, both individual and group chats
  • identity is based on a private encryption key
  • email and phone are optional
  • federated, and it’s possible to run an independent server

Status.im (blockchain, innovative, easy to get started)

  • Decentralized, blockchain, crypto, the future now
  • Identity is a private key
  • Creating a custom alias like @myname is more difficult, requiring purchase using their SNT crypto token
  • A great way to learn about and gain experience with the emerging cryptocosm (the next major dominant technology evolution)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.