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)