Systems
For mobile systems, we recommend that you go with GrapheneOS. This is because it is so much more secure than any other Android system. The only issue with GrapheneOS is that the run only on Google Pixels. This is due to the fact that Googel Pixel have very strong hardware security. Google cannot see what you do within GrapheneOS. The system also have a lot of software improvements and often comes out with security fixes before Android.
Search Engines
Browser choice is very important, yet it isn’t even half the battle. To further enhance your online experience, here is a list of search engines along with a short description of what each of them is.
SearXNG is a self-hosted search engine. In contrast, DuckDuckGo uses Bing’s index to perform searches. Meanwhile, Brave Search utilizes its own index.
VPN & DNS
These recommended VPN and DNS services are extremely important to our privacy strategy. Therefore, we must ensure that we select an excellent service. In particular, the anonymously purchased VPNs are the best.
While all the above options are great, we recommend iVPN and Mullvad VPN over ProtonVPN.
Why do we recommend iVPN and Mullvad VPN over ProtonVPN? This is because there is no sign up on iVPN and Mullvad VPN. This means you can in fact – if you use Monero, purchase a VPN that allows you to connect truly anonymously.
There are many DNS services, but the two that we found to work the best are also very private. Specifically, NextDNS and Mullvad are the two most privacy-respecting DNS services we’ve tested.
App Stores
F-Droid is open-source only but there is one problem, it forces developpers to allow them to inspect their code and basically F-Droid makes their own version. This means you may never really be at the latest update or be behind on security updates.
On the other hand, Aurora allows you to access the Play Store without an account. This is neat if you are not technical enough to use Obtainium.
Additionally, Sandboxed Google Play enables you to download apps from Google Play with an account. This is really only recommended if you truly need apps that only comes from the Playstore.
Moreover, Accrescent is a small store designed for minimalists.
Lastly, Obtainium can install apps directly from the release source. This is the main recommendation.
Messengers
Messengers are the best way for us to communicate these days. Therefore, choose a main app and a backup app that you can use with your family and friends to maintain contact, even in times of crisis.
Browsers
The recommended browsers are all fine choices. For GrapheneOS users we strongly recommend to stay with Vanadium. But if you want to switch then consider that you must do more work to make the browser safe.
Tor Browser runs on the Tor network. It is considered the most private browser but you have to use it correctly. No downloading, no logging in, no writing on forums and many more things to consider. While this sound like a bad thing consider that Tor can be used to search for anything anonymously. You also can login to things you actually only use on Tor. If you made an account on the Tor network and never logged into that same account on the clear net then you are fine. Obviously there are a lot more things about Tor. Do your research before proceeding.