Europe first: Five alternatives to US services – Vivaldi, Le Chat, e/OS, F-Droid, Meistertalk
Europe first: Five alternatives to US services. The digital everyday life of many Europeans is dominated by US services such as Google, WhatsApp or Windows. But more and more users are looking for European alternatives that focus more on privacy, independence and transparency. Here we present five exciting projects – “Europe first” instead of Silicon Valley!
1. Vivaldi Browser
Originating from Norway, the Vivaldi browser is a powerful, highly customizable browsing tool with a focus on privacy. Unlike Chrome or Edge, Vivaldi consistently refrains from user tracking, advertising analysis and forced links to a Google account. Features like built-in notes, mail, calendar, and an ad blocker are included — and all data stays on your devices. Vivaldi is open source, developed by a European team and focused on data protection under EU law.
2. Le Chat (by Proton)
The Swiss company Proton, known for its secure mail service ProtonMail, has created Le Chat , an encrypted messenger that scores as a European WhatsApp alternative. Le Chat offers end-to-end encryption, stores data exclusively in Switzerland and works completely independently of Meta (Facebook) or Google. The app works across platforms, remains ad-free and strictly follows the principle of data economy.
3. e/OS
If you want to say goodbye to Google on Android, you will find e/OS (formerly “/e/”) a privacy-friendly, European smartphone operating system. It is based on Android, but it removes all Google components and replaces them with open alternatives: from the search engine to the cloud. App updates and its own “App Lounge” guarantee convenience without compromising on data protection. e/OS servers are located in Europe – ideal for those who want to maintain control over their mobile devices.
4. F-Droid
The alternative app store F-Droid makes open source software easily accessible for smartphones – without a Google account, profiling or advertising tracking. F-Droid only curates free, open-source apps, checks them for security and offers the highest level of transparency. Interest in F-Droid is growing, especially in Europe, also as a response to the increasing regulation of large platforms.
5. Master Talk
With Meistertalk (from MeisterLabs, Munich), companies and teams get a GDPR-compliant messenger alternative to Slack or Teams. The solution enables chat, video conferencing and team organization – all on European servers, with strong encryption and without data transfer to the USA. Meistertalk integrates seamlessly with tools such as MeisterTask or MindMeister and consistently focuses on the protection of business data.
Result:
These five solutions prove that there are powerful European alternatives to the tech giants from the USA. They respect your privacy, work transparently and strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. Anyone who votes today can rely on data protection, functionality and control in equal measure – true to the motto: Europe first!
