Alternatives to Google Products | Part 2

Alternatives to Google Docs / Sheets / Slides

There are many solid Google Docs alternatives. Of course, the largest offline document editing package is Microsoft Office. However, as most people know, Microsoft is not the best privacy company. However, there are a few other good Google Docs alternatives:

• CryptPad - CryptPad is a privacy-driven alternative with strong encryption that is free.
• Etherpad - A self-hosted collaborative online editor that is also open source.
• Zoho Docs - This is another good Google Docs alternative with a clean interface and good functionality, though it may not be the best in terms of privacy.
• only Office - OnlyOffice feels a bit more limited than some of the other options in terms of features.
• Cryptee - This is a privacy-oriented platform for storing and editing photos and documents. It is open source and is based in Estonia.
• LibreOffice (offline) - the use of LibreOffice is free and open source.
• Apache OpenOffice (offline) - Another good open source office suite.

Alternatives to Google Photos 

• piwigo - Piwigo is a great option that you can host yourself; it is free and open source.
• Lychee - Lychee is another self-hosted, open-source photo management platform.

Alternatives to YouTube

• Peertube
• DTube
• Bitchute
• invidio.us
• Vimeo
• Bit.tube 
• Dailymotion
• Hooktube

Tip:  Invidio.us is a great youtube proxy that allows you to watch any Youtube video without signing in even if the video is somehow restricted. Just replace [www.youtube.com] with [invidio.us] in the URL for the video link you want to watch.

Alternatives to Google Translate (Google Translate) 

• DeepL - DeepL is a solid alternative to Google Translate, which delivers great results. With DeepL you can translate up to 5.000 characters like Google Translate (the Pro version is unlimited). The user interface is good and there is also a built-in dictionary function.
• Linguee - Linguee does not allow you to translate large blocks of text like DeepL, but it does provide you with very accurate translations for individual words or sentences, as well as contextual examples.
• Dict CC - This Google Translate alternative seems to do a good job on single-world lookups, but feels a bit dated.
• Swisscows Translate - A good translation service that supports many languages.

If you want to translate entire text blocks, look at DeepL. If you need detailed translations for individual words or phrases, then Linguee is a good choice.

Alternatives to Google Analytics 

• Clicky is a great alternative to Google Analytics, which by default truncates visitors' IP addresses and anonymizes visits. It is lightweight, easy to use and complies with GDPR regulations, and was also adopted by Privacy Shield certified.
• Matomo (formerly Piwik) is an open-source analytics platform that respects the privacy of visitors by anonymizing and truncating visitors' IP addresses (if enabled by the site administrator). She is also in favor simulation softwarethat it respects the privacy of users.
• Fathom Analytics is an open source alternative to Google Analytics available on Github. It's minimal, fast and easy.
• AT Internet is a French-based analytics provider that is completely GDPR Compliant All data is stored on French servers and they have a good track record since 1996.

Many websites use Google Analytics because they run Google Adsense campaigns. Without Google Analytics, tracking the performance of these campaigns would be difficult. Nevertheless, there are even better options for privacy.

Alternatives to Google Maps A card alternative for PCs is OpenStreetMap.Some Google Maps alternatives for mobile devices are:

• OsmAnd is a free and open source mobile map app for Android and iOS (based on OpenStreetMap data).
• Maps (F Droid) uses OpenStreetMap data (offline).
• Here WeGo delivers good card solutions for PCs and mobile devices with their apps.
• Maps.Me is another option that is free on both Android and iOS, but there is a considerable amount of data collection with this alternative, as explained in their privacy policy.
• MapHub is also based on OpenStreeMap data and does not capture sites or user IP addresses.

Note: Waze is not an "alternative" as it is owned by Google.

[Article, Part 2 / 2, by Sven Taylor TechSpot]

[Photo: Marina Ivkić]