Alternatives to Google Products | Part 3

Alternatives to Google Play Store 

Currently the best Google Play Store alternative is F-Droid and then Yalp Store. Like on the official website F-Droid is an installable catalog of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. After installing F-Droid, you can then download the Yalp Store APK, which lets you download apps directly from the Google Play Store as APK files.

More information can be found on the F-Droid site or on the Official GitHub page, Other alternatives to the Google Play Store are:

• TechSpot - has an Android section in downloads full of secure and verified downloads.
• Aptoide - an independent marketplace for Android apps.
• APKMirror - a large library of APK files uploaded by different users (be careful).
• Aurora Store - a branch of the Yalp Store.

Alternatives to Google Chrome OS 

Want to get rid of the Chromebook and Chrome OS? Here are a few alternatives:

• Linux - Of course, Linux is probably the best alternative, because it is a free open-source operating system with many different variants. With some adjustments can Ubuntu Linux running on Chromebooks.
• Tails - Tails is a free, Linux-based, privacy-oriented operating system that handles all traffic through the Tor Network
• QubesOS - Recommended by Snowden, free and open source.

The other two major operating system alternatives are of course Windows and the Apple operating system for MacBooks - Mac OS. Windows, especially Windows 10, is a very bad option in terms of privacy. Although slightly better, Apple also collects user data and has one Partnership with the NSA completed for monitoring.

Android alternatives

The biggest alternative to Android is iOS from Apple. But we will skip this for the reasons already mentioned. Here are a few alternatives for Android operating systems:

• LineageOS - A free and open source operating system for mobile phones and tablets based on Android.
• Ubuntu Touch - a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system.
• Plasma Mobile - an open source, Linux-based operating system with active development.
• Sailfish OS - another open source, Linux-based mobile operating system.
• Repeat - A completely free Android distribution focusing on freedom, privacy and security.
• /is/ - another open source project focusing on privacy and security.

Purism also works on a privacy-oriented mobile phone called By 5, It is in production but not yet available (available in Q3 2019).

Alternatives to Google Hangouts (Videoconferencing and instant messaging)

Here are some alternatives to Google Hangouts:

• Wire - A great all around secure messenger, video and chat app, but limited to the number of people who can chat with each other in a group conversation by voice or video.
• Signal - A good and secure messenger platform from Open Whisper Systems.
• Telegram - A proven secure messenger app, formerly based in Russia, today in Dubai.
• Riot - A privacy-oriented encrypted chat service that is also open source.

Alternatives to Google Domains 

Google Domains is a domain registration service. Here are a few alternatives:

• Namecheap - I like Namecheap, because all domain purchases now with the free one Whois Guard protectionLifetime, which protects your contact information from third parties. Namecheap also accepts Bitcoin and offers domain registration, hosting, email, SSL certificates and a variety of other products.
• Njalla - Njalla is a domain-registered domain registration service based in Nevis. They also offer hosting options and also accept crypto currency payments.
• orange website - Iceland-based OrangeWebsite offers anonymous domain registration services and also accepts crypto currency payments.

Other Google alternatives

Here are other alternatives for various Google products:

Google Forms alternative - JotForm is a free online form generator.

Google Keep Alternative:

• Standard Notes are a good alternative for a note service. This is secure, encrypted and free, with apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android (also available web-based).
• Joplin Another great option is Open Source, running on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android.
• Zoho Notebook by Zoho, with apps for desktop and mobile devices.
• QOwnNotes is an open source file editor with Nextcloud integration.

Alternative Google Fonts (Google Fonts) - Many websites load Google fonts through Google APIs, but that's not necessary. An alternative to this is the use of Font Squirrelwhich offers a wide selection of Google and non-Google fonts that can be downloaded and used for free.

Google Voice Alternative - JMP.chat (both free and paid version)

G Suite alternative - Zoho is probably the best option.

Google Firebase alternative - Kuzzle (free and open source)

Google Blogger alternatives - WordPress, Medium and Ghost are all good options.

[Article, Part 3 / 3, by Sven Taylor TechSpot][Photo: Marina Ivkić]