Hey everyone!
So, I’ve made some small progress in switching things up on my Android:
Replaced Gmail app with Thunderbird
Replaced Google Calendar with FOSSify Calendar
Replaced Google Play Store with Aurora & F-Droid
Replaced Android file manager with FOSSify File Manager
Replaced Android keyboard with Heliboard
But now I’m hitting a wall trying to find ones on root of problem:
free replacement for Gmail
free Google Calendar alternative that works well
on both Android and via Thunderbird Windows
Self-hosting isn’t really an option for me, so I’d love to hear your suggestions!
If you’ve found something you really like, please share your experiences.
Thanks!
UPDATE
just started a free account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
also found a community group at https://www.reddit.com/r/Infomaniak/ will search if any group here as well
Android file manager
It is a part of core AOSP, you don’t need to change it. And this may be controversial, but try Proton.
Honestly if you want privacy you gotta pay for it. I use proton and it’s a great alternative to Google, but I pay for it.
I use proton, but I think the calendar is a paid option. Tuta seems to include the calendar in their free tier Side note, I used to selfhost my mails, but over time this became a pain and I would not recommend anymore
Tuta seems to be OK but thunderbird integration is not free if I am correct
Proton calendar is free, though you’re limited to the different colours you can use and the number of third-party calendars you can add
Proton has a free tier for email, calendar, Drive, password manager. They may do other things too but those are the 4 that I use.
Proton has no free option for thunderbird integration I am afraid
free
That’s the thing, the Google services are only free on paper, you’re basically paying with your data.
Get yourself a reliable paid email provider. Many of them are 10-15 moneys per year.
Why are you switching from Google? Is it privacy and data collection? Anything you switch to, will charge you, or sell your data. That’s just how it works.
Free isn’t a business model. Money needs to come from somewhere. If it’s not coming from you, it’ll be someone else.
For email provider Infomaniak provides as good of a service as google for free and their paid sub is 2 euros a month for 1TB of cloud storage. They’ve been a great alternative for me. Just need to find a calendar app you like if you want to use their calendar as it doesn’t have a mobile app.
Edit: Also I suggest getting your own domain and using that email instead so switching is easier in the future. You can set up gmail to infomaniak forwarding in Gmail settings (reply if you need help with it)
I got myself kualdir.eu for 9 euros a year and infomaniak handles the rest. Got 2 inboxes and can add aliases if I want to use those. Can always transfer the domain elsewhere if I want to switch and don’t have to worry about changing my email everywhere again.
just started an account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
also found a community group at https://www.reddit.com/r/Infomaniak/ will search if any group here as well
I used ik.me before going to my own email and no issues with any site, its a valid email if they have issues with it honestly just take your business elsewhere cause if they can’t get an email validation figured out what else can’t they do well 😂
If you’re really pinching pennies you can get a 6-digit.xyz account on namecheap for 85c (ex:123456.xyz)
Seconding this. I’m also using Infomaniak here with my own domain, and would definitely recommend it. Their free tier comes with 15GB cloud storage on top of the 20GB mailbox cap, which is better than a lot. I’m more focused on data privacy these days, and haven’t seen anything concerning about their service so far.
Infomaniak offers their own mail app for Android, but the accounts are easy enough to set up over IMAP in whatever client you prefer. I’ve been favoring FairEmail personally. The same developer is behind NetGuard, which you might also find handy if you’re on stock Android. (I’m using GrapheneOS now, which already has app network access control covered.)
just started an account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
also found a community group at https://www.reddit.com/r/Infomaniak/ will search if any group here as well
I would recommend against Proton, it’s just a matter of time before their CEO starts tweeting again.
Calendar+contacts: use Baikal
As for email, I went with a cheap no frills service like migadu
I would recommend against Proton, it’s just a matter of time before their CEO starts tweeting again. I kind of agree on Proton, besides it has no free version works with Thunderbird email/calendar integration
Calendar+contacts: use Baikal that is a self -hosting one if I am correct as I mentioned earlier as follows : Self-hosting isn’t really an option for me"
Any CEO can tweet some garbage, this doesn’t change the code and the developers views/work.
You are not going to get a free email service that respects your privacy, as others have said if it’s free you are the product.
I went with fastmail over encrypted alternatives like proton and tuta because they don’t support using IMAP to connect with your email client of choice (Thunderbird android/windows) and that convenience was more important to me than the encryption. Fastmail also has calendar and contacts which you can also connect to Thunderbird.
Also if you are going through the effort of changing email providers then now would be a good time to look into buying your own domain to use in order to decouple your address from the email provider.
There is no such thing as free lunch.
just started an account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
also found a community group at https://www.reddit.com/r/Infomaniak/ will search if any group here as well
Posteo is 1$/mo and has email, cal, contacts, works with fairemail and dav5x.
There isn’t a thing such as free. You pay with your data. I’m currently trying out the 7-day trial of StartMail. I use Tuta right now, but I see that StartMail offers disposable email beside their normal private email option. I can give you an update if you want after 7 days?
OK why is nobody suggesting Tuta?
I used the free version for about three years, till I needed a custom domain, so now I pay. Either way, I think its worth OP checking out.
Seconded - switched from Outlook 2 months ago to the free tuta plan and very happy so far: Android app works great, no ads and Linux app solid.
I’m an early adopter of the Proton services, I always payed a subscription. The free plan could almost correspond to me, but as I can afford it I prefer to support them and free users 😁 one of the thing I love is Pass (password/key vault) and the ‘Hide my email’ function. The free plan let’s you use every app : https://proton.me/pricing
except that I cannot sync with thunderbird windows I think
True. That requires a paid plan.
Proton or Tuta should suit your needs for email and calendar. Native apps are decent too.
