PART 26 · THE ARSENAL
Open-source directory
66 free-software tools in 14 categories. Every entry is open source: verifiable code, no goodwill required.
Messaging
SignalAGPL-3.0
Replaces WhatsApp. E2EE by default, non-profit foundation.
Full guide card →SimpleX ChatAGPL-3.0
No identifier at all: even servers can’t know who talks to whom.
Full guide card →SessionGPL-3.0
No phone number, onion routing.
Full guide card →Element · MatrixAGPL-3.0
Replaces Discord/Slack. Federated, self-hostable.
BriarGPL-3.0
P2P with no internet (Bluetooth/Tor): protests, blackouts.
Full guide card →MollyGPL-3.0
Hardened Signal for Android (fully FOSS variant).
Full guide card →ThreemaAGPL-3.0
Paid Swiss messenger, no phone number or e-mail (random ID).
Full guide card →OlvidAGPL-3.0
French messenger with no phone number, certified by ANSSI (CSPN).
Full guide card →MeshtasticGPL-3.0
Off-grid LoRa radio messaging on small dedicated devices.
Full guide card →Delta ChatGPL-3.0
End-to-end encrypted chat over the e-mail network (chatmail relays): no phone number needed.
Full guide card →
ThunderbirdMPL-2.0
The reference free mail client, OpenPGP built in.
Proton Mail (apps)GPL-3.0
Open-source apps of the Swiss encrypted service.
Tuta (apps)GPL-3.0
Free apps, post-quantum encryption, EU jurisdiction.
Full guide card →
Browsing & search
FirefoxMPL-2.0
Replaces Chrome. The independent engine.
Full guide card →Tor BrowserMPL-2.0
Network anonymity, anti-fingerprinting.
Full guide card →Mullvad BrowserMPL-2.0
The Tor Project’s browser, without the Tor network.
Full guide card →BraveMPL-2.0
Chromium that blocks ads and trackers by default.
Full guide card →uBlock OriginGPL-3.0
THE ad and tracker blocker.
Full guide card →SearXNGAGPL-3.0
Self-hostable metasearch engine.
VPN & network
WireGuardGPL-2.0
The modern VPN protocol everyone builds on.
Mullvad VPN (app)GPL-3.0
Client of the no-account VPN (cash/Monero accepted).
Proton VPN (apps)GPL-3.0
Free clients, honest free tier.
TorBSD-3-Clause
The network that separates who you are from what you do.
Full guide card →TailscaleBSD-3-Clause
Private WireGuard network between your devices.
Full guide card →HeadscaleBSD-3-Clause
The Tailscale coordination server, on your hardware.
NymVPNGPL-3.0
VPN with a 5-hop mixnet mode that blurs traffic metadata.
Full guide card →
DNS
Pi-holeEUPL-1.2
Blocks ads and trackers for the whole network.
AdGuard HomeGPL-3.0
Pi-hole alternative with a modern UI.
Technitium DNS ServerGPL-3.0
Self-hosted DNS server with ad blocking and encrypted DNS.
UnboundBSD-3-Clause
Your own recursive resolver: no third-party DNS provider. Pairs with Pi-hole.
Passwords & 2FA
BitwardenGPL-3.0
Cross-platform password manager.
Full guide card →VaultwardenAGPL-3.0
Lightweight self-hosted Bitwarden server.
KeePassXCGPL-2.0/3.0
100% local vault, zero cloud.
Full guide card →AegisGPL-3.0
2FA codes (TOTP) in a local encrypted vault (Android).
Full guide card →Ente AuthAGPL-3.0
2FA with end-to-end encrypted sync.
Storage, photos & backups
NextcloudAGPL-3.0
Replaces the whole Google suite, at home.
Full guide card →CryptomatorGPL-3.0
Encrypts your files BEFORE any cloud.
Full guide card →VeraCryptApache-2.0
Local encryption of disks, partitions and containers.
Full guide card →SyncthingMPL-2.0
Device-to-device sync, no server.
resticBSD-2-Clause
Encrypted, deduplicated, automatic backups.
ImmichAGPL-3.0
Self-hosted Google Photos (faces, search).
Ente PhotosAGPL-3.0
E2EE photos, on-device recognition.
Everyday tools
LibreOfficeMPL-2.0
The free office suite.
OnlyOfficeAGPL-3.0
Self-hostable collaborative office.
JoplinAGPL-3.0
Markdown notes, optional encryption and sync.
Standard NotesAGPL-3.0
Notes encrypted by default.
CryptPadAGPL-3.0
Collaborative Google Docs, fully encrypted.
Organic MapsApache-2.0
Offline maps with zero tracking (OpenStreetMap).
OsmAndGPL-3.0
Power-user maps (hiking, contour lines).
Jitsi MeetApache-2.0
Video calls with no account, self-hostable.
Social networks
MastodonAGPL-3.0
Replaces X/Twitter. Federated, no imposed algorithm.
Full guide card →PixelfedAGPL-3.0
The fediverse’s Instagram.
PeerTubeAGPL-3.0
Federated YouTube.
LemmyAGPL-3.0
Federated Reddit.
Damus (Nostr)GPL-3.0
Nostr client: your identity is a key pair.
Local & agentic AI
OllamaMIT
Run LLMs locally, one command.
llama.cppMIT
The local inference engine that made it all possible.
JanAGPL-3.0
100% local ChatGPT-like, simple UI.
GPT4AllMIT
Privacy-minded local LLMs, CPU-friendly.
PocketPal AIMIT
Run LLMs offline on your phone (iOS/Android), no account.
Full guide card →
Operating systems
GrapheneOSMIT
De-Googled, hardened Android (Pixel).
Full guide card →TailsGPL-3.0
Amnesic USB OS, everything through Tor.
Full guide card →Qubes OSGPL-2.0
Compartmentalisation via sealed VMs.
F-DroidGPL-3.0
The 100% free app store.
postmarketOSGPL-3.0
Linux on abandoned phones.
Self-hosting
YunoHostAGPL-3.0
Turnkey personal server (email included).
Full guide card →Sovereign server, Tor by default.
Synapse (Matrix)AGPL-3.0
Your federated chat server.
Full guide card →Forgejo · CodebergGPL-3.0
Self-hostable free Git forge; Codeberg is its non-profit instance.
RadicleApache-2.0
Peer-to-peer code forge, no central server.
JellyfinGPL-2.0
Your own media server for films, series and music you own.
Finance
Bitcoin CoreMIT
Money you hold yourself.
MoneroBSD-3-Clause
Private transactions by default.
Full guide card →Bitcoin wallet with built-in CoinJoin, over Tor.
Full guide card →
OPSEC & whistleblowing
SecureDropAGPL-3.0
Anonymous document drop for newsrooms.
Rayhunter (EFF)GPL-3.0
IMSI-catcher detector.
mat2LGPL-3.0
Strips metadata before publishing.
ExifToolArtistic/GPL
Read and erase EXIF metadata.
Send a file end-to-end encrypted with a short one-time code (command line).