My Top 30 Sovereignty Apps
pavol.luptak@paralelnipolis.cz
About me
- Crypto-anarchist and voluntaryist focused on technology and society hacking.
- Global citizen and perpetual traveller (with the residency in Panama and Paraguay)
- Involved in IT security more 20 years (founder of IT security companies nethemba.com and hacktrophy.com)
- Digital privacy activist and Internet freedom fighter
- Co-founder of hackerspace Progressbar, Paralelní Polis and Parallel Polis
- The organiser of the best HCPP conference in the world :-)
Firstly, why Android I?
Why yes:
- It is open-source - easily and completely auditable what is crucial for security (iOS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile are proprietary closed-source platforms) - you know there isn't anything hidden that might violate your privacy (e.g. Carrier IQ)
- There is a "privacy-aware" Android distribution - Lineage OS / Replicant that has removed any Google spying functionality & includes incognito mode, torification etc.
- It supports all advanced Linux security features (e.g. SELinux, full disk encryption, etc.)
Why not:
- iOS marketplace is more conservative, it may contain less malware/trojans than Android app repositaries
Why Android II?
Privacy-aware Android distributions
- Lineage OS for microG https://lineage.microg.org/#
- mainly old smartphones are supported
- 100% Free Software distribution https://replicant.us/
- mainly old smartphones are supported
- An opensource version of Google Play services https://microg.org/
- Opensource package manager with a lot of opensource applications https://f-droid.org/
- Hardened Android https://copperhead.co/android/ (Google Pixel and Pixel 2 are only supported) - replaced by https://grapheneos.org/ with Android 11 support now!
Password managers:
Dashlane (1)
- Of course, the best opensource is KeePass
- Dashlane is a commercial application, but with
- great user experience
- supporting all operating systems and browsers
- password sharing
- password analysis
- Dark Web Monitoring and VPN
Two-factor authenticators
Authy (2)
- Commercial reliable app
FreeOTP Authenticator (3)
- Open-source available at F-Droid
Privacy-aware browsers
Brave (4)
- Mobile version doesn't support Tor private window
- It blocks effectively most advertisements
- BAT tokens and related ads can be disabled
Fennec F-Droid (5)
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/
- The latest Firefox with removed all proprietary bits found in official Mozilla's builds
Decentralized mesh network apps
Bridgefy (6)
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Communicate & work using decentralized mesh networks (wifi & Bluetooth) instead of the Internet, during large events, natural disasters, schools, and much more
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Used during demonstrations by Hong Kong / Belarus protesters
Privacy-aware search engines
DuckDuckGo (7)
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Unlike Google, the DuckDuckGo never store your personal information or display ads. No tracking at all
-
It is not so powerful like Google, but highly usable in these days
Opensource privacy-aware Facebook and Twitter front-ends
Face Slim (8)
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.indywidualni.fblite/
- FaceSlim is free of spyware, unlike what is built into the official Facebook and Facebook Messenger applications
Twidere (9)
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mariotaku.twidere/
- Twitter/Mastodon/StatusNet/Fanfou app free of ads
Open-source Android application repository
F-Droid (10)
- F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform.
- Thanks to F-Droid you can completely stay out of Google services (including Google Play) if you use Lineage OS or Graphene OS
Anonymous mobile number service provider
Hushed (11)
- Using BTC you can buy an anonymous mobile number in many countries (including the US/UK/Canada/Puerto Rico)
- Some countries (e.g. the Czech Republic or Slovakia) require a proof-of-address verification
- With DualSpace you can create a separate instance of your favourite messenger app associated with your anonymous Hushed number and route all traffic through Tor (thanks to Orbot)
Anonymization networks
I2P(12)
Orbot (13)
https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/
- Both apps allow you to connect to Tor/I2P anonymization network (including Onion/I2P addresses)
- You can explicitly choose apps you want to torify (e.g. DualSpace cloned apps - secure messengers associated with an anonymous number)
Privacy-aware crypto wallets
Incognito Wallet(14)
https://we.incognito.org/t/wallet/336
- Multi-currency, multi-purpose privacy wallet. Send and receive assets anonymously.
- Buy and sell confidentially without KYC. Enable privacy for all your cryptocurrencies and all your crypto activities.
Phoenix (15)
-
Phoenix runs natively on Lightning, non-custodial, easy to use
Privacy-aware crypto wallets II
Monerujo(16)
- Monero wallet with the power of the XMR.to service
- Monerujo can be used to make both XMR / BTC payments - just scan the given QR code or paste the BTC address into the send field, and the magic happens seamlessly in the background.
Samourai(17)
- modern bitcoin wallet hand forged to keep your transactions private your identity masked and your funds secured
- thwart blockchain based surveillance and censorship
Secure Video Calls
Jitsi Meet(18)
- Probably the best open-source video conference system
- You can host it on your own server and therefore make secure video calls without any 3rd parties!
- Using Jibri recording or streaming services, you can record all your video calls (and/or store them in Dropbox)
SSH and VPN secure access services
JuiceSSH (19)
- The top free SSH client for Android (for those who still use a command line :-)
- Can be used for SSH tunnels, SOCKS procies
ProtonVPN (20)
- A lot of supported countries, Secure Cores (two nodes), Tor exit nodes, very fast, can be bought anonymously by crypto
Privacy enhancers
Jumbo (21)
- Increase the security of your Google, Facebook, and other internet and social media account, monitor the dark web for data breaches, reduce the number of unwanted robocalls
- Reduce your digital footprint (Delete old Tweets from Twitter, remove old Facebook posts, delete voice recordings from Alexa , Remove old photos from Instagram)
- Limit tracking- turn off Facebook’s facial recognition feature, limit Google’s use of your search history, protect your data from being used by Google and Facebook for ads and advertisers
- Prevent data leaks, restrict what info your Facebook profile shows to the public, restrict who can tag you on Facebook, etc.
Open-source offline maps
MAPS.ME / Osmand+ (22)
- Both apps use OpenStreetMaps maps and do not track you
- MAPS.ME has a better usability, OsmAnd+ is more geek
- There are a lot of modules to both apps
Host-based firewalls
NetGuard (23)
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NetGuard provides simple and advanced ways to block access to the internet - no root required.
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Applications and addresses can individually be allowed or denied access to your Wi-Fi and/or mobile connection.
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Blocking access to the internet can help
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reduce your data usage
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save your battery
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increase your privacy
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Ad-free YouTube app
NewPipe (24)
- Original YouTube experience on your smartphone without annoying ads and questionable permissions
- Unlike the official YouTube app, NewPipe can run on the background (and playing music)
- It is definitely a reason why to install F-Droid open-source repository
Google services open-source alternatives
Nextcloud (25)
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The self-hosted productivity platform that keeps you in control
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Share and collaborate on documents, send and receive an e-mail, manage your calendar and have video chats without data leaks
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As a fully on-premises solution, Nextcloud Hub provides the benefits of online collaboration without compliance and security risks.
Secure mail clients
r2mail2 (26)
- The most robust secure e-mail client with full PGP and S/MIME support (unlike K9-Mail), fully encrypted storage
ProtonMail (27)
- The secure webmail service hosted in Switzerland
- Can be paid by Bitcoins
- Natively support of PGP (all emails inside of ProtonMail are PGP end-to-end encrypted, non-PGP non-ProtonMail users can still use passphrases to decrypt their emails)
Secure messengers
Signal (28)
Threema (29)
Status (30)
- All the above projects are modern, open-source, secure messengers with end-to-end encryption
- Signal requires a phone number, Status is decentralized
Thanks for your attention!
