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Getting off US tech: a guide
(disconnect.blog)
Last edited on 18 May, 2026
All very good suggestions indeed. But there are more. Most of them are North(west) European, but this is because most of those countries got their own systems set up already, and got relatively robust privacy laws. Not sure about other ones, but please do inform!
Weather
Windy ๐จ๐ฟ - expansive, worldwide. Pretty.
Yr ๐ณ๐ด - Norwegian-focused but has good coverage for Europe.
Meteonet ๐ซ๐ท - old interface, but no-nonsense.
Whatever your country has, also works.
Payment processors
National/regional ones exist, they're more independent and should be preferred.
But also, Wero ๐ช๐บ is there. Check if your bank already has it. Though I think it must address tech reliance concerns.
Some forms of crypto also are independent and even peer-to-peer, but beware of how much electricity they use.
GNU Taler may also be considered, it's independent and decentralised!
Banks
There are two categories here: traditional and cooperative/credit unions. If you wish to stick with a 'traditional' bank, then these following would be best:
ASN Bank ๐ณ๐ฑ - government-safeguarded. Came best out of the Dutch Ethical Banking Guide (Dutch).
Triodos ๐ณ๐ฑ - independent (second-best in that guide), Europe-wide.
Ekobanken ๐ธ๐ช - ecological.
Or check Febea and GABV, those two have lists of European ethical&pro-labour banks (the latter also has lists for other areas).
(Local) cooperatives and credit unions are great, if you've the choice. Then you can decide along where the money goes, and hold the bank more responsible. They don't have stocks, instead having different financing methods.
I checked them through Bank for Good EU - I put some selections in there already, selecting for cooperatives + Febea and GABV criteria, alongside with functions for everyday needs such as savings, mortgages, business, retail, online banking, and a current. According to those criteria, the following two banks would be good:
Banca Etica ๐ฎ๐น - Italian cooperative and ethical bank. Focuses on transparency, supported the Sumud Flotilla(!).
Merkur Andelskasse ๐ฉ๐ฐ - Danish cooperative and ethical bank. I personally would support this as the best bank of all the above listed, since you get both a vote AND an ethical bank. Barring thrift stores and time banks, this is as close you can get to ethical buying while benefitting you.
Phones
Jolla ๐ซ๐ฎ - has Sailfish OS, a Linux distribution, independent from Android.
FairPhone ๐ณ๐ฑ - is a very good option (best balance between ethics, repairability, and privacy).
Murena ๐ซ๐ท - has the iPhone look and feel. Pretty easy to use.
Nothing ๐ฌ๐ง - a bit riskier in my opinion, since they share demographic and fiscal data, and share data outside of the EU/EEZ+UK. However, it allows bootloader unlocking.
Shiftphone ๐ฉ๐ช - has 3rd party support.
None of these support GrapheneOS, but they really ought to. GrapheneOS may soon be available on Motorola (Chinese-owned, US-based), though. Currently, if you want one, get a used Pixel, 'clean' thoroughly, and then put GrapheneOS on it. Alternatively, there's Purism, but that's also US-based.
Tablets
Archos ๐ซ๐ท
Juno Tab ๐ฌ๐ง (runs Linux)
Murena ๐ซ๐ท
Nokia ๐ซ๐ฎ (also has phones, TVs and laptops)
reMarkable ๐ณ๐ด
The Purism one is good too and has some killswitches, though it's US-based (California, at least, which has a sort of GDPR-like law).
Laptops
Do you want to game -> Tuxedo ๐ฉ๐ช
It just works & supports FOSS devs -> Slimbook ๐ช๐ธ
Privacy-focused Macbook-like? -> StarLab ๐ฌ๐ง
More customisable -> Novacustom ๐ณ๐ฑ
Customisation and colour -> Framework ๐ณ๐ฑ
Nokia supposedly sells some too, but I couldn't find a place to buy them.
You can also get an Asus or Acer ๐น๐ผ (๐ผ๐ธ), or if you don't mind Chinese products, Lenovo.
Clevo is also a good one, it's Taiwanese.
Regarding hardware, if you've a laptop with an Intel chip, disable the Intel Management Engine, it's likely backdoor spyware. VIA Technologies ๐น๐ผ (๐ผ๐ธ) is the only non-American one that makes graphic cards supporting x86, like Intel and AMD.
What OS to pick (an OS is a software like Windows or Macintosh)
Anything Linux, really. Some of them are headed by the Red Hat project, which is good, but it's American, so keep that in mind. Nevertheless, depending on your tasks:
New to Linux -> Linux Mint (it just works)
Privacy -> openSUSE
Security -> QubesOS (multiple computers on one)
For servers, stable updates -> Debian
I use -> Arch Linux (btw)
Resembles Macbook -> elementaryOS
With most Linux distributions you can make them look like Windows or Mac either way, but I'd like to throw that in. KDE Plasma is what I'd recommend for customisation, GNOME for minimalism.
Smartwatch
PineTime ๐ช๐บ - FOSS, more privacy friendly than the big players.
WatchMark ๐ฌ๐ง๐ฉ๐ช - has the Apple Watch look, manufactured in Europe.
Montblanc ๐ฉ๐ช - Manufactured in Germany.
Polar Electro ๐ซ๐ฎ - Owned by Finns, made in China and Malaysia. For outdoors.
_MyKronoz_๐จ๐ญ- Swiss, pretty affordable.
And for printers;
Epson ๐ฏ๐ต EcoTank especially, all-around.
Canon ๐ฏ๐ต Pixelma.
Novaware ๐ณ๐ฑ - they got a good thermal printer.
Nuvance ๐ณ๐ฑ also thermal.