A suite of self-hosted tools that replace surveillance-heavy communication and productivity platforms, email, chat, calendars, documents, with private, encrypted alternatives you fully control.
Why Use It
- End-to-end privacy: No third party scans your messages, emails, or files.
- Data sovereignty: Your communications stay on your server, not in a foreign data center.
- Resilience: Avoid service outages, censorship, or account bans from centralized providers.
Key Tools
| Purpose | Application | Actions | License | Self-Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secure Chat | Matrix + Element | Decentralized, E2E-encrypted chat with voice/video. The sovereign alternative to Slack or WhatsApp. | Apache-2.0 | Yes |
| Email Server | Mailcow | Full email stack: webmail, IMAP/SMTP, spam filtering. Own your digital identity. | GPL-3.0 | Yes |
| Email Server | Mail-in-a-Box | Simple, opinionated email server with DNS setup included. | GPL-3.0 | Yes |
| Collaboration | Nextcloud | Secure file sync, office docs, calendar, contacts. Replaces Dropbox + Google Workspace. | AGPLv3 | Yes |
| Collaboration | Seafile | High-performance file sync with block-level updates. Better for large files. | GPLv2 | Yes |
| Private Editing | CryptPad | Real-time collaborative editing with zero-knowledge encryption. No accounts needed. | AGPLv3 | Yes |
| Single Sign-On | Authentik | Open-source identity provider for SSO across all your apps. | MIT | Yes |
| Single Sign-On | Zitadel | Cloud-native IAM with fine-grained access control. | Apache-2.0 | Yes |
| Password Vault | Vaultwarden | A lightweight Bitwarden-compatible server. Secure your secrets with end-to-end encryption. | GPLv3 | Yes |
Critical Practices
- Always enable HTTPS (Tailscale Funnel or Let’s Encrypt).
- Isolate sensitive services (e.g., email) from public exposure.
- Back up encryption keys and user data regularly—your server is the only copy.
Best For
Remote teams, journalists, activists, families, and privacy-conscious individuals who refuse to trade personal data for “free” tools.
Trusted Resources
The external sites are not affiliated with us. We include them because they provide reliable, transparent, and community-driven information that aligns with our commitment to honest, open-source tooling.