~/tools
Tools
last updated 2026-06-17 · 23 categories · what changed
Every category here follows the same format: what actually matters when choosing, a handful of researched picks with honest trade-offs, and a comparison table. No rankings: verdict tags tell you who each tool is for, not which one "wins".
categories
Browsers & Search
The single biggest window into your life. Picks that block tracking without breaking the web.
networkDNS & Network
Encrypted resolvers that filter ads and malware before they ever reach a device.
networkVPNs
What a VPN actually does, when you need one, and three providers with audited no-logs claims.
credentialsPassword Managers
The highest-impact change on this site. One strong password per account, none memorized.
credentials2FA & Hardware Keys
Hardware keys and TOTP apps that make stolen passwords useless to whoever stole them.
communicationMessengers
End-to-end encryption by default, and what metadata each app still leaks.
communicationEmail Providers
Who stores your mail, under which laws, and how much of it they can read.
communicationSocial Media
Federated alternatives to ad-driven feeds: same shape, no single company owning the graph.
communicationCommunities
Discord alternatives for servers and voice without one company holding every conversation.
credentialsAlias Services
A unique forwarding address per signup: a leak becomes traceable and revocable.
credentialsPersonal Data Removers
Automated opt-outs from the data brokers reselling your name, address, and relatives.
dataCloud Storage & Sync
Keep your files in sync without handing a copy of everything to a cloud provider.
dataNotes
Your unfiltered thinking, encrypted or local, not synced in plaintext to an analytics pipeline.
dataFile Sharing
One-off transfers and ephemeral pastes: send a single thing once, then it's gone.
dataOffice Suites
Local-first and end-to-end encrypted alternatives to Google Docs and Microsoft 365.
dataEncryption
Full-disk and container encryption: a lost device becomes a hardware loss, not a breach.
platformMobile OS
The phone in your pocket reports home constantly. Android builds that don't.
platformDesktop OS
Linux distributions from "it just works" to amnesic, and which one fits your threat model.
moneyFinancial Services
Virtual cards and identity compartmentalization that limit what merchants can link back to you.
moneyCellular Services
From privacy-first MVNOs to anonymous eSIMs: your carrier doesn't have to know who you are.
otherAI Tools
Chat assistants that don't train on your conversations, plus running models entirely locally.
otherMaps
Navigation without a permanent log of everywhere you've ever been.
otherResources
External sites worth bookmarking: breach checkers, ToS reviewers, and free utility collections.
how these pages work
Verdict tags, not rankings. "The default pick" means it's the right answer for most people; "the anonymity pick" means it's the right answer for a specific threat model. A tool further down a page isn't worse, it's for someone else.
Every entry lists what to mind, not just what's good. If a page here reads like marketing, that's a bug: report it.
Dates matter. Each page shows when it was last reviewed, and the changelog explains every change of heart.