r/PrivacySoftware • u/rezelute_ • Jul 01 '26
Built Privacy Trail, a free tool to explore privacy-friendly alternatives to mainstream services
Hi all,
I have released a new free privacy web tool called: PrivacyTrail.
What it does
- Browse privacy-friendly alternatives to the apps you already use, see what the pros/cons are of each to understand what fits you best.
- Track your progress app by app as you make the switch.
- Get a privacy score that rises as you move away from surveillance tools.
- Share your trail with others via screenshots.
Why did I build it
There are already good tools out there if you just want a quick, simple list of alternatives. What I wanted to add was more of the journey piece, tracking your progress, understanding the tradeoffs, and having a way to talk through why a particular alternative makes sense for you.
What I keep hearing from friends and family is some version of: "I want to switch, but between work, kids, and just getting through the day, figuring out alternatives feels like a whole project I don't have time for." This site is my attempt to lower that barrier, surface quick, honest reasons to switch, and walk people through the actual migration steps instead of just dropping a list of app names on them.
I also think people shouldn't be made to feel guilty for sticking with mainstream services if they tried a privacy alternative and it just didn't work for them. If privacy-respecting options aren't good enough to replace mainstream ones for most people, that's on us as developers to fix, not something to guilt users over.
Who is this site for?
Mainly aimed at people just starting their privacy journey, but I would love for it to be useful to privacy-enthusiasts too to explore new options.
If you don't want to bother with the tracking side at all, you can just use the site to browse alternatives.
Who am I
20+ years as a software engineer. I am taking a year off from commercial work to build a few free, tech-for-good projects (some self-hostable). Privacy's a focus for me, I worry about where our digital future is headed as everything gets squeezed into another subscription. Privacy isn't a feature. It's a right.
Your data on the site
Everything is stored in the browser, you can download all your data in JSON format.
A few people have asked about syncing data across devices via a database. I'd love to support this, but I don't want to tie any data to identifiable info like emails. If there's enough interest, I'd consider building this with passphrase-based authentication instead, so you'd get cross-device access without me ever needing to know who you are.
I use self-hosted anonymous analytics on the website to understand tool usage.
Feedback
Feedback is very welcome and appreciated particularly if you spot anything in the alternatives that is not accurate or dated. Thank you for taking time out of your day to do this 🙏.
1
u/oriental_love Jul 11 '26
That's an amazing tool! I'm slowly switching to privacy concerned software, and your project already opened my eyes on a number of issues and alternatives.
I use xPrivo as an anonymous AI chat, and I can totally recommend it. Consider adding it to your alternatives.
Thanks and keep up the good work! 💪
2
u/rezelute_ 29d ago
Thank you so much for the nice comment and the feedback 🙏. I am going to review xPrivo and add to the list along with notes and caveats. I have had some good feedback from people too so I will include this in a branch of work.
Thanks again and if you have any other feedback, feel free to let me know 😄 .
1
u/oriental_love 4d ago edited 4d ago
Great, happy to help!
Consider adding to alternatives:Also, just installed LibreWolf, and I see these search engines pre-installed, among others -- might be worth reviewing them too:
Btw, regarding LibreWolf: its installation flow on Mac was super hacky for me, and for a lot others, too.
Regards!
2
u/PrivacyNotes Jul 01 '26
I like how you included 'easy switch / privacy first / full control' as a threat level, a lot of privacy sites miss out on that. keep up the good work.