Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my current status quo of gradually moving away from US-based services and products and replacing them with European alternatives where possible.
This is not about perfection or ideological purity — more about direction, values, and supporting EU-based ecosystems when reasonable alternatives exist.
What I’ve Already Switched
Email / Cloud / VPN
I’m fully aware that Proton is a European company based in Switzerland. My decision to move away from Proton was not about trust or geography, but about risk concentration.
I was using Proton Mail, Proton Drive, and Proton VPN at the same time and decided to follow the principle of:
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
So I deliberately split these services across different providers:
- Proton Mail → TutaMail (Germany)
- Proton Drive → Filen (Germany)
- Proton VPN → Mullvad VPN (Sweden) (when I actually need a VPN)
This is more about resilience and diversification than distrust.
Music Streaming
- Deezer → Qobuz (France)
- While Deezer is often seen as European, I decided to move away after learning more about its ownership and investor structure.
- A significant share is held by non-EU stakeholders partly linked to the US, which didn’t align with what I want to support long-term.
- Qobuz feels more in line with my values, and the switch was a nice improvement in sound quality.
Messaging
- WhatsApp → Threema + Signal
- WhatsApp is completely gone.
- Signal is still US-based, but currently required for activism/political work.
Language Models
- ChatGPT → Le Chat
Charging Devices
- Anker → recable (Germany)
Voice Chat
- Discord → TeamSpeak
OS
- Windows → Linux Mint (Oh boy, do I love Linux Mint <3 Fck Windows)
Office / Creative Software
- Microsoft Office → LibreOffice (rarely needed anyway)
- For most creative work, I use Affinity Publisher, Designer & Photo
Entertainment
- Cancelled several US streaming services (e.g., Disney+)
Navigation
- Apple Maps → TomTom
Payments
- PayPal → Wero
Clothing
- While Adidas is a German brand, a lot of their production happens outside the EU, which I want to move away from over time.
- Ideal goal: Support European production under reasonable conditions.
- Shoes: Switching from Adidas → TREAZY (EU production, plant-based materials)
- Socks: Planning to switch to TREAZY socks (made in Portugal)
- Underwear — Open Question
- Looking for high-quality men’s underwear (trunks) that:
- Is genuinely produced in Europe,
- Feels really comfortable,
- Actually lasts a long time (doesn’t stretch out or fall apart after a few months).
- Do you have recommendations? Something you’ve had for years and still feel comfortable in, made in Europe?
- Looking for high-quality men’s underwear (trunks) that:
Audio / Hardware
- Initially planned: Shure SM7B
- Decided on: Sennheiser MD 421 Mark II (Supporting a European audio manufacturer felt like the better fit for me.)
What I Still Use (Reluctantly / Pragmatically)
- Netflix (No real EU alternative with a comparable catalog — I only subscribe occasionally, 1 month every few months.)
- Gaming: Steam (ecosystem reasons)
- Password Manager: 1Password (Canada — not EU, but best fit for my needs so far)
Big Open Topic: Smartphone
- Currently using an iPhone 15 Pro
- Considering a Fairphone with LineageOS
- Waiting to see developments around Fairphone 6
- Would love to see some experiences here.
Where I’d Really Love Community Input
- Messaging: Thoughts on Element / Matrix / XMPP?
- Streaming: Any serious European Netflix alternatives you like?
- Underwear: European underwear brands/experiences that are truly high-quality & long-lasting?
- General: EU services/products you’d strongly recommend or avoid?
This is very much a work in progress, not a finished state. Happy to learn, adjust, and iterate — feedback welcome! 😊
Thanks!
Edit: Improved structure and readability.
I buy almost all my clothing from loom www.loom.fr. Everything is made either in France or Portugal. They are extremely transparent about what works (or not) in their business model. Apparently they don’t do advertising at all. They deliver in most of Europe, but I couldn’t switch the website language from French.
Damn, they don’t ship to the Baltics :/
I wouldn’t even mind paying 25€ for a T-Shirt if it actually lasts. I’ve had 5€ Slazenger t-shirts from Sportsdirect develop holes after one wear and one wash (at the label that’s sewn into the back of the neck area, 5 shirts ordered and all 5 got the holes real quick)
I’m also the kinda guy who just wears the same shit every day so if I find something that works for me, I’ll order 10 more like it lmao
Recable that OP mentioned look great fun
…braided charging cables coloured and named after birds.
Yeah right?! They even offer different materials (PET, cotton, flax).
For gaming : GOG (PL)
My Pixel phone OS : iodé os (FR)
Amazon : Cdiscount (FR)
Google drive : Ksuite by infomaniak
Quickshare : LocalShare / KDEconnect
Google Map : CoMaps / RooleMap (FR)
Beautiful post and full of inspirations, thank you!
As for underwear, I can suggest an excellent Italian brand, which I have been using for years: Tezenis https://www.tezenis.com
It does not produce everything in Italy, but also in other European countries and something in Africa, but always in factories controlled by the brand. The quality is good!
As for payments, I would like to use Wero, but in Italy it is not yet there. For now I prefer national platforms such as Satispay and Bancomat.
Glad my post is an inspiration for you :)
I will check out that Italian brand, thanks!
Never knew about Recable, I was just looking to buy quality cables.
Thanks for sharing!
Glad my post was helpful to ohters :)
Great post which gives a lot of inspiration!
Since you mentioned the fairphone 6, I thought I’d give you my two cents on that topic:
Switched over to a Fairphone 6 about half a year ago (pretty soon after the release). Wanted to get the Murena - e/OS version but since the stock Android was cheaper and quicker for delivery I went with that.
At home, I flashed e/OS myself on the phone after checking everything worked initially (especially phone services).
And what can I say - about a half year later I’m still super happy with it. About 60% of the apps I use are from F-Droid, the other few over AppLounge (Playstore-Mirror) with an anonymous Google-account (very easy to use, works automatically and is preinstalled on e/OS). I should say, my goal switching from a ‘normal’ Android phone was to degoogle at the same time, which worked well with the fp6. No issues with calls, screen, battery, camera, Apps etc, only thing I needed was a Type-C to Aux adapter (since my last phone still had a 3.5 mm jack).
You need to get used to the volume rocker placement - was taking screenshots in the beginning all the time :D But other than that, I have no regrets. Even dropped it a few times without a case and its sturdy! I can definetely recommend it :) (My parents’ next smartphone will be a FP, already influenced them haha)
I recommend some formatting for your comments. Few will read them, otherwise.
Valid point. I initially just typed it out on my (fair) phone in a quick minute, but added some spaces now.
I’m also in similar journey to switch although still early. I started using Element in small circle and it works great.
For phones, you might want to check Jolla, its EU/Finish Linux phone.
And for the rest, being a open-source dev myself, I can only suggest open-source digital products:
For design work, see https://penpot.app/ its awesome and mature product.
If you need to publish videos, check https://joinpeertube.org/
You can find much more EU-based and produced digital services here: https://european-alternatives.eu/
Good luck!I’m also in similar journey to switch although still early. I started using Element in small circle and it works great.
For phones, you might want to check Jolla, its EU/Finish Linux phone.
And for the rest, being a open-source dev myself, I can only suggest open-source digital products:
For design work, see https://penpot.app/ its awesome and mature product.
If you need to publish videos, check https://joinpeertube.org/
You can find much more EU-based and produced digital services here: https://european-alternatives.eu/
Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it.
Jolla has actually been on my radar for a few days now. I came across it in another thread recently and I do think it is a very interesting concept, especially Sailfish OS. That said, I am currently leaning more towards Fairphone, mainly because of the repairability and the long-term hardware support. That aspect matters a lot to me.
What I might do, though, is take a closer look at Sailfish OS and see whether it could realistically be combined with a Fairphone instead of LineageOS. That really comes down to compatibility and everyday usability, so I will need to evaluate that carefully before deciding.
Penpot looks great. I had a quick look and really liked what I saw. I have saved it for later and will very likely use it for future web projects, so thanks for pointing that out.
european-alternatives.eu is also known to me. I have checked it a couple of times already, but I think I need to spend more time going through it more systematically, especially for areas I have not actively switched yet.
Thanks again for the input!
Do you use Affinity on Linux Mint?
No, haven’t tried that yet. Still running on my Windows boot.
Sadly I just found out that Qobuz is using Amazon Web Services (AWS). So using Qobuz means giving money to Amazon… What a shame!
Unfortunately that’s (currently) most of the internet. Hopefully that changes over time.
recable only supports USB 2.0. Of course it doesn’t matter for charging, but for data transfer it does.
Well that wasn’t a criteria for me yet… but thanks for pointing that out. Gotta keep that in mind for recommendations in the future.
No, definitely it is not a requirement for a charging cable. But I usually carry with me:
- 1 USB-A - microUSB
- 1 USB-A - USB-C
- 1 USB-C - USB-C
And it is important that the double USB-C supports USB 4.0 / Thunderbolt 4
Clothing: I recommend looking on avocadostore. Erlich Textil is very high quality.
Calida makes good underwear and really nice sleepwear. They are from Switzerland and claim to produce in Eastern Europe.
I’ve been using Matrix/Element for about a year now. I think it’s been great and have no plans on using anything else, I’ve even started donating to the matrix foundation. I self-host a server and using bridge bots I’ve aggregated all my chat services into Matrix, so I talk to my friends on signal using the Element app.
A few notes:
- Nobody I’ve ever met has heard of matrix. I’ve had to very manually convince close friends and family to get the app and help them sign up.
- The restore process is complex as recovery keys are stored on device and most people don’t understand the concept of downloading and saving them in a secure place. So if they lose their phone, chances are they can’t recover their messages, only their account. (as long as they sign in with two devices and don’t forget their password, it’s not an issue)
- Also regarding the restore process. There are two apps, Element and Element X, with X being the newer and more modern one. It’s still WIP though and doesn’t have most recovery functionality.
- Calls and video calls work differently in the apps, so unless you all have the newer app or all have the older app, you can’t make calls to each other.
Looks good to me! Seems that the biggest steps have been made!
