[HacktionLab] Alternatives to big tech for personal use?

Thu Jan 1 10:09:50 UTC 2026

Hey all,

I'm very interested in this, not least because I've got a chunk of 
server upgrade work for XtreamLab to do this first quarter of 2026, and 
part of my desires is to get some office document editing replacement as 
something we can provide to our users as a service.  I've tried to get 
OnlyOffice integrated with OwnCloud a couple of times and gave up, but 
I'm feeling pretty confident that this time I could do something.  
Perhaps NextCloud?

So, what could I use folks?

Also, if anyone on the list wants email or hosting stuff, then do let me 
know - https://xtreamlab.net - we're running the venerable RoundCube for 
webmail as well as the newer SnappyMail (previously RainLoop).

And also, I guess, if anyone's potentially up for working to build these 
services, then let's collaborate!

Cheers,

Mike.

On 31/12/2025 12:30, Garcon du Monde wrote:
> i already sent this recently so not sure if it was missed:
>
>   * https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/
>
> i think there is everything you might want here, but there's also a
> listing of alternatives for some additional services:
>
>   * https://alt.framasoft.org/en/
>
> solidarity,
>
> 	--gdm
> 	
> On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 02:47:57PM +0000, brentc wrote:
>> Thanks all!
>>
>> Yes, riseup is good and generally well regarded. It doesn't do full cloud
>> drive and online office suite though afaik.
>>
>> I also want non-US for efficiency/sustainability (as well as more political
>> reasons)- makes technical sense to use a UK/EU location if I'm based in that
>> area.
>>
>> Proton mail does seem ok, but I get the impression their politics are more
>> libertarian than liberal? E.g. CEO making statements apparently a bit
>> republican supporting. I'd be curious as to others' thoughts here? Tricky
>> area. I would also need to figure out how to calm down their adverts for
>> themselves on their UI.
>>
>> Mailbox.org might be worth a spin.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> On 26/12/2025 17:58, Patrice Riemens wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Being on puscii, which is a very small, hackers run ISP, I do not use riseup, but many friends are - to their full satisfaction. It's a bit the 'Isp of records' ;-) in some demographies. That is is US- based with all the consequences does not seem to be a drawback. But if you are paranoid about anything US related (aren't we all? ;-) I always advise Sswitzerland-based protonmail - in conjunction with an own mailer, type Thunderbird (here's a piece of 'do as I say, not as I do advice  ;-) Protonmail free has a rather limited storage.
>>>
>>> Cheers to all & best wishes for a rather anxiogenous 2026!
>>> p+2D!
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Chris Clemson" <Chris.Clemson at GoGreenIT.net>
>>> To: hacktionlab at lists.aktivix.org
>>> Sent: Friday, 26 December, 2025 15:23:55
>>> Subject: Re: [HacktionLab] Alternatives to big tech for personal use?
>>>
>>> Hi!
>>>
>>> Have you tried https://riseup.net/?
>>>
>>> I've not used it, but it has been around for a while.
>>>
>>> There's a list of disroot-like services here, which might help:
>>> https://alternativeto.net/software/disroot/
>>>
>>> Let us know if you try any of them.
>>>
>>> On 24/12/2025 11:03, brentc wrote:
>>>> Hello
>>>>
>>>> I'd love to find something like Google suite that isn't Google. I use
>>>> alternatives for more activist stuff but keep coming back to Google
>>>> for general use. Any (constructive) thoughts or pointers?
>>>>
>>>> I guess looking for something in between weak activist offerings and
>>>> big tech. If something like a non-profit non-US Mozilla offered an
>>>> awesome product, that would be lovely, but I don't see it.
>>>>
>>>> Specifically, for me, I need the typical 'personal productivity'
>>>> services- email, todo lists, calendars, drive/docs/sheets with decent
>>>> editing and features, and sharing (with people who don't have an
>>>> account). I'd rather not use multiple services, want uptime and
>>>> backups handled, and if it's green hosted and a non-profit oriented,
>>>> bonus. It should probably be UK/EU region. I don't want to host my own
>>>> stuff. I'll pay for the right thing. Honestly, for personal use, I
>>>> probably want some balance of encryption/security with features,
>>>> noting I'll have to trust the provider anyway.
>>>>
>>>> I've tried disroot. It's quite good to be fair, but still limited
>>>> feature-wise, and more worryingly, couldn't get issues sorted with
>>>> support (which is a common thing with smaller outfits in my
>>>> experience, that I don't want to deal with). I don't like protonmail.
>>>> There's mailbox.org but tradeoffs are they're a company albeit seem
>>>> alright, and their website gives me the creeps.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe I ask for the currently impossible.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Brent
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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-- 
Mike Harris
+44 07811 781 893
https://mbharris.co.uk - https://hacktionlab.org - https://xtreamlab.net