European alternatives

At PixelUnion, we notice that the wind is turning. We are increasingly being asked: “What are truly good European alternatives to the American services I use every day?”. It is a question that arises from a growing awareness of privacy, digital sovereignty, and the desire to support our own economy. For years, we have become accustomed to the dominance of American “Big Tech,” but dependence on these platforms brings risks, especially in times of geopolitical tension.

In this blog, we dive deep into the world of “Made in Europe” and show that for almost every service, a high-quality local alternative exists. Although we mention a number of strong examples here, there are likely many more good European alternatives that we haven’t mentioned now.

Why is the choice for Europe so important?

It’s about more than just another app on your phone. Choosing European technology has a direct impact on several levels:

1. Privacy and the GDPR: European companies are legally required to comply with the strictest privacy laws in the world. This means your data is not simply analyzed for advertising purposes or shared with foreign governments.
2. Digital Sovereignty: By building and using our own infrastructure, Europe becomes less vulnerable to political or military decisions from outside that could restrict access to technology.
3. Economic support: When you choose a European company, tax revenues stay in your own region, and you directly help create local jobs.
4. Sustainability: Europe is a leader in green hosting. Many European providers use 100% renewable energy for their data centers.

European search engines

Google has a market share of around 90% in Europe, but this doesn’t mean there are no alternatives. European search engines focus on privacy and independence:

• Qwant (France): This search engine does not collect personal data and does not place tracking cookies. The ads you see are purely based on your search term, not your surfing behavior.
• Ecosia (Germany): For those who value sustainability, Ecosia is the standard. They use their profits to plant trees and produce more renewable energy than their searches consume.
• Startpage (Netherlands): They offer Google results but without the tracking. So you benefit from the power of the largest index with privacy from Dutch soil.
• Mojeek (United Kingdom): One of the few search engines with its own index of more than 9 billion pages, making them truly independent of American data.

Secure Communication and Social Media

Large American email providers and social networks often analyze metadata for advertising models. European providers take a different approach:

• Proton Mail (Switzerland) & Tuta Mail (Germany): Both services are designed with privacy as standard. They use advanced encryption so that even the provider cannot read your messages.
• Mastodon (Germany): As an alternative to centralized platforms like X (Twitter) and Facebook, Mastodon is a decentralized network. There is no algorithm that determines what you see and no single company in charge. It is a beautiful example of how the ‘Fediverse’ works based on open protocols. (follow us on Mastodon)
• StartMail (Netherlands): An excellent alternative that focuses on minimal data collection and blocking tracking pixels.
• Wire (Switzerland) & Element (Matrix): For chatting, these are strong counterparts to WhatsApp. Element is even used by the EU and defense organizations due to its high security and open-source nature.

Payment and Navigation

Europe is also building its own systems in the fields of finance and location tracking:

• Wero: This new European mobile payment system was launched to increase independence from American card networks such as Visa and Mastercard. It enables direct bank-to-bank payments and will eventually replace services like iDEAL.
• Galileo: This is the EU’s own satellite navigation system. It is more accurate than the American GPS and ensures that Europe can decide for itself on the availability of location services.
• OsmAnd & Magic Earth (Netherlands): These navigation apps use OpenStreetMap and offer detailed maps with a strong focus on privacy and offline use.

Your photos safe at PixelUnion

One of the most personal forms of data are your photos and videos. Many people rely blindly on large cloud platforms, but at PixelUnion, we offer a powerful European alternative.

We believe your memories don’t belong on American tech platforms. That’s why all photos at PixelUnion are stored on European servers running on 100% renewable energy. With our apps, you can directly create backups, enjoy facial recognition, and search your collection while maintaining full control over your privacy.

Where can you find more alternatives?

The landscape of European tech is growing faster than we can describe in one blog. Fortunately, there are excellent platforms to help you in your search:

• goeuropean.org: An active community of more than 200,000 members passionate about promoting European brands.
• europick.eu: A clear database where you can find European alternatives for digital services in one handy list.
• euroalternative.eu: A comprehensive guide collecting the best European software and services to decolonize your digital life from foreign influences.

Do you also want to make the switch for physical products? Then use the app BrandSnap. With this app, you can scan any product to see exactly where it comes from. Is a brand not European? Then the app immediately suggests the best European alternatives based on input from the community.

If there is a need for more inspiration, let us know! Given enough interest, we will soon create a special blog post with European alternatives for physical products, from clothing to electronics. Together we make Europe digitally stronger.