The internet is full of walled gardens that trap you into giving your hard-earned money to large corporations. Here are some alternatives to get you out of this ecosystem. If you have any additional suggestions, comment them below and I will continue to update the list!
Media
Books:
The best way to get books without being dependent on a corporation, is by visiting your local library. You can use https://libbyapp.com as an alternative to access your local library catalog virtually.
If you want to own your books, shop at a local, independent bookstore or use https://bookshop.org/ to buy books from a company that supports local bookstores.
Audiobooks:
Your local library likely also has an audiobook selection as well. These can also be found virtually through apps like https://libbyapp.com
I prefer to avoid the inconvenience of waiting for the library to have a book I want, so I buy my audiobooks through http://libro.fm/ to get DRM free audiobooks, without a subscription, that I now own for life. You can even download the files for these audio books and store them locally.
Games:
You don’t actually own your games. Even on platforms like Steam, you are given a license to use the game by the publisher, that could technically be revoked at any time.
If you want to fully own your games, DRM free and support smaller game studios, consider buying from https://www.gog.com/en/. They don’t have everything you’d ever want, but every purchase from GOG is a purchase that you aren’t giving to a large corporation, and is a purchase that you actually own.
If you like smaller, niche indie games and want to directly support tiny developers and passion projects, consider buying from https://itch.io/.
Movies / TV Shows:
Unlike audiobooks, music, and games, there is not a way to get movies DRM free from the internet. You can likely find other ways to get movies and shows DRM free online, but those are not ways that I am going to be sharing in this guide.
Buying movies or TV shows from any of the online platforms (YouTube, Amazon, Apple, etc.) does not actually enable you to “own” the content in the same way that the DRM-free games and audiobooks do, so while you can buy these and probably have access to them forever, it is important to know the reality of how these platforms work. They can revoke your license or remove the movies at any time.
If you really want to acquire movies and TV shows that you own in a legal way, the only real option is to buy DVDs or Blu-Rays.
For any digital movies and shows that you own, you can use Jellyfin to self-host your own servers to stream them from any device on your home network.
Productivity and Communication
Windows:
Windows is a disaster in 2026, especially if you are up to date with Windows 11. They are spying on you, forcing AI down your throat, and destroying your user experience. If you want to escape the walled gardens of the Windows ecosystem and free up your PC, consider switching to Linux.
The process is a bit time consuming and some things (particularly gaming) will be a bit more restricted, but it is worth the switch if it’s something you are willing to consider. I recommend Linux Mint (https://www.linuxmint.com/).
Email:
It comes as no surprise that Google is tracking you and stealing all of your data. At the end of the day, if a product being offered by a for-profit company is free, you are likely the product.
Self-hosting email is an option, but for me, it just isn’t worth the effort. I use Proton Mail (https://proton.me/mail) as a subscription for private, encrypted email. It gives you access to email aliases, the ability to set up your own SFTP, custom domains, and quite a bit more.
Microsoft Office:
Microsoft tried to charge me to keep using Office, so I switched to the free, open-source LibreOffice. It’s just as good, if not better than everything Microsoft Office offers, and you can even easily convert your standard Office files to a LibreOffice document with one click.
Web Browser and Search Engine:
Google Chrome is a disaster in terms of privacy and maximum corporate value extraction. I recommend switching to another web browser like Firefox (https://www.firefox.com) and switching your default Web Browser to DuckDuckGo (https://duckduckgo.com/).
Also, install uBlock Origin to prevent tracking and ads across sites. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/
Drive Storage:
I personally use Proton Drive (https://proton.me/drive), since it comes with my subscription (and I want to limit the number of subscriptions I have) but there are some other alternatives to Drive Storage that are far better than Google Drive.
You can self-host with Nextcloud (or other alternatives) to have full control over your files, for free:
Flashcards:
To switch away from Quizlet or other online study tools, switch to https://apps.ankiweb.net/ for a free, better alternative.
Creative Tools
Photo Editing:
Please don’t subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud unless you absolutely have to. There is a free, open-source photoshop alternative available at https://www.gimp.org/.
Audio Editing:
Same applies here, you can use https://www.audacityteam.org/ for free.
Video Editing:
If you need a heavy-hitting video editor with professional tools, you aren’t going to find anything free. But, you can avoid an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription by switching to Davinci Resolve, which is a one-time purchase. You can find it at https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve
Online Art / Design:
Adobe Illustrator is top-of-the-line, but if you want to avoid an Adobe subscription for life, you can use
Social
Discord:
I use Discord every day, and I will keep using Discord. It is by far the most widely-accepted, easy-to-use social server and group chat platform for keeping up with other people. Yes, I hate how Discord Nitro is being pushed to me, and how file sizes and character limits keep decreasing to get me to buy a pointless subscription, but I still will not be switching. It is also where my Discord community is hosted, so there’s that.
However, I would understand why someone would want an alternative, especially if it was for a small group of friends or a very passionate community.
If you have the technical skill, you can use Matrix with the Element client installed to create your own Discord-server alternative: https://matrix.org/ecosystem/clients/element/
You could also use Signal groups to create a group chat: https://signal.org/ or SimpleX (https://simplex.chat/)
Twitter:
The weird thing about social platforms, is that they are only enjoyable as more people use them. If there’s not enough of a “social” element, it’s just a void to share your thoughts with.
If you want a free, open-source Twitter clone, BlueSky (https://bsky.app/) is always an option.
Substack is also a great place to get high-quality content in a much more refined, natural format (https://substack.com) and support independent journalism directly.
YouTube:
To use YouTube without being tracked and profiled, consider switching to FreeTube (https://freetubeapp.io/) for a privacy-focused experience on Desktop. You can still access all of your favorite creators without a problem.
There are alternative options as well like https://invidious.io/.
Tools
Google Maps:
You’d be surprised at how much information Google Maps collects about your behaviors. For a less-invasive tool that doesn’t track you to serve you ads, you can use https://organicmaps.app/. The functionality is a bit less than what you’d get with Google, but it does the job.
Note Taking:
I recommend https://anytype.io/ for online note-taking and collaboration, instead of something like Google Docs or Apple Notes.