How we judge apps

Two ways to look at apps

The 8 questions we ask

For every app, we check about 30 simple facts. Each fact is a yes, a partly, a no, or "not checked yet". The facts answer 8 questions:

1. 1

   1. Who owns it?

   Is it owned by Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple or Amazon? By a government? Does it make money from ads or selling data?

2. 2

   2. What does it collect?

   Does it need your phone number or real name? Does it track you or send reports about how you use it?

3. 3

   3. How well does it protect you?

   Are your messages and files locked so only you (and the people you share with) can read them, not even the company?

4. 4

   4. What's its track record?

   Has it been hacked? Was it honest about it? Does it say publicly when governments ask for data?

5. 5

   5. Can anyone check it?

   Is its code public, so experts can look for problems? Has an outside expert tested it?

6. 6

   6. Can you leave or run it yourself?

   Can you take your data with you? Could it keep working if the company disappeared?

7. 7

   7. Will it be around?

   Is it funded openly? Has it existed for a few years? Is it still updated?

8. 8

   8. How easy is it?

   Is there a free option? Does it work on your phone and computer? Can you set it up in minutes?

We also show where each company is based. We don't grade countries. You can choose your own preference, for example "avoid the US".

The short answer on every app page

Each app page starts with three plain questions. Each gets one word, worked out from a fixed list of facts:

• Safe from hackers?

  • End-to-end encrypted by default
  • Strong account protection
  • Way to report security flaws
  • No recent breach, or handled openly
  • Independent audit
  • Security documentation

• Keeps your life private?

  • No money from ads or your data
  • No phone number or real name needed
  • No trackers
  • No usage data by default
  • Little metadata kept
  • Deletes your data, short logs
  • End-to-end encrypted by default

• Free from Big Tech?

  • Not owned by Big Tech
  • Not controlled by a government
  • No money from ads or your data
  • Owners are public

• We count only answers that have a source. An answer without one shows as "still checking".
• If any fact is "no", the answer is No, whatever the other facts say. The reason is shown next to it.
• If some facts are still being checked, the answer says "so far". "Yes so far" means every fact we have checked is a yes.
• "Not checked yet" appears only when none of the facts has been checked.
• The short answer never moves an app between groups.

Nothing is final. Security and privacy change: a breach, a new owner or a new privacy policy can change an answer. Each answer is what we found on the date shown, and we check again.

Our view: four groups

What matters most to us: first who owns it, then how it protects you, then whether anyone can check it.

Recommended

Independent, no ads or data selling, no tracking, locks your data where it matters, public code, and at least one extra safety net. Every one of these facts has been checked, with a source.

Solid choice

Independent, no ads or data selling, and at least part of its code is public. Some facts may not be checked yet, and we show which.

Trade-offs

Better than Big Tech, but with real downsides, like secret code. We say exactly what holds it back.

Big Tech: what you're replacing

Owned by Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple or Amazon. We list these apps only so you know what to replace.

Track record, staying power and ease show on every app's page, but they never move an app between groups.

Your priorities: find your match

Pick the profile that sounds like you, or choose for each question: must have, nice to have, or don't care.

• Get away from Big Tech
• Strongest protection
• Open source above all
• Easiest to switch
• Built to last

Some things never change, whatever you pick:

• Apps owned by Big Tech always keep their red label and always come last.
• Facts we haven't checked yet always show as "?". We tell you how many facts are checked.
• Money never changes the order. Our sorting can't even see affiliate links.
• Your choices are worked out on your own device. We never see them.

When we don't know

• An app can only be in our top group if we've checked the facts. We never recommend on trust.
• In the other groups, a fact we haven't checked doesn't push an app down. You see a "?" instead.
• We never show an unchecked fact as a yes.

Where our facts come from

Every fact has a source, the date we checked it, and who checked it.

If an ad says "we keep nothing" but the privacy policy says otherwise, we go by the privacy policy.

When we step in

• Sometimes news moves faster than our checks, like a hack last week or a company being sold. We may then move an app to a lower group.
• We always show the reason and the date on the app's page.
• We can never move an app into our top group this way. That has to be earned with checked facts.

How often we re-check

• Every app at least once a year.
• Right away if it's sold, hacked, changes its privacy policy, or a reader sends us proof that something changed.
• If a top-group app isn't re-checked in time, it moves down a group after 60 days until we check it again.

Some links earn us a small commission. They're always labeled, and they never change an app's group or its place in the list.