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Part 4: Search engine sovereignty in Europe: progress, compromises and hard truths
European search is no longer just a niche or a statement – it works. Ecosia and, to a lesser extent, Qwant deliver solid results, good performance and meaningful privacy advantages. But the reality is more complex: core search infrastructure still depends heavily on Google and Bing, and true independence will take time. This article evaluates today’s European search engines in detail and explores Staan, the emerging European search index, to separate genuine progress from optimistic assumptions.
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Part 3 – Surfing the European way: private browsers without Big Tech
The good news is that there are solid European browsers available. The bad news is that they are all based on the Google Chromium project, which creates a technical dependency. Are you an average user? Ecosia makes it easy to switch with strong security controls and some customization options. Are you a power user? Vivaldi…
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Part 2 – Done with OneDrive & Google Drive? Here’s what Europe offers
Looking for a European alternative to Google Drive or OneDrive? We compare Proton Drive, Infomaniak kDrive, and Strato HiDrive on security, privacy, and performance. Discover which cloud storage truly puts your data first and why Infomaniak stands out for most users, while Proton leads in encryption.
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Part 1 – No more gmail? My switch to European alternatives.
Both Proton Mail and Infomaniak Mail are strong European e-mail options which make switching to European e-mail alternatives easy. Proton is best for maximum privacy and security, while Infomaniak suits most users and offers a stronger integrated office suite. For basic e-mail, both free plans are sufficient, though extra storage may be needed for drive…
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What digital consumer services should Europe focus on first to break free from Big Tech?
There is no real European Big Tech, but there are smaller companies with decent solutions that have a lot of potential as alternatives to Big Tech. As European consumers, we need to start using them, so we can give them the chance to grow and become fully fledged alternatives to US and Chinese Big Tech. In…
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Why is there no European Big Tech?
There is no Big Tech in Europe due to fragmented markets, risk-averse finance, and complex regulation. This makes scaling up difficult compared to the US and China. To nurture European Big Tech, policymakers must act and consumers also need to actively choose and support European alternatives. This would finance European tech, incentivize innovation and competitive…
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Why is European tech important?
Europe is addicted to US Big Tech. At the same time, there are 2 compelling events happening: Big Tech is starting to meddle in politics and countries are isolating themselves. I argue in this article that European consumers should look for European solutions and some do exist. However, they are not yet easy to find.