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Your Phone Runs Google or Apple. Does It Have To?
Fairphone grew 83% in Q4 2025. Closing in on a million devices sold. A Dutch phone, a French de-Googled OS, and a full professional workload handled without a single workaround. It turns out the alternative to the smartphone duopoly is further along than most people realise. I spent a week finding out exactly how and already sold my old S24. I also decided to adopt the Fairphone 6 as my daily phone for work.
Fairphone grew 83% in Q4 2025. Closing in on a million devices sold. A Dutch phone, a French de-Googled OS, and a full professional workload handled without a single workaround. It turns out the alternative to the smartphone duopoly is further along than most people realise. I spent a week…
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Launching the eurotechguide Sovereignty Index: making sovereignty measurable
The Eurotechguide Sovereignty Index makes digital sovereignty measurable. Based on the European Commission’s Cloud Sovereignty Framework, it assesses cloud and digital services across eight structural dimensions, from legal exposure and ownership control to supply chain and technology dependencies. At launch, the index covers 65 mostly cloud-based services, each receiving dimension-level SEAL scores and a weighted…
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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…
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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…