// resources
Privacy resources
Tools and services worth knowing about, grouped by topic. No affiliate links and no sponsored placements. Always check the provider's own site for current features and pricing before you sign up.
// phone operating systems
Privacy-focused phone operating systems
Replace the software on your phone with a version that sends far less of your data to Google, or to anyone.
Stock Android phones send a steady stream of data to Google and to the phone maker. These projects replace that software with a version you control. Most need a supported phone and a one-time install from a computer, and some companies sell phones with them preinstalled. Check each project's device list before you buy a phone for it.
Banking, payment and some streaming apps may not work on every option. GrapheneOS and CalyxOS have the best app compatibility; Linux-based systems have the least.
GrapheneOS
- Android
- most secure
- Pixel only
The strongest choice for security and privacy. GrapheneOS hardens Android well beyond the stock version and ships with no Google apps. If you need Google Play for certain apps, you can install it as an ordinary, sandboxed app with no special access to your phone. It runs only on recent Google Pixel phones, whose hardware security features it relies on. In 2026 Motorola was announced as its first non-Pixel partner, with devices expected later.
CalyxOS
- Android
- easy to use
- nonprofit
Made by the nonprofit Calyx Institute. CalyxOS aims for privacy without giving up convenience: it includes microG, a free stand-in for Google's background services that many apps need, plus a built-in per-app firewall and optional Tor. It runs on Pixel phones and a few other models. Releases paused from August 2025 to July 2026 while the project rebuilt its signing setup; regular updates have resumed since.
/e/OS (Murena)
- Android
- phones sold preinstalled
- wide device support
A de-Googled Android with its own app store and an optional cloud service for email, contacts and files. It runs on a long list of phones, and its partner Murena sells phones (including Fairphones) with /e/OS already installed, so you never have to flash anything yourself. It puts convenience first and is less security-hardened than GrapheneOS.
iodéOS
- Android
- built-in ad and tracker blocker
A French project based on LineageOS that ships with microG and a system-wide blocker for ads and trackers, turned on by default. It runs on Pixels, Fairphones and a range of other phones, and the company also sells phones with it installed.
LineageOS
- Android
- widest device support
- extends old phones
The best-known community version of Android and the base for several projects on this list. It has no Google apps by default and supports a huge range of phones, which makes it a good way to keep an older phone getting security updates after its maker stops. It is not built specifically for privacy or hardened security, so pair it with privacy-respecting apps.
Ubuntu Touch
- Linux
- not Android
- for tinkerers
A mobile Linux system from the UBports community, completely outside the Android and Google world. It respects privacy by design, but its app selection is small and most mainstream apps are not available. Best as a second phone or for people who enjoy tinkering.
// second phone numbers
Second phone numbers (VoIP)
Give out a number that isn't your real one, for sign-ups, online sales, dating apps and anyone you'd rather not hand your real number to.
Your real mobile number links almost everything about you: accounts, data broker profiles, even your location history. These services give you extra numbers that ring through an app on your phone, so you can give one out and throw it away when it starts attracting spam.
Know the limits. Many banks and some sites reject internet (VoIP) numbers for sign-up or two-step codes, so keep your real number for accounts that matter. The provider can see your calls and texts, and calls or texts to ordinary phone numbers are not end-to-end encrypted. Read each provider's privacy policy before you sign up.
Cloaked
- phone and email aliases
- identity protection
Creates unlimited phone numbers and email addresses you can hand out instead of your own, with spam-call screening. Paid plans add identity monitoring and data broker removal, making it as much an identity-protection service as a second-number app.
Hushed
- second line
- US
- Canada
- UK
A straightforward second-number app for calls, texts and voicemail. You can keep a number for the long term or buy one for a few days and let it expire. Numbers are available in the US, Canada and the UK.
MySudo
- separate identities
- end-to-end encrypted
Built around separate "Sudos": each one is its own identity with its own phone number, email address and private browser, so you can keep shopping, dating and selling completely apart. Calls and messages between MySudo users are end-to-end encrypted.
Burner
- disposable numbers
- US and Canada
Made for short-term numbers you use and then "burn". Good for a one-off sale, a rental listing or a dating profile. Numbers are available in the US and Canada.
JMP.chat
- open source
- US and Canada
- for tinkerers
A real US or Canadian phone number delivered through the open XMPP chat standard instead of a company app, so you choose the app you use it with. The software is open source, sign-up needs no ID, and it accepts Bitcoin. It takes a little more setup than the others.