Google Suite Alternative with Privacy, Security

General
#1

I have looked and cannot find this question anywhere.

I am looking for a Google Suite alternative that will respect my Privacy and Security that will work well on my Sailfish OS-powered Xperia XA2.

I have mainly been looking at

-Nextcloud

-Zoho

I have had problems with setting up Nextcloud using a server provider called tab.digital. Might be trying out their paid version to see how well the Apps work.

I am actually quite impressed with Zoho after I downloaded their documents app for android. It works very well on Sailfish OS. For me at least.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

EDIT:
I am looking for services/companies that offer something similar to GSuite but lets me pay with money instead of paying with my privacy.

Come on, community, I cannot be the only Sailfish user who ever wanted to emigrate from Google.

3 Likes
#2

Wouldn’t then MicroG be a solution for you, as i understood, it uses alternative services to replace the Google services :slight_smile:

#3

Possibly. Is it the Google Suite but without Google?

I am ready to pay for what I use (just not with my privacy) and would rather not install any Google Apps even if I can use them anonymously.

I will check MicroG out.

Thanks for your suggestion.

#4

https://microg.org :wink:

#5

From his description it sounds as if the wants to get rid off Google apps, not just their play services. For Nextcloud you can also try a hosted solution https://nextcloud.com/signup/, if you want to avoid administrating the whole server. There at least you can pick a provider located within the EU.

1 Like
#6

mircog is in no way a googlefree sollution. it fakes services but still communicates with them.

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#7

Yes, microG continues to communicate with Google. There is currently no google-free alternative.

Look at https://microg.org/
“…privacy-caring users can reduce or monitor data that is sent to Google…”

This little sentence is often overlooked :wink: Nobody remains anonymous when they connect to any Google server. Big data makes it possible to assign anonymous data to a user … in seconds.

1 Like
#8

That is where I went and found tab.digital. They seem legit and it is possible to choose what country hosts the server. They let you choose between Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Latvia.

#9

I am not really looking for a stolen GSuite without Google, I am looking for a company or service that offers me close to the same abilities that lets me pay with money instead of Privacy.

#10

I am actually really impressed with Zoho. Has anyone tried it?

Screenshot_20200910_002
Screenshot_20200910_0021080Ă—1920 305 KB

1 Like
#11

Zoho looks good. As long as you do not integrate any G Suite functions (optional), privacy should be guaranteed.

When using “G-Integration” , this condition applies (find on https://www.zoho.com/)

Zoho’s use, and Zoho’s transfer of information to any other app, received from Google APIs will adhere to Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

You definitely don’t want that :wink:

2 Likes
#12

“Degoogle” is a keyword, and there are a lot of possibitys. A Nextcloud or Owncloud is one of the first choices. They are clearly the alternatives to GDrive, Google Calendar Sync and Contacts sync. Just as an example, the /e/ foundation gave all registered users a 5GB free Nextcloud account, normaly for using on their custom roms, but it is usable on Sailfish, too. Paid or Selfhosted Nextcloud-Servers could be combined with Collabora Office and a Paid/Selfhosted Documents-server. This gives you the same functionality than GoogleDocs (multi-editing etc.).

P.S. MicroG and even LineageOS without GApps are all AOSP Based and there are always communication to google servers. Some are removable, some not, Captive Portal, GCM, etc. are removable but with the price of functionality.

1 Like
#13

Don’t know if this is relevant, but I have used a free Zoho mail account for years without problems. Support was good on the couple of occasions I needed it. Never had cause to use the suite, though. FWIW.

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#14

Have a look at mailbox.org Business

1 Like
#15

What do you guys think about this review?

Zoho seems quite secure and private. Only need to not incorporate Google Suite into the mix. I would like to be able to integrate the Sailfish Calendar, though. I need to check if that is possible before deciding.

#16

If it’s providing CalDAV sync functionalities, it is possible to integrate the events inside the Sailfish calendar. From


it seems that they are providing such functionality. I’m not using it though. I’m using mailbox.org for calendar synchronization myself.

That being said, CalDAV plugin in SailfishOS is free software (https://git.sailfishos.org/mer-core/buteo-sync-plugin-caldav), so in case there are some issues with Zoho, don’t hesitate to post a bug report here, I’m actively maintaining it.

2 Likes
#17

That is great info! Thanks!