You got great choices, actually. I’d only recommend to be as little dependent on multiple fronts on one company. So I’d change a few of Proton to something else.
Depending on how private communications must be, Threema might be better than Signal.
another thing is that the Trumpist US regime allegedly got access to Signal through Israeli spyware (Paragon), or is trying to do so. (The Guardian)
The Swiss military also has publicly shifted away from Signal, as they deemed it unsafe for communications.Signal’s still subject to the CLOUD Act, while Threema is not. (Bleeping Computer).
Network effect is the biggest problem for messaging services, and so I would still push for Signal over the alternatives that are technically better. This guide seems like it is focussed on users who are new to the space
I agree with the Linux recommendation, but I’d offer CachyOS over pure Arch for newcomers. The limine bootloader gives a lot of peace of mind, since you can tell the user “if you get a bad update, reboot and pick an older option on the first screen”.
Adding my personal notes on search engines here for anyone’s interest. I personally use Qwant on Desktop and DuckDuckGo on mobile. I like Qwant because they are at least working on their own index and are EU-based. On the other hand, DuckDuckGo is faster and has a more comprehensive privacy policy. I’m really trying to use Mojeek on mobile but the search results are much worse than DuckDuckGo and Qwant in my repeated experience.
Lol very true, Ive been using Mint for maybe 7 years now, Ive tried Arch 3 times or more, broke evey single time ive used it. And that’s with me not doing anything out of the ordinary. (No hate to Arch btw, I just can’t figure it out)
Ecosia has a terrible privacy policy, I analysed it in the past. They are likely in violation of the GDPR, I’m currently considering to file a complaint, they’re still a lot better than Google though, but DDG is privacy-wise superior.
You got great choices, actually. I’d only recommend to be as little dependent on multiple fronts on one company. So I’d change a few of Proton to something else.
Depending on how private communications must be, Threema might be better than Signal.
Why is Threema better than Signal?
See here - secure messaging apps
another thing is that the Trumpist US regime allegedly got access to Signal through Israeli spyware (Paragon), or is trying to do so. (The Guardian)
The Swiss military also has publicly shifted away from Signal, as they deemed it unsafe for communications.Signal’s still subject to the CLOUD Act, while Threema is not. (Bleeping Computer).
See here why the link you shared isn’t a good source:
https://soatok.blog/2025/07/07/checklists-are-the-thief-of-joy/
And learn more about Threema vs. Signal:
https://soatok.blog/2021/11/05/threema-three-strikes-youre-out/
The signal one suggests it’s a phone OS hack that can open apps so could probably do threema too.
The article you shared suggested it’s likely the result of lobbying by the company so they use a company inside the country.
Network effect is the biggest problem for messaging services, and so I would still push for Signal over the alternatives that are technically better. This guide seems like it is focussed on users who are new to the space
I agree with the Linux recommendation, but I’d offer CachyOS over pure Arch for newcomers. The limine bootloader gives a lot of peace of mind, since you can tell the user “if you get a bad update, reboot and pick an older option on the first screen”.
Adding my personal notes on search engines here for anyone’s interest. I personally use Qwant on Desktop and DuckDuckGo on mobile. I like Qwant because they are at least working on their own index and are EU-based. On the other hand, DuckDuckGo is faster and has a more comprehensive privacy policy. I’m really trying to use Mojeek on mobile but the search results are much worse than DuckDuckGo and Qwant in my repeated experience.
Last time I tried qwant they don’t serve Taiwan, which is one of the points I VPN to that I cycle
I haven’t tried many other countries.
So just a head’s up to anybody reading.
There is exactly zero privacy upside to be gained by moving from Mint to Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE or Arch.
Qubes and Tails may give you an edge, but add quite dramatic convenience costs. Unless you have a very specific threat model, this is overkill.
SecureBlue also looks decent and brings some of the security hardening used in GrapheneOS
You can break anything quite easily on arch if you don’t know what you’re doing, including security.
Lol very true, Ive been using Mint for maybe 7 years now, Ive tried Arch 3 times or more, broke evey single time ive used it. And that’s with me not doing anything out of the ordinary. (No hate to Arch btw, I just can’t figure it out)
Ecosia has a terrible privacy policy, I analysed it in the past. They are likely in violation of the GDPR, I’m currently considering to file a complaint, they’re still a lot better than Google though, but DDG is privacy-wise superior.