Abandoning WhatsApp, Gmail, Google Drive, or Dropbox is the recommendation made by technology and cybersecurity expert Ben van der Burg to reduce dependence on large American companies and better protect data privacy.
The paradox is that European data protection regulations coexist with the United States' CLOUD Act, a law that can compel companies with a presence in that country to hand over information. This is where the debate on digital sovereignty comes in, understood as the real control that the user maintains over their own data.
The CLOUD Act pushes the search for European services
Van der Burg places the problem in the daily use of tools that concentrate email, messaging, files, and documents in the hands of a few companies. His proposal involves replacing these platforms with alternatives developed in Europe.
In the email, Proton Mail appears as one of the cited options. The company is based in Switzerland and bases its service on end-to-end encryption, a formula that prevents the provider itself from accessing the content of the messages.
Tuta is also listed, developed in Germany, as a successor to Gmail. The alternative maintains the basic functions of encrypted email without leaving the European environment.
For messaging, the focus is on limiting the exposure of personal data. Threema, also Swiss, allows using the application without linking it to a phone number.
Olvid, created in France, adds another layer to that idea because it prioritizes identity security and the minimization of exposed data. The change, in both cases, seeks to reduce the information that the user provides from the first access to the service.
Nextcloud allows deciding where files and calendars are stored
In document storage and management, the indicated alternative is Nextcloud. The tool allows you to save files, calendars, and documents with greater control over the physical location of the information.
That capacity to decide where data resides is part of the concept of digital sovereignty. It is not limited to choosing a different application, but to retaining room for decision on who can access the information and under what legislation it is protected.
The change, however, is not immediate. Users keep their contacts, their files, and their work routines on the platforms they already use, which makes it difficult to transfer conversations, emails, and documents to new services all at once.
That is why the replacement of these tools usually progresses gradually, with email, messaging, or storage migrating at different paces depending on each use. Among the options cited by Ben van der Burg for this replacement are Proton Mail and Tuta for email, Threema and Olvid for messaging, and Nextcloud for files, calendars, and documents.