The Privacy Tools I Trust
After Everything Fell Apart

I learned the hard way how exposed our digital lives really are — after a layover breach almost cost me everything. So I rebuilt. Every tool below helped me reclaim control over work, travel, family, and everyday privacy.

Some links here are affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. I only include tools I’ve personally tested and trust.

💥 20+ tools I personally used to rebuild after a real-world breach. No Google. No fluff. Just what worked.

Want to skip ahead? Privacy Toolkit includes the full stack with setup guides.

🔐 Core Stack

These are the tools I trusted most after the breach. They earned their place through real-world recovery, not hype.

Proton Mail (affiliate)

Proton Mail is the secure base of my communications setup.

🔗 Try Proton Mail

Part of the rebuild stack I still rely on.

ProtonVPN (affiliate)

ProtonVPN is what I used while traveling immediately after the breach.

🔗 Try ProtonVPN

Used on hotel Wi-Fi during recovery.

KeePassXC (non-affiliate)

KeePassXC became the foundation for encrypted storage.

🔗 Try KeePassXC

Zero-sync fallback I trust completely.

Tor Browser (non-affiliate)

Tor Browser was my fallback for untraceable access.

🔗 Try Tor Browser

Still unmatched for anonymous search.

Signal Messenger (non-affiliate)

Signal gave me secure calls when email was compromised.

🔗 Try Signal

Fallback when email fails.

GrapheneOS (non-affiliate)

GrapheneOS gave me a no-Google daily driver with control.

🔗 Try GrapheneOS

Still my phone OS today.

Want my full setup with walkthroughs?

🧰 Get the Privacy Toolkit

🧭 Tool Finder

Tested tools for email aliases, file sync, and backup VPNs.

NordVPN (affiliate)

NordVPN for streaming and fallback privacy.

🔗 Try NordVPN

StartMail (affiliate)

StartMail for aliases — simple Proton alternative.

🔗 Try StartMail

pCloud (affiliate)

pCloud gave me encrypted file access during downtime.

🔗 Try pCloud

Sync.com (affiliate)

Sync.com backed up everything with zero-knowledge storage.

🔗 Try Sync.com

Surfshark VPN (affiliate)

Surfshark is a budget VPN with alerts and malware blocking.

🔗 Try Surfshark

Standard Notes (affiliate)

Standard Notes was my encrypted daily journal.

🔗 Try Standard Notes

✅ Trusted + Aligned

No sponsors. No loggers. Just tools that align with Vault values.

Mullvad VPN (non-affiliate)

Mullvad VPN accepts cash, no account, no logs.

🔗 Try Mullvad VPN

Brave Browser (non-affiliate)

Brave Browser is what I use for daily private browsing.

🔗 Try Brave Browser

Quad9 DNS (non-affiliate)

Quad9 is the DNS I route everything through — privacy-first.

🔗 Try Quad9

📋 Watchlist

Tools I’m currently testing or evaluating.

AdGuard (affiliate)

Adguard is a monetized uBlock-level tracker blocker.

🔗 Try Adguard

Element (Matrix) (non-affiliate)

Element is a federated, encrypted chat app for teams.

🔗 Try Element

Session Messenger (non-affiliate)

Session is onion-routed and metadata-resistant.

🔗 Try Session

📘 Start the 5-Day Privacy Rebuild Series

Everything I used to rebuild — delivered step-by-step, including fallback options and setup guides.

🧰 Get the Privacy Toolkit

No spam. Aliases welcome.

🔍 How I Finally Browsed Safely in 2025

Incognito failed me. Brave Browser, Mullvad VPN, Quad9, and more helped me rebuild.

Read the Full Guide
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