Leaving Big Tech might not always seem easy at first. Where do you begin, and what are actually good alternatives? To help you on your way, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide with alternatives. Here you can find all the steps.

Location data, the data about where you are at which time, where you want to go and how you are moving there, are a big risk for your privacy. The manufactures of your phone and the apps that get access to this information, can learn a lot about you from this data. They can figure out where you live, where you work and where you shop. That information is valuable, namely for advertisers.

You can turn off the location tracking of your phone, but for the use of some apps it is essential to share your location. For example, if you want to use Google Maps. For these apps it is better to choose a privacy friendly alternative, so you keep control about who know where you are.

Like you can see in the chart below, there are European providers for navigation and maps. Both alternatives use OpenStreetMap as their base. This is an open source map services that is maintained by volunteers using satellite images and GPS. Your location data will not be sold.

The alternatives that we picked might not have all the function that Big Tech apps offer, like satellite images, Street View or live information about traffic. But you will also gain something: freedom to travel without your data being used for profit, and being a bit more independent from Big Tech.