Free from Big Tech: Calendar and contacts
If you want to break free from Big Tech and are unsure about which calendar and contacts solution you should choose, these tips might help.
In the last article, we took a look at privacy-respecting solutions for email. In this article, we'll tackle calendars and contacts. There will be an overlap with some of the providers we talked about last week.
Why should you care?
Google Calendar has a lot of users worldwide. And it's not hard to understand why: It's free, it's easy to use, and it has a great user interface. But just because it's free doesn't mean it doesn't come at a cost. As with most Google offerings, YOU are the product. With all your private appointments now on Google's servers, the company knows a lot about your private life, what you do and when you do it. Sometimes even who you do it with. Google has been known for years to collect and sell user data. But this doesn't just apply to Google. Other tech giants do the same.
And your contacts? Analyzing networks of people - the metadata of who is in touch with whom and when - also gives companies a great deal of insight into your preferences, social circle, even activist activities and shared values. That data, called "social graph", is very valuable. If you don't have a problem with that, you can skip this article now.
If this concerns you, let's explore your alternatives.
Self-hosting
As with email, you have the option to self-host. Setting up your own Nextcloud, for example, gives you great flexibility and lets you set up your own calendar and contacts, as well as cloud storage and collaborative work.
One advantage of a Nextcloud calendar is the shared calendar feature. One of the most used features in Google Calendar is the ability to share the calendar with others, making it easy to collaborate or manage shared responsibilities such as tasks, rooms or appointments.
With Nextcloud, users can choose from a desktop client, login via the browser, or use the mobile apps for Android and iOS and have access to a shared calendar.
Providers that combine email + calendar + contacts
Email providers sometimes offer integrated calendars and contacts. While the functionality should be sufficient for personal and even business use, there are limitations, especially with regard to shared calendars.
mailbox.org
Email: Yes
Calendar: Yes
Contacts: Yes
Website: https://mailbox.org/
Posteo
Email: Yes
Calendar: Yes
Contacts: Yes
Website: https://posteo.de/en
Proton Calendar
Email: Yes
Calendar: Yes
Contacts: Yes
Website: https://proton.me/calendar
Tuta Calendar
Email: Yes
Calendar: Yes
Contacts: Yes
Website: https://tuta.com/de/calendar
In the next section, we're going to take a look at standalone options.
Clients
Thunderbird
Thunderbird, mostly known as an email desktop client, also has a built-in calendar and contacts
Available for: Desktop, Android
Website: https://www.thunderbird.net/
Etar
Etar is an open source calendar app.
Available for: Android
Website: https://f-droid.org/packages/ws.xsoh.etar/
Fossify Calendar
Fossify Calendar is an open source calendar app.
Available for: Android
Website: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.fossify.calendar/
Exporting and importing calendars & contacts
Usually, you can export your calendar and contacts from the providers you currently use. For example, if you go to calendar.google.com and then look for the calendar settings, you can export your calendar as a .zip file.
For your contacts, go to contacts.google.com, look for the export function, and export your contacts as a vCard file.
Next up, import your contacts and calendar to your new, privacy-friendly solution, and you're good to go. I won't go into the specific providers here because they usually provide instructions on how to import that data on their websites.
Synchronizing calendar & contacts
In order to synchronize your calendar and contacts from your (email) provider, or your self-hosted option with your mobile device, you need DAVx⁵, which is a management and synchronization app.
Open protocols
Most providers build upon open protocols such as CalDav and CardDav. The aforementioned DAVx⁵ is ideal for working with these protocols and lets you keep everything in all of your devices/accounts in sync.
And that's it. You made some fantastic progress on your journey to digital sovereignty and privacy.
If you found this useful or just want to say Hi, feel free to contact me.
