Frequently Asked Questions

US companies are subject to laws like FISA Section 702 and the CLOUD Act, which can compel them to share your data with US authorities without your knowledge or consent. This applies even if your data is stored in Europe. By switching to EU-based services, your data is protected by GDPR and is not subject to US surveillance laws, giving you true data sovereignty.

The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act is a US law enacted in 2018 that requires US-based technology companies to provide stored data when requested by law enforcement, regardless of where that data is physically stored. This means even if a US company stores your data on EU servers, they can still be forced to hand it over to US authorities, often without notifying you.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive EU law that gives you significant rights over your personal data. These include the right to access your data, the right to have it corrected or deleted, the right to data portability (export), and the right to object to certain processing. Companies must have a valid legal basis to process your data and must inform you clearly about how they use it. Violations can result in fines up to 4% of global revenue.

Yes, Switzerland is an excellent jurisdiction for privacy. While not an EU member, Switzerland has strong privacy laws (including the new Federal Act on Data Protection revised in 2023) and is recognized by the EU as providing adequate data protection. Swiss companies are not subject to US surveillance laws. Many privacy-focused services like Proton Mail, Threema, and Tresorit are based in Switzerland.

We evaluate products based on seven criteria: Data Sovereignty (company HQ and server locations), Privacy & Security (encryption, security practices), GDPR Compliance (privacy policies, user rights), Feature Parity (how well it replaces the US product), Pricing & Value, Ease of Migration, and User Reviews. We verify company information and only list products from EU, EEA, or Switzerland-based companies with clear privacy practices. See our Methodology page for full details.

Look for: ISO 27001 (information security management), SOC 2 Type II (security controls audit), GDPR compliance statements in privacy policies, and industry-specific certifications like HIPAA (healthcare) or PCI DSS (payment data). For cloud services, check if they use EU-based data centers certified to GDPR standards. Some products also have independent security audits or are open-source, allowing public code review.

Many EU alternatives match or exceed US products in functionality while offering superior privacy. Services like Proton Mail, Nextcloud, and Tutanota are world-class. That said, some categories have less mature options due to the head start US tech giants have had. We are honest in our evaluations about feature gaps. The privacy benefits often outweigh minor feature differences, and EU products are improving rapidly.

We verify: 1) Company registration (HQ must be in EU/EEA/Switzerland), 2) Data center locations (must offer EU hosting), 3) Parent company ownership (no US parent company that could be compelled under CLOUD Act), 4) Privacy policy details. On each product page, we display the company country and relevant certifications. Be cautious of US companies with EU subsidiaries—they may still be subject to US law through their parent company.

Switching email is one of the easier migrations. Most EU email providers (Proton Mail, Tutanota, Mailbox.org) offer import tools to move your existing emails. The main effort is updating your email address with contacts and services. Pro tip: Set up automatic forwarding from your old address and update services gradually over a few months. Many people keep both addresses during transition.

Yes, most major US services offer data export options—often required by GDPR and similar regulations. Google Takeout lets you export all Google data, Facebook/Meta has download tools, Microsoft provides export options through account settings. The data is usually in standard formats (CSV, JSON, MBOX for email). Our migration guides explain the export process for each US product and how to import into EU alternatives.

This depends on the specific service and alternative you choose. Some EU alternatives offer all the same features (or more). Others may lack certain conveniences that come from deep integration with other products (like Google services integration). We clearly note feature differences in our comparisons. Often, users find they did not actually need all the features they thought they did, and appreciate the simpler, privacy-focused approach.

Simple migrations (password manager, browser) can be done in under an hour. Email migration typically takes 1-4 hours for setup plus a few weeks of transition. Cloud storage depends on data volume—a few GB transfers quickly, while 100GB+ may take several hours. The most time-consuming part is often updating accounts that use your old email address. We provide time estimates for each migration guide.

Absolutely. Many EU alternatives offer business and enterprise plans with features like admin consoles, team management, audit logs, and dedicated support. Services like Nextcloud, Proton for Business, and OnlyOffice are used by organizations including government agencies. Using EU services can actually simplify your GDPR compliance by ensuring data stays within EU jurisdiction.

Not necessarily. Many EU services are competitively priced or even cheaper than US alternatives. However, some do cost more because they cannot subsidize services through advertising and data monetization. The "free" tier of US services often means you are paying with your data. Many users find that paying a small monthly fee for a privacy-respecting service is worthwhile. We always show pricing information on product pages.

Yes, many do. Proton Mail, Tutanota, and others offer functional free tiers. These are typically supported by paid subscribers rather than advertising. Free tiers may have storage limits or fewer features, but are fully usable. We indicate which products have free plans and what limitations apply. Free open-source options like Nextcloud can be self-hosted at no software cost.

When you click a link to a product and sign up, we may receive a small commission from the company at no extra cost to you. This helps fund our directory. Important: Affiliate relationships never influence our rankings or recommendations. We clearly mark affiliate links. Many products in our directory have no affiliate program at all—they are listed purely on merit. See our Methodology page for more details.

Visit our Submit page to suggest a product. You will need to provide basic information about the product, company, and how it compares to US alternatives. We review all submissions and add qualifying products to the directory. Products must be from EU/EEA/Switzerland-based companies, store data in the EU, and have clear privacy policies.

We actively maintain and update the directory. Product information is reviewed regularly, and we add new products weekly based on submissions and our own research. We also update entries when companies change ownership, pricing, or privacy practices. If you notice outdated information, please use our contact form to report it.

Please visit our Contact page and select "Report an Error" to let us know about any inaccuracies. Include the product name, what information is incorrect, and the correct information if you know it. We appreciate community help in keeping the directory accurate.

BuiltInEu is an independent project. We are not owned by or affiliated with any of the companies listed in our directory. Some products have affiliate relationships with us (clearly disclosed), but this does not affect our editorial decisions or rankings. Our mission is to help Europeans find privacy-respecting alternatives, not to promote specific companies.