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Privacy Guides Review

Worth it

Should I use Privacy Guides?

Established in 2021, Privacy Guides is the largest impartial, non-profit media outlet focused on finding privacy tools and learning about protecting your digital life. - privacyguides.org

· 1 month ago

Use it if you're an individual choosing browsers, VPNs, or email and want vetted, ad-free, non-profit recommendations. Skip it if you expected software to deploy — it's editorial content, not a product.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources: official site pages, Reddit threads, Trustpilot, and software directories.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

All content

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
DonorDonation

Best for

  • Individuals picking VPNs, browsers, email
  • Beginners learning threat modeling
  • Privacy enthusiasts comparing tools
  • Donors wanting ad-free non-profit media

Not for

  • Enterprises needing deployable security tooling — it's articles, not software
  • Teams wanting vendor support, SLAs, or invoicing
  • Anyone expecting guaranteed anonymity from a reading list
  • People averse to moderated forums; posts reportedly removed

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Recommended third-party tools carry their own costs and privacy tradeoffs — vet each one separately.

medium

A Trustpilot reviewer says posts get removed; forum help isn't guaranteed.

low

Guides get revised; recheck before adopting.

low

Sustainability depends on donations; no paid tier guarantees longevity.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Non-profit public charity with journalistic standards for recommendations
  • All recommendation changes are community-reviewed before publishing
  • Free learning center teaches threat modeling
  • Large active community forum for privacy questions
  • Ad-free and donation-funded, unlike competitor PrivacyTools

Cons

  • Editorial site only — recommends tools, provides none itself
  • Trustpilot reviewer alleges moderators remove genuine posts
  • No security or disclosure page found in sources reviewed
  • Content leans on volunteers; only three paid staff as of 2024
  • Recommendations shift over time; older guidance can go stale

Sources & method

- 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x6review x5

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Entirely free, donation-funded, no ads
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Browse freely; forum needs an account
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Tool lists, wiki, learning center, forum
  • Support quality: 3/5. Volunteer forum; moderation complaints exist
  • Security posture: 4/5. Minimal data collection; no public vulns
  • 2021 Founded Successor to PrivacyTools
  • $0 Price Donation-funded non-profit
  • Yes Free tier All content and forum
  • 3 Paid staff First full-time hires, 2024

Pricing

All content

$0

  • Tool recommendations and reviews
  • Guides and learning center
  • Community forum access

Donor

Donation

  • Funds staff and hosting
  • No paywalled content unlocked — same site

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Reddit users treat it as the successor to PrivacyTools and generally favor its independence, while one Trustpilot reviewer accuses moderators of removing posts.

“I would not trust this community.. the remove real written”
Trustpilot review
“I know Privacy Guides is the new version of Privacy Tools, but even if so, do the recommendations (or at least most of them) in the old site still apply today?”
Reddit, r/PrivacyGuides
“PrivacyTools has commercial partnerships with many of the service providers listed on their website”
Reddit, r/privacy
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources: official site pages, Reddit threads, Trustpilot, and software directories.

Free non-profit privacy guides — great for individuals picking tools; not software, nothing for companies to buy.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources: official site pages, Reddit threads, Trustpilot, and software directories.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Privacy Guides homepageprivacyguides.org
    official
  2. About Privacy Guidesprivacyguides.org
    official
  3. Ad-Free Privacy Tool Recommendationsprivacyguides.org
    official
  4. Privacy Guides Learning Centerlearn.privacyguides.org
    official
  5. Privacy Guides Community Forumdiscuss.privacyguides.net
    official
  6. Donate pageprivacyguides.org
    official
  7. Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.com
    review
  8. Reddit: Who to trust: Privacytools or Privacyguides?reddit.com
    review
  9. Reddit: Privacy Guides is the new version of Privacy Toolsreddit.com
    review
  10. AlternativeTo listingalternativeto.net
    review
  11. SaaSHub alternativessaashub.com
    review

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