What is Librem One?

Purism, a consortium dedicated to creating user privacy devices, wants to provide a real alternative to the lousy 'security walls' of Android and iOS. You may have heard about its upcoming Librem 5, a community fundraising device that runs the software completely free of charge.

Currently, the company is pushing Librem One, a full suite of open source online services.

Librem One offers messaging, mail, VPN and social networking services. But with the doubts about privacy for any service running on someone else's server, to whom is the Librem One?

What is Librem One?

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Librem One is an online service package from Purism. These tools provide you with a set of modern communication tools that do not require giving up control of data, as well as not restricting you to chat only with other Librem One users. Purism promises no ads and no tracking. The Librem One includes 4 components and this number will increase even more in the future.

1. Librem Chat

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Librem Chat is based on Matrix, an open chat protocol that has been available since 2014. Matrix is ​​for instant messaging and VOIP (that's what SMTP does for email). It allows people to use different service providers (such as Gmail and Yahoo) to communicate with each other. This contrasts with the approach used by iMessage, Google Messages and Facebook Messenger, all of which require people to use the same service to chat.

Therefore, Librem Chat is only a new service provider, not a new service. Librem Chat is a new way to interact with existing infrastructure. You can connect with other Matrix users at librem.one, matrix.org or any other Domain Matrix. The Riot-based mobile app, an existing Matrix chat app. Matrix supports end-to-end encrypted text, voice and video chats.

Download Librem Chat (Android | iOS).

2. Librem Mail

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Librem Mail is an end-to-end encrypted mail service. Encrypted email has existed for a long time, but setting up the technology can be a bit complicated.

Librem Mail uses K-9 Mail and OpenKeychain. This combination eliminates the challenge of using encrypted email. Librem Mail users can exchange encrypted emails with anyone with OpenPGP encrypted mail.

Librem Mail is the only Librem One application that doesn't yet have an iPhone version.

Download Librem Mail (Android).

3. Social Librem

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Librem Social uses Mastodon, a free and open source alternative to Twitter. Instead of storing everyone's accounts and posts on the company server, Mastodon empowers users, storing their own accounts.

Many Mastodon servers are hosted by enthusiasts and they can access a notification momentarily, bringing up the data you need. With Librem Social, Purism is providing a professionally maintained server, supported through paid subscriptions. This provides greater reliability than what you have experienced with other Mastodon servers until now.

Android application is a branch of Tusky. IOS version is based on Amaroq.

Download Librem Social (Android | iOS).

4. Librem Tunnel

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Librem Tunnel is a VPN to keep your browsing behavior private. According to Purism, this service is encrypted and anonymous. The company has partnered with Private Internet Access to provide this feature.

Android application uses code from OpenVPN. Open source Private Internet Access client iOS application.

Download Librem Tunnel (Android | iOS)

Librem One and Librem 5

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Purism creates a line of Librem laptops, runs free software and comes with hardware kill switches for webcam, mic, WiFi and Bluetooth. If all goes well, a Librem phone will be launched in 2019, with the goal of becoming a smartphone ready for the first consumer to run the software for free. As with Librem laptops, privacy is the main concern.

Librem 5 is not a device for hackers. It could be a real iPhone or Android replacement. But as you may have noticed, these phones have fewer features and are more natural about the service. The question is whether such a device can play music or open Spotify.

Purism phone does not come with Spotify. Don't expect Instagram or Snapchat either. Even if Librem 5 can attract these companies, these applications will also make Librem's main highlight 5 - 'a phone not tracking users' - no longer valid.

With Librem 5, you not only choose an alternative device, but you also choose alternative services. These services, like this phone, will help you regain your privacy. Try them on Android or iOS first, giving you a chance to see if switching to Librem 5 is possible.

Disadvantages of Librem One

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Librem One is completely based on existing free software projects. This is not a bad thing. It is really part of the free software community. Small companies like Purism can quickly get into operation without having to build everything from scratch. Purism can bring new users into existing projects, helping those platforms grow. This creates further development and makes the user experience better.

But that also means that everything Librem One is providing is available elsewhere. Librem One is not the first encrypted mail service, it is just another option. In the past few years, Matrix has provided a more comfortable way for people to message each other. Mastodon is a free and open source alternative available for Twitter. Besides, the mobile VPN options are also varied.

In short, what Purism has announced is not a new set of services. Instead, what Purism provides above is like repacking things floating on GitHub. But that is not the problem. What Purism has done is to provide people with a way to better secure almost every online activity better. Just buy a new phone, create an account and start browsing the web more securely.

However, if you are familiar with all these projects, then you may feel nothing to see here. You can also see errors that do not exist in the original versions of each application. Still have to see which version will provide a better experience in the long run.

Alternatives to Librem One

Suppose you are not interested in buying a laptop or phone from Purism, or you may not trust a company that manages many of these essential tools, no matter which company it is. Fortunately, you have other options instead.

1. For email that is encrypted with full or partial open source, we have Tut Tutota and ProtonMail. If the open source email priority is encrypted, you can also check out Kolab Now.
2. To message, you can use Matrix without having to go through Librem One, or you can download Signal to have a more common all-in-one chat application.
3. For social networks, consider Mastodon.
4. Replacing Librem Tunnel also has a lot of good quality VPNs. Refer to the article: 11 best VPN software today for more details.

If you use one of these alternatives, in most cases you still support the 'ecosystem' that Librem One is part of. The large number of users using Matrix or email means that many Librem One users can communicate more securely with them. The opposite is also true.

Librem One is a reliable choice for privacy and security. This is a simple tool to help people without technical knowledge or patience, to study each tool individually.

Librem One is also good for anyone who buys a Librem 5 and wants the software they know can run on their device.

On the other hand, if you want maximum control over what you use, there are more and more tools to protect your online presence. Some options, such as Disroot's encrypted and clouded mail service, provide features that Librem One doesn't yet have. You can wait for Purism to add more applications and services or you can start using the best free, open source security tools available right now.

Wish you find yourself the right choice!