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Streaming Alternatives

Important note: streaming alternatives are lateral moves, not privacy upgrades.

The honest truth about streaming

All streaming services track your viewing habits. There is no privacy-respecting streaming alternative. Switching from Prime Video to Netflix trades Amazon's surveillance for Netflix's. The recommendation is to use streaming services in a privacy-focused browser (Brave, Firefox) without being signed into a Google/Amazon/Apple account where possible.

For music: buy DRM-free from Bandcamp. For movies and TV shows: physical media (Blu-ray) is the only DRM-free option. Your library's DVD loan program is free.

If you want to move between streaming services

Tidal From $10.99/month
Replaces: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Privacy: Independent (not a Big Five company); higher audio quality (HiFi/Atmos) Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, desktop

Honest tradeoff: Smaller catalog in some regions; Jay-Z ownership means less neutral than Mullvad or Signal

Bandcamp Free tierPay-per-album
Replaces: Spotify, Apple Music (for purchases) Privacy: Artists receive majority of revenue; DRM-free MP3/FLAC downloads Platforms: Web, iOS, Android

Honest tradeoff: Not a full streaming library replacement; best for artists you actively want to support

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