European alternatives to Facebook, Messenger and Google Photos

Check who owns the service, where the data is and who you pay

An app can have a Norwegian name and still keep the data with an American company. So check three things before you switch.

• •Who owns the company? See where the owner is based.
• •Where is the data stored? A European company can rent storage from an American company, even when the data is in the EU.
• •Who takes the payment? See whether you pay the company directly, or Apple or Google through the App Store and Google Play.

What can we use instead of Messenger and WhatsApp?

• •Threema is Swiss. The company Threema AG has its servers in Switzerland, and you need neither a phone number nor an email address to use the app (source 1). For private use, you pay once, about $6 (source 2).
• •Signal has no ads, but it is American. Signal is an independent nonprofit in the US, and the app has no tracking either (source 3).

What can we use instead of Facebook?

Hudd is a Norwegian-owned Nordic social network for the neighbourhood. Everyone confirms who they are with BankID, Vipps or MitID, and the posts come in the order they were posted (source 4). More than 210,000 people have confirmed their identity on Hudd (source 4).

Hudd is made for neighbourhoods, clubs and associations. If the family uses a Facebook group for photos, a shared album or a separate photo app can do the same job. See all the ways in the guide to sharing photos with your family.

What can we use instead of Google Photos and iCloud?

Jottacloud is Norwegian, and the files are stored in Norway. 5 GB is free, and Home with 1 TB for 5 users costs NOK 79 a month, or NOK 790 a year (source 5).

You can make private albums where the family adds their own photos and videos, and the photos keep their full quality when you share them (source 6).

How to do it with skokk

We make skokk in Norway, in the company Jalborgs gode greier AS. The photos are stored in the EU/EEA, at Google Cloud in Finland, and you pay through the App Store or Google Play.

So several American companies are involved. Google stores the data, Apple or Google takes the payment, and we also use other services from the US. If you want the photos with a Norwegian company that stores them in Norway, Jottacloud suits you better.

We think the family should be able to share without the time thieves from the American tech giants, such as Instagram and Snapchat. We show no ads, and we do not sell your data.

Sources

We checked the sources in October 2026.

1. Threema. threema.com/en
2. Threema: Pricing. threema.com/en/pricing
3. Signal. signal.org
4. Hudd (in Norwegian). hudd.no
5. Jottacloud: prices and storage. jottacloud.com
6. Jottacloud: Features. jottacloud.com/en/features