Sustainable Substitutes for Google Meet

A video communication service developed by Google stuffed with AI features.

Reasons to avoid Google Meet

Avoid Google Meet due to its invasive data collection practices, which track user activity, meeting content, and personal information for targeted advertising and profiling. As part of Google’s ecosystem, Meet contributes to the company’s data monopolies and lacks transparency in how user data is handled and shared.

Choose privacy-focused, open-source video conferencing platforms.

Ethical and Sustainable Google Meet Alternatives

Nextcloud

Nextcloud is a German self-hostable, open-source cloud storage and collaboration platform.

Nextcloud does not track users or sell personal data, ensuring a private and secure experience with optional end-to-end encryption.
Nextcloud is ad free and does not monetise user-data.
Nextcloud is fully compatible with Microsoft Office and OpenDocument formats.
Nextcloud syncs files to your device. You can edit files offline, and changes will sync automatically once you reconnect to the internet.
Nextcloud allows for real-time same-document collaboration.
Some third party providers offer free plans with up to 5GB of storage. The self-hostable community edition is free and without licensing costs.
Nextcloud became the first cloud software platform to earn the Blauer Engel ecolabel, emphasizing environmental responsibility.
Nextcloud is designed to be self-hosted, giving users full control over their data and infrastructure.
Nextcloud is based in Germany, ensuring compliance with strong European privacy laws.
Nextcloud’s core software is fully open-source, allowing for independent audits and community-driven development.
Website
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OpenTalk

A German GDPR compliant video conferencing service.

OpenTalk offers a free tier with meetings of up to 30 minutes length and 5 participants.
OpenTalk can be self-hosted, giving full control over data and privacy.
OpenTalk allows users to join meetings without creating an account or registering.
OpenTalk by Heinlein is based in Berlin, Germany.
OpenTalk does not show ads to its users.
OpenTalk comes with end-to-end encryption and does not engage in data mining for advertising.
OpenTalk is open source under the EUPL (European Public License).
Website

Wire

A Swiss secure messaging and video conferencing platform with end-to-end encryption.

Wire offers end-to-end encryption for all communications and does not perform data mining for advertisement, ensuring user privacy and security.
Wire is free and open-source software, allowing anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance the code.
Wire's service is ad-free for all its free and paid tiers, it's funded through enterprise plans.
Wire offers a free tier, mainly for messaging. For video conferencing one has to opt for one of the paid tiers.
Wire can be self-hosted, giving organizations full control over their data and privacy.
Wire is based in Switzerland, ensuring compliance with GDPR and strong European privacy laws.
Website
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Jitsi

An open-source video conferencing platform with end-to-end encryption, widely used for secure meetings.

Jitsi is ad-free, providing a clean and distraction-free experience.
Jitsi can be fully hosted on your own servers, giving complete control over data and privacy.
Jitsi does not engage in data mining for ads and comes with end-to-end encryption for calls with two participants.
Jitsi is free and open-source software, allowing anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance the code.
Jitsi is free to use for everyone, with no participant limits or mandatory fees for basic features.
Jitsi allows anyone to join meetings without registration. Unfortunately, creating a meeting on the public instance (meet.jit.si) now requires a Google, GitHub, or Facebook account. Self-hosted instances can be configured to allow anonymous meeting creation.
Website

Whereby

A Norwegian privacy-focused video conferencing tool with no account required.

Whereby is ad-free, providing a clean and distraction-free video conferencing experience.
Whereby offers end-to-end encryption for small meetings (peer-to-peer), ensuring user privacy and security.
Whereby is based in Norway, ensuring compliance with GDPR and strong European privacy laws.
Whereby allows users to join meetings without registration.
Whereby offers a free plan with no participant limits.
Website

The 5 main issues with Google Meet

Big Tech - Big Tech companies do not nourish people and planet. This is especially true in times of political tension.

Google Meet is developed by Google, one of the largest tech companies, contributing to market monopolisation and exploitative data practices. Source: EFF: Google Search Monopoly and Privacy Concerns (2025)

No Carbon Neutrality Goals - No goals for carbon neutrality is a bad sign as it shows lack of commitment to holding crucial thresholds for global climate warming.

Google recently erased its Carbon Neutrality Goals in favour of massively increasing its use of AI in its various products, including Google Meet. Source: Toms Hardware: Google quietly removes net-zero carbon goal from website amid rapid power-hungry AI data center buildout (2025)The Verge: ‘Ask Gemini’ AI will tell you what you missed during a Google Meet call (2025)

Privacy Concerns - User data is likely to be stored and used against users' best interest.

Google Meet collects vast amounts of data. Google has settled several lawsuits about illegal use of user data, raising significant privacy concerns. Recent AI inclusions into its product raise additional concerns.TechCrunch: Google accused of misleading consumers to grab more data for ads (2024)‘Ask Gemini’ AI will tell you what you missed during a Google Meet call (2025)

Lack of Transparency - Opacity in operations, data handling, or supply chains, making it difficult for users to understand practices.

Google lacks transparency in how user data from Google Meet is used and shared. There are several cases of unlawful usage of user data and deceiving users about their privacy settings. Source: ArsTechnica: Google loses in court, faces trial for collecting data on users who opted out (2025)

Data Monopolies - Control of vast amounts of user data, creating risks for privacy and potential misuse.

Google Meet contributes to Google's vast data monopolies, creating risks for user privacy. Source: Heise: Critics see Google ruling as insufficient and have privacy concerns (2025)