Why it exists

Every privacy-respecting alternative to Big Tech still needs someone to run it — and most people shouldn't have to. Private.coffee is that someone, as a formal non-profit with a mission statement: provide free and open-source service alternatives, educate users about digital privacy, and advocate for a more private internet. Unlike commercial "privacy" products, there are no investors to please and no data to monetize — just an association, volunteers, and a status page.

Main features

• Matrix chat — decentralized, end-to-end-encryptable messaging on a private.coffee homeserver.
• CryptPad — encrypted real-time office suite (documents, sheets, pads) where even the server can't read content.
• Transfer.coffee — secure peer-to-peer file transfer (a Wormhole-style tool) branded with excellent taste.
• PeerTube — federated video hosting as a YouTube alternative.
• Forgejo — in-house Git forge for repositories (also hosting community code).
• BigBlueButton — open-source video conferencing for meetings and teaching.
• More services — a growing catalog (pastebin, status page, SearXNG-class search and beyond) on the services page; Tor access for several.
• Non-profit structure — memberships, donations and volunteer roles documented openly; law-enforcement request policy published.

Who it's for

• People in the DACH region (and beyond) who want EU-based, non-commercial homes for their communication.
• Small groups needing encrypted collaboration without self-hosting.
• Existing self-hosters who use it as a reliable secondary (or fallback) for services they can't keep up themselves.
• Privacy educators looking for a transparent example of how such a collective should publish its policies.

How it compares

• Disroot — the larger, Amsterdam-based sibling with more services and a longer track record; Private.coffee is the younger, Austrian counterpart with the same ethos and cleaner legal formalization (registered association).
• Proton / Tuta — commercial privacy with polish and paywalls; Private.coffee is free, community-run and narrower.
• Riseup — activist collectivism with invite culture; Private.coffee has open registration.
• Self-hosting everything — YunoHost remains the DIY path; Private.coffee is the low-ops path with the same software.

Notes

• Register for services you need; several require an account on that specific service (Matrix, Forgejo, CryptPad…).
• Donations and memberships keep the lights on — the site publishes transparent ways to contribute, including per-service costs.
• Small-team realities: superb for personal and small-group use; mission-critical production should still weigh self-hosting or commercial support.
• The law-enforcement policy and legal notice pages are worth reading — transparency is part of the product.

Useful links

• Official site: https://private.coffee/
• Services catalog: https://private.coffee/services
• Join / donate: https://private.coffee/join-us
• Status page: https://status.private.coffee/