Electronics are popular gifts, but people often overlook the restrictions that manufacturers slip under the wrapping paper. From remote deletion of files to harsh rules about copying and sharing, some gifts take more than they give. The good news is that there are ethical companies making better devices that your loved ones can enjoy with freedom and privacy. This is the Free Software Foundation (FSF) guide to smarter gifts, compared with their restrictive counterparts.
Like this guide? Download the printable version (translations welcome!) and organize a Giving Guide Giveaway to share it with your community. And remember: donating to a nonprofit in someone's name is at least as meaningful as buying them an electronic device.
Great for all-free-software installations on laptops with incompatible Wi-Fi hardware.
Designed to complement your existing router by providing an easy-to-set up VPN that enhances privacy and security and circumvents network controls. Discount available.
More powerful than its smaller cousin, and can be further upgraded with a larger antenna. Discount available.
If you have ideas for more gifts that can be given freely, submit your recommendations to our growing page.
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, Software Freedom Conservancy, Software Freedom Law Center, GNOME Foundation and Free Software Foundation.
To learn more about which hardware supports free software and which doesn't, explore the community-run h-node database.
This page by the Free Software Foundation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported.
The graphics and photos used on this page have been modified by the Free Software Foundation and are licensed separately under the following terms: