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Are you giving your loved ones tech gifts they can use freely?

Or gifts which put someone else in control?

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.

More ethical options

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's guide to smarter gift giving, compared with their restrictive counterparts.

Share

Use #givefreely. You might get a gift out of it!

Lead an event

Print and distribute to holiday shoppers.

Donate instead

Help a free software organization in a friend's name.

Smartphones

replicant phone
Galaxy S3 with Replicant
  • Runs the Replicant free operating system, based on Android. Caveat: its modem hardware separately runs a nonfree system.
  • Features F-Droid, the free software catalogue that makes it easy to get all the applications you need without sacrificing control of your phone.
iphone
iPhone
  • Comes with no shortage of spyware.
  • iOS is a fully proprietary operating system, giving Apple control over the software on the devices.
  • Apple uses DRM to block competing software.

Full-Sized Laptops

t400
T400 with GNU/Linux
  • Runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel operating system and libreboot firmware.
  • Durable hardware is meant to last and is easy to repair.
  • Created by a small business that replaces all restrictive components from a stock laptop.
macbook
Apple Macbook Pro with macOS
  • Runs on proprietary software that restricts the user's freedoms.
  • Apple's App Store uses DRM to restrict what you can do with your purchases.
  • Comes crawling with spyware.

Compact Laptops

x200
X200 with GNU/Linux

Get it from

Libiquity Technoethical
  • Runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel operating system with libreboot firmware. The X200 sold by Libiquity is also certified to Respect Your Freedom.
  • Durable hardware is meant to last and is easy to repair.
  • Created by a small business that replaces all restrictive components from a stock laptop.
lenovo
Lenovo U31 with Windows

3D Printers

lulzbot
LulzBot Mini

Get it from

LulzBot
  • Respects Your Freedom-certified by the FSF to run with all free software, making 3D printing more accessible and encouraging innovation.
  • Performance and seamless interface earned it "Editor's Choice" in Tom's Guide's 2016 3D printer comparison.
  • Hardware designs available to make customization easy. Standardized material format allows 3D printing with plastics, wood-, stone-, bamboo-, rubber-, and metal-like materials.
printer
Makerbot Replicator Mini
  • MakerWare software is proprietary, restricting freedom and stifling innovation.
  • MakerBot was founded with a more freedom-respecting philosophy, but has since announced an increasingly proprietary approach and distanced itself from the community that formed around it.

Convertible Laptops/Tablets

Technoethical convertible tablet laptop
X200t with GNU/Linux
  • Runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel operating system with libreboot firmware.
  • Durable hardware is meant to last and is easy to repair.
  • Created by a small business that replaces all restrictive components from a stock laptop.
lenovo
Microsoft Surface

eBooks

gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
DOWNLOAD
  • All of the ebooks are gratis, including classics like Peter Pan and Huck Finn.
  • The original purveyor of eBooks free of DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), inspiring many others.
  • Enjoy the freedom to read your ebooks on any device.
amazon
Amazon.com
  • The Free Software Foundation, as a small publisher of books, recommends not purchasing on Amazon. If you do, please use smile.amazon.com to designate a nonprofit to receive some of the money.

  • Graphic Design

    GIMP and Inskacape
    GIMP and Inkscape
    • Free software, with thriving developer communities.
    • Designed for free formats, but can also open files created in other programs.
    • Wide variety of plugins grants limitless features.
    • Easy to install on all major operating systems.
    adobe
    Photoshop and Illustrator
    • Proprietary software controlled by Adobe.
    • Shuts down when its DRM is unable to verify the costly required subscription, even if it's actually up to date.
    • Prefers locked-down proprietary formats.

    Gift Cards

    fsf card
    FSF Membership Card
    BUY
    itunes
    iTunes Cards
    • DRM on everything (except music) controls what you can do with your purchases.
    • Apple claims (wrongly) that you don't actually own anything you buy from the iTunes store.
    • Requires proprietary software to use, even to download DRM-free music.

    Recommended organizations for holiday donations

    sfc
    eff
    cc
    wikimedia
    sflc
    gnome
    ceata
    fsf

    Promotion details

    • ThinkPenguin: Receive a 5% discount on any items you buy from the Web site. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Use the coupon code FSFGIVING16 at checkout.
    • Libiquity: Receive a 5% rebate off your subtotal price for any items you buy from the Web site. Libiquity will donate 5% of each purchase's subtotal price to the FSF. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Claim the rebate by sending the code FSFGIVING and your order number to sales@libiquity.com. Libiquity will then credit the rebate amount to your payment method.
    • Technoethical: Receive a 5% discount on any items you buy from the Web site. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Use the coupon code FSFHOLIDAYS at checkout.
    • LulzBot: Receive two gratis, 1 kilogram reels of nGen filament when you buy any 3D printer. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Use the coupon code FSF2016. Cannot be combined with other offers.

    Licenses

    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: