Keep Your Data Local: Free Offline Alternatives to Popular Web Apps

We live in an era where we are almost 24/7 online through our However, this doesn’t mean that we no more require offline apps. In spite of growing popularity and use of online apps, offline apps do have their own place and are still used excessively for various purposes. For instance, offline apps are required to keep data local so that we can use them offline. After all, more we get addicted to stay online all the time, more we should remain prepared for the time when we will not be online. Only offline apps will serve as savior during such times.

Taking the cue, listed below are some free offline alternatives for popular web apps such as Google Talk, Gmail, etc.

Mozilla Thunderbird: If you require accessing your emails offline, then Mozilla Thunderbird is a great option to do this. It is a very stable email program that incorporates all the necessary features, and extra features can be added using the add-ons.

Mozilla Lightning extension: If you require storing and managing your calendar tasks entirely offline and if you are using Mozilla Thunderbird, then you can try Mozilla Lightning extension. Using this app, you can support task and add calendar to Thunderbird offline. As Thunderbird is also an email program, so you will have calendar tasks, emails and other to-do items at one place.

Google Docs: For the best offline management of your stored documents, you have Google Docs. Using this app, you can view and edit your documents from any computer or mobile device.

LibreOffice: It is a powerful offline suite that includes all office applications like document, spreadsheet, presentation, etc. It is a free option and supports best compatibility when it comes to viewing and editing of documents in Microsoft Office format.

Google’s Picasa: There are so many photo editing tools, but if you want a tool that works entirely offline, the Google’s Picasa is the right desktop application for you. It is even today one of the best and high-quality desktop photo management applications. Through this app, you can import photos from a digital camera, try out various photo editing tools, and keep your photos organized.

KeePass: If you are looking for an offline password manager, then keePass is the right app for you. It is an open-source password manager. It is very strong in its functionality and can easily lock password database with an encrypted password. Each time you want to use this password manager, you have to enter the master password, this keeps the password safe. KeePass doesn’t support any online-syncing. This can be a problem for some of the users as they need to figure out how to move the database to the online storage that requires certain degree of technical knowledge.

Pidgin: Chatting or instant messaging is something that we believe can be done alone through Internet connection because they are by nature Internet enabled processes. However, while chatting through regular chat programs, our chat messages get tracked in the database of Internet traffic. But if you want to communicate with someone in a more private way, then you have Pidgin, which is a desktop application that allows you to send encrypted messages to your receiver. For this, your receiver also needs to have OTR plug-in installed on his computer.

Having these desktop applications in your desktop or laptop is equally important, especially if you know that you can’t be online all the times. Using these offline apps, you can store your data locally and hence can use them anytime, irrespective of how good or bad your Internet speed is. All the aforementioned apps are completely free and also allow you to access your data without paying for your Internet connections.

About the Author: Hi! I am Brook M. Perry, a prolific blog writer and keen author of articles related to online tablet support and solution for issues related to computers and mobile devices. Being associated with the reputed best pc tuneup service provider Qresolve, I have resolved thousands of tech issues for our customers from worldwide