# Alternatives to EteSync for contacts sync? **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/alternatives-to-etesync-for-contacts-sync/7344 **Category:** Questions **Created:** 2022-10-28T20:14:00Z **Posts:** 57 ## Post 1 by @860fr — 2022-10-28T20:14:00Z I have been trying to use EteSync for contacts sync (FYI, I will still use Google Calendar for calendar to easily share calendars with normies). Unfortunately, EteSync just doesn’t seem to work well for me: slow to sync, logging in to the web app spins forever (currently, I’m unable to login), etc. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I don’t have the patience and mental bandwidth to use software that I feel unsure about whether it’s going to work or not. I was wondering what alternative options there are? I don’t necessarily want to jump straight back to Google Contacts. I need to access/sync my contacts from Thunderbird and Android, and a web UI would be great. I don’t want to self-host anything. FYI, I use ProtonMail and while I would love to store all my contacts on Proton, I don’t think is a way to sync Proton contacts to Thunderbird and Android; IOW, they are isolated to inside Proton apps only. Thanks! --- ## Post 2 by @860fr — 2022-10-28T20:45:05Z I think I’m going to try NextCloud by following this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJzA9yRGgeM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJzA9yRGgeM) --- ## Post 3 by @veesar — 2022-10-29T07:14:57Z The setup in the video is what I use and it has worked really well for me for years. If you have the time, you can set up Nextcloud locally so you don’t even have to sign-up for NC hosting. --- ## Post 4 by @ph00lt0 — 2022-10-29T08:02:56Z Doesn’t sound like a good recommendation for someone who doesn’t want to self host. It doesn’t encrypt anything. I would probably rather have it a t Google than some random small nextcloud supplier. --- ## Post 6 by @lint — 2023-01-04T09:52:59Z I switched to decsync and syncthing from etesync. Its not too bad to set up and then it pretty much just works. --- ## Post 7 by @hynow — 2023-01-04T13:26:48Z Are you using Windows or Linux? --- ## Post 8 by @lint — 2023-01-04T14:16:03Z Windows. I forgot I am also using the Radicale plugin for thubderbird. --- ## Post 9 by @hynow — 2023-01-04T15:56:39Z I am always surprised when people say they use this without issues. I have encountered multiple issues. > > > I've been using the radicale plugin with Thunderbird to sync with the android ap…p, but only recently I've realized that basically none fo the changes are reflected on mobile. I've tried copying, changing details, creating a new event, etc. I've tried both with the stock apps and third party apps, none show anything. I removed the authentication from the radicale server too. > > Only erasing an event created on mobile is reflected. > > Same with tasks, no idea with contacts. > > > I'm using Tasks.org as the task app, but lately, every time I complete a task I …get a notification from DecSyncCC that it failed to delete something in a directory. Clicking on the notification just opened the app, and due to the length of the path, I never got to see what was failing to delete. > > But even more recently, the notification is instead "open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)" every time I complete a task. > > Also, when seeing the tasks in Thunderbird, various completed tasks also show up as incomplete. Disabling the task lists on DecSyncCC and enabling them again doesn't seem to have any effect on anything either. > > Update: After syncing it with Syncthing once again, I now get "Missing file /path/" and "Failed to touch /path/" notifications instead. [https://github.com/39aldo39/Radicale-DecSync/issues/25](https://github.com/39aldo39/Radicale-DecSync/issues/25) And there are many other unaddressed issues on GitHub. I really want it to work. But even if it started working reliably, I would be very nervous to keep using it. --- ## Post 10 by @lint — 2023-01-14T08:12:57Z At this point I am really just using it to back up my contacts and tasks but I’m debating moving to something else for tasks and just exporting my contacts from graphene contacts to something like proton drive. --- ## Post 11 by @dngray — 2023-01-14T08:18:16Z Pretty much why we decided not to list decsync. Least friction/most privacy is probably a small Radicale instance on a server you own that has full disk encryption. A lot less trouble than Nextcloud. Radicale can also do tasks. There’s also a fairly complete docker container [GitHub - tomsquest/docker-radicale: Docker image for Radicale calendar and contact server + security + addons 🚀](https://github.com/tomsquest/docker-radicale) --- ## Post 12 by @Eirikr70 — 2023-01-14T18:26:15Z I use Radicale together with Davx5. But you have to be willing to self host. --- ## Post 13 by @anon62252234 — 2023-07-14T15:17:27Z Unless what I said here: [Restore EteSync (Calendar/Contacts Sync) - #31 by anon62252234](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/restore-etesync-calendar-contacts-sync/11764/31) changes (it might, see the dev’s response: [Can't install from pip or compile binaries · Issue #296 · etesync/etesync-dav · GitHub](https://github.com/etesync/etesync-dav/issues/296#issuecomment-1635993749)), I can no longer use EteSync, and need to find a replacement. Unfortunately, none seem to be good. Here’s a list of my options, including EteSync for comparison: - EteSync - Pros: - Encrypted - Everything synced to devices - Cons: - Every client is outdated - It doesn’t work anymore - Local - Pros: - No service required - Can backup to files - Cons: - Importing the files probably duplicates things - No tasks support - Proton - Pros: - Encrypted - Calendar app for mobile - Cons: - Contacts can’t sync to devices - Calendar can’t sync to devices/no calendar app for desktop - No tasks support - Tutanota - Pros: - Encrypted - Calendar app for mobile - Cons: - Contacts can’t sync to devices - Calendar can’t sync to devices/no calendar app for desktop - No tasks support - CalDAV/CardDAV - Pros: - Everything syncs to devices - Cons: - Unencrypted - Probably requires self-hosting Am I missing something, or is there just no good replacement? --- ## Post 14 by @ph00lt0 — 2023-07-14T15:58:29Z It’s a good sum up of the situation. I returned to a dav server from etesync long ago because of similar issues and instability. I desperately hope Proton will launch a contact app. --- ## Post 15 by @anon73250778 — 2023-07-15T01:46:07Z Everything is brittle now. I couldnt self host because of certain issues in my domicile. I had contacts synced up but I moved locally for some reason. Now my contacts are all over the place and unsynced. I think I even forgot to greet a certain family member of their birthday because of this. One more con for Proton Calendar, somehow it does not copy certain information like birthdays when imported from a contact list export. I think I also had a lot of notes within my contacts with nextcloud/etesync. Im so disappointed with Etesync. Insert you were supposed to be the one Anakin meme --- ## Post 16 by @anon62252234 — 2023-07-15T20:09:30Z So far, this is my solution: For calendar, I am going to use Proton Calendar. This means using the web interface on my laptop. However, I realise now that it supports email notifications, so I can still get notifications on my laptop. On my Android phone I’m using the app, although it’s disappointing that it’s not open source at the moment. Hopefully it will be soon. For contacts, I have my contacts on Proton Mail, and I have them imported to GNOME Contacts and Android. When I update them, I will do this on GNOME Contacts or Android, and then I should be able to import them to Proton Mail without creating a duplicate. For deletion, I will have to delete the contact three times. For new contacts, I can export those separately and import them on GNOME Contacts and Android. Hopefully in the future Proton Mail will support syncing the contacts to Android. For tasks, I am using Proton Calendar for tasks that have a date, and my notes solution for tasks without a date. * * * This is not the best solution, but in some respects, namely the fact that Proton Calendar and Proton Mail are maintained, it is a better solution than EteSync. In others, namely syncing contacts to devices, syncing calendar to GNOME Calendar, and proper tasks support, this solution is inferior. --- ## Post 17 by @HammeredSavior — 2023-07-25T07:13:32Z The main issue with not using etesync now is in how to solve the contacts issue, because there are options with notes (standard notes, notesnook, joplin, etc), calendars (proton, tutanota, etc), tasks (now notesnook). But for contacts what I do is have local contacs on android and every so often export them to a syncthing folder. is not encrypted on my pc nor my phone but at least they are on transit. Then every onece in a while again I buck them up from my pc to within my main backup solution --- ## Post 18 by @anon73250778 — 2023-07-25T07:26:50Z It should not be an issue if the information is stored in an encrypted drive. I plan to sync my contacts via CardDAV and calendar via CalDAV. --- ## Post 19 by @HammeredSavior — 2023-07-25T07:47:41Z yeah thats wher eI stored them the only issue is that I have to put it on the android phone on a folder that many apps could have access, but is not much of a problem actually. --- ## Post 20 by @Regime6045 — 2024-02-19T09:44:42Z Etesync made a blog post in December23 saying they’re still active: > **[EteSync Status Update](https://blog.etesync.com/etesync-status-update/)** > > Every now and then I'd get a question on Github or the community chat about the status of EteSync given that there hasn't been as much activity on the blog and the repos as there has been in the past. The gist of it: the service works well, I and Is anyone here using Etesync and can report how reliable the sync across different platforms (mobile, desktop, web) is nowadays? --- ## Post 21 by @Alvah.Lind64 — 2024-02-19T10:31:02Z It’s reliable for my usage on Android and desktop, have been a paying customer for over a year now. I dislike the CPU and RAM consumption of etesync-dav and wish that the web app was more functional, but if you just want reliable E2EE sync then it works fine. --- ## Post 22 by @Regime6045 — 2024-02-19T11:07:35Z Thank you! What’s the shortcomings of the web app? And did you have any problems syncing with Thunderbird at all or smooth sailing? I think Etesync was removed as a PG recommendation a while ago with people saying that it only worked well on Android but not on other platforms. Maybe that’s been improved now and if so, a re-listing could be considered in the future. --- ## Post 23 by @Alvah.Lind64 — 2024-02-19T12:01:50Z It’s alpha quality in terms of performance, featureset and development. etesync-dav syncs with Thunderbird but there’s up to 10s latency when updating events which can be annoying. --- ## Post 24 by @mika — 2024-02-19T14:58:27Z > [@Regime6045](#): > > Is anyone here using Etesync and can report how reliable the sync across different platforms (mobile, desktop, web) is nowadays? It looks like there have been zero updates to the desktop bridge and iOS apps since I stopped using the service, which means [the issues I identified here](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/restore-etesync-calendar-contacts-sync/11764/2) are still present. It’s not reliable. Android is the only platform where it works as advertised. After losing important changes/additions to my calendar multiple times (and almost missing an event because of it) I moved on. --- ## Post 25 by @md4 — 2024-02-19T15:17:16Z This was a great service. Sad to see the current state, but a good reminder of the importance of being able to migrate away from a service provider smoothly. Might be worth emphasizing this concept and ways to plan for it at the outset in the Recommendations. --- ## Post 26 by @anon21489307 — 2024-02-19T16:27:41Z > [@anon62252234](#): > > Proton > > - Pros: > - Encrypted > - Calendar app for mobile > > - Cons: > - Contacts can’t sync to devices > - Calendar can’t sync to devices/no calendar app for desktop > - No tasks support I would like to add another con to the list: - Calendar on Android doesn’t have tablet UI. It’s tiny in the landscape mode. --- ## Post 27 by @anon73250778 — 2024-04-06T00:59:46Z Can I bump this for any updates? Has the community found anything yet that isnt Nextcloud or EteSync? Is Proton Calendar our only alternative for a private and secure sync right now? It is available on desktop now but only as an electron app. I was hoping for better OS integration for GNOME at least but I’m sure the electron app doesnt allow for that. --- ## Post 28 by @anon70475374 — 2024-04-08T18:33:01Z Hi, Just chiming in to see what’s up on this topic. I am currently using Nextcloud for file sync and calendars. Since I am not making any use of the rest of the functionalities and am always having sync issues with the nextcloud clients, I would really like to move. For files, that’s a work in progress, but I have options. For calendars, however, I am a little lost (contacts are not needed because I just have them locally). A temp plan is to revert back to iCloud, since it is now E2EE (which it wasn’t when I moved to Nextcloud), but that’s not a long-term solution, as I also want to move away from the Apple ecosystem altogether and ditch my Apple ID when I move to Linux. Sooooo… what are my options? PS: Proton calendar is out there, but since I do not use the rest of their products (and don’t particular fancy Proton anyway) that’s not really an option. --- ## Post 29 by @Regime6045 — 2024-04-08T18:52:31Z > [@anon70475374](#): > > A temp plan is to revert back to iCloud, since it is now E2EE Not for calendar, contacts and email though :slight_smile: --- ## Post 30 by @anon70475374 — 2024-04-08T18:55:49Z Ah f\*ck! Must have gotten confused with reminders and notes or something. Well, there goes my temp plan. --- ## Post 31 by @doctorrock — 2024-05-13T15:46:41Z Just want to mention that I’m currently using the 14-days trial and synchronisation between a Debian laptop and a LOS smartphone works without any flaws. To me the service does not seem to be dead at all! --- ## Post 32 by @mika — 2024-05-13T15:57:24Z Android was always the one platform where EteSync seemed to mostly work as advertised. But give it time and you’ll probably encounter the same reliability issues that have been around for years. --- ## Post 33 by @wojciechxtx — 2024-05-13T17:16:36Z Well, this is live. People come, people go. Same with services; one day the service is thriving, the other its gone. This is just the way this world operates I think… --- ## Post 34 by @securitybrahh — 2024-07-06T18:42:36Z Really enjoying native synced tuta contacts! --- ## Post 35 by @securitybrahh — 2024-07-06T18:44:56Z Calendar needs an overhaul right about now. If nobody else is doing it I may take matters into my hands lol. Calendly but e2ee with some teams ops feel it. --- ## Post 36 by @anon73250778 — 2024-12-16T00:58:22Z Few days ago I’ve seen EteSync rapidly post new updates. I am not sure if its author Tom Hacohen is going to commit to keep the code updated this time around. So now that 2024 is ending and 2025 is almost upon us, do we have a proper EteSync Replacement now? Does Tutanota have a solution for E2EE Contacts and Calendar Sync? --- ## Post 37 by @securitybrahh — 2025-03-27T07:53:38Z > [@anon73250778](#): > > Does Tutanota have a solution for E2EE Contacts The contacts even has native android/iphone contacts sync! --- ## Post 38 by @sha123 — 2025-03-29T16:19:11Z > [@securitybrahh](#): > > The contacts even has native android/iphone contacts sync! What about calendar and tasks? --- ## Post 39 by @securitybrahh — 2025-03-31T09:50:12Z > [@sha123](#): > > calendar > **[Encrypted shareable calendar](https://peergos.org/posts/calendar)** --- ## Post 40 by @sha123 — 2025-03-31T10:15:54Z Thx. I need to two-way sync my calendars and contacts with end-devices (Android and Linux), so they can work when being offline. in the case of Android it should sync to Android’s calendar/contacts storage, so I can make it accessible to other apps. Does this work with Peergos? --- ## Post 41 by @cupcake — 2025-03-31T11:18:18Z For android you can just use davx5 to sync caldav and carddav via any dav provider. For free providers theres disroot and vivaldi, or you can selfhost nextcloud. For calendar view theres the fossify calendar. Davx5 + fossify calendar works wonderfully well. --- ## Post 42 by @sha123 — 2025-03-31T12:53:37Z That’s what I do at the moment with my Nextcloud and there are plenty of services which offer this. But I would like to switch as much as possible over to end-to-end encrypted services. --- ## Post 43 by @securitybrahh — 2025-03-31T14:01:06Z if you want to self host > **[GitHub - tomsquest/docker-radicale: Docker image for Radicale calendar and contact...](https://github.com/tomsquest/docker-radicale)** > > Docker image for Radicale calendar and contact server :calendar: + security :closed_lock_with_key: + addons :rocket: --- ## Post 44 by @securitybrahh — 2025-04-06T06:35:04Z @forwardemail apparently has caldav too. [https://forwardemail.net/en/faq#do-you-support-calendars-caldav](https://forwardemail.net/en/faq#do-you-support-calendars-caldav) --- ## Post 45 by @Regime6045 — 2025-04-06T12:18:35Z But I doubt it is end-to-end encrypted. And also I’m not sure it is has a web interface (including tasks). --- ## Post 46 by @pgtj — 2025-10-27T20:02:11Z I have prolonged my Etesync subscription. After a quick reply that payment was received and a question about my data that I answered a day later, I’m already waiting 8 days since I replied to their question. Several emails later my subscription is still not activated but my money is gone. Is there anyone else havign trouble with their service? --- ## Post 47 by @Regime6045 — 2025-11-11T16:16:10Z Is there any other product offering encrypted contacts sync besides Etesync and Tuta? --- ## Post 48 by @kissu — 2025-11-11T20:38:26Z I guess ProtonMail can also do contact syncing and I assume it is E2EE. --- ## Post 49 by @Regime6045 — 2025-11-12T17:03:05Z Sorry I mean syncing to the device-wide contact list on Android for example. Not just contained to its own app. On desktop it might be less relevant, but I think the Protonmail Bridge also doesn’t sync contacts to Thunderbird. --- ## Post 50 by @object2598 — 2025-11-12T18:02:18Z The problem with self hosting radicale or nextcloud is that it’s not e2ee, so if someone gets access to your server while it’s running or just powered off, you’re cooked. I’ve been thinking about hosting the radicale instance directly on my phone (GrapheneOS) since at least I have it always with me, it’s more secure than a server, and it reboots every now and then. From what I searched it seems feasible, I will give updates on the set up later. --- ## Post 51 by @kissu — 2025-11-12T19:25:12Z Not sure how expensive (as in battery) it is to have a running Docker instance on a mobile device 24/7. :sweat_smile: What’s the issue with self-hosting? Do you have intruders at your place? You can always secure your rack into an isolated room if it’s a concern. :hugs: If you’re really concerned, don’t store the contacts on any digital device. Or maybe keep them into a password manager! --- ## Post 52 by @object2598 — 2025-11-12T20:12:11Z Seizure by law enforcement. It happened to me arbitrarily in the past (completely at random, I’m not an activist nor criminal) and yet they snooped in all my data. I do self host, but I prefer self hosting e2ee apps (ente, rclone crypt, cryptpad …) On my mobile phone I have the self erasing password, which I would give law enforcement, plus the hundreds of mitigations that just don’t exist in a linux homelab. Of course I could keep it in Proton, but I’d lose many nice features from the integration with contacts and calendars on device, like birthdays, sync with other apps such as WhatsApp (with storage scopes), etc. --- ## Post 53 by @kissu — 2025-11-12T20:16:15Z What bothers you in that situation? Loosing the data itself (and need to rebuild it) or them having access to it? I never checked on Linux, but there might be a way to have a kill-switch. But again, destruction of (potential) evidence? Not sure about the law on that regard. Definitely software solutions existing. But…with enough money and time you can probably still get inside of a well encrypted digital device. :sweat_smile: --- ## Post 54 by @object2598 — 2025-11-12T20:22:34Z What bothers me is law enforcement or anyone having access to it. I could just do backups for data loss. On Linux it’s very easy - once they get access to the server - to take the encryption keys on the RAM. Even if the machine was turned off they can still retrieve it for hours. I explored the possibilities of hardening but it’s not there yet. On the GrapheneOS phone it’s a bit more expensive to get access (they would need 0 day exploits or very destructive methods), and I’m pretty sure the password to erase everything would be effective (they would probably try the password I give without thinking about data erasure). It also goes to BFU with auto reboot, which would be very cumbersome for a linux homelab but fine for a phone that stays with me all the time. --- ## Post 55 by @anon73250778 — 2025-11-23T16:12:07Z I just noticed that TrueNAS Scale now has a community docker image of Radicale. I am setting this up now. --- ## Post 56 by @object2598 — 2025-11-23T22:47:39Z I had troubles with the sync and they didn’t reply to my e-mails. It’s clearly abandonware. --- ## Post 57 by @pgtj — 2026-05-29T21:42:18Z Since Etesync has become abandonware with next to no code maintenance and communication having become an afterthought I wanted to move away from Etesync in a way that minimizes risks on data leakage and maintain my privacy in other aspects as well. As there is pretty much no other application that hosts both a calendar and address book client side encrypted, choosing any online service runs the risk of being read by third parties. Also, in terms of security I think the biggest big tech companies would be safest but they also invade your privacy the most, by far. And any company hosting stuff for many clients is an interesting target for hackers. Then there is the option to rent a NextCloud instance or so. But that still has many of the above risks. Privacy concerns mainly concern three risks: - Data leakage/hackers - Privacy invasion - Authorities using either illegal or legal power I decided the latter was a lesser risk (for now) than the other 3, seeing that I live in West Europe. So I decided to self host. First I thought about Radicale but there seems to be a reasonable amount of users experiencing problems. In the end I decided on Davis, a SabreDav fork with a really nice UI and decent feature set. So this is how I did it: - Tried to install myself but I didn’t get it to work. I’m no Docker expert. I installed Yunohost and installed Davis as a Yunohost app. Installation works nicely, but it needed one modification for my dav clients to be able to connect. Can be found in the issues for the specific Yunohost app repo on github. - I had 5 agenda’s to migrate. I exported every calendar seperately in an .ics file. I then disabled the Etesync app. - I then created the agenda’s in the Davis user account. If you need to share agenda’s between accounts then that’s no problem BUT first fully create the agenda’s before you share! Any changes in display name, color etc AFTER you shared are not automatically available for the account you shared with. I needed to navigate to the user account I shared a few agenda’s with → agenda’s → open agenda shared with account → manually add the edits. A small point of improvement for Davis. - Installed KashCal for caldav sync and import of the exported agenda’s. Connect your account. The dav endpoint is `/dav/`. Then in the settings choose import appointments. You can choose the file to import, then the new agenda in Davis to import it to. This way you can restore all your agenda’s. - I use a different calendar app (fossify) because it has a widget feature I really like. After the steps in KashCal you can install Davx5 for sync . Then the agenda’s could also be found in the Fossify agenda. - On my partners phone I also did these things. That was a new phone with GOS and no contacts yet. I exported all contacts on the old phone to a vcf file (warning: Google Dialer supposedly uses a very old format that is not compatible with new apps). It can then be imported with the GOS contacts app or any other supporting this. Be sure though to choose the carddav enabled account and not local phone storage. You have now succesfully migrated away from Etesync or any other service you want to get rid off :slight_smile: It takes some time but it’s very doable in an afternoon or shorter.