Shadowsocks is described as 'Secure SOCKS5 proxy with strong encryption, cross-platform support, high-speed asynchronous networking, open-source code, and easy deployment across devices' and is a very popular VPN service in the security & privacy category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Shadowsocks for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Android, Mac, iPhone and Linux apps. The best Shadowsocks alternative is Tor, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Shadowsocks are Mullvad VPN, OpenVPN Connect, WireGuard and Tor VPN.