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Alternatives to Google Products

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71–80 of 527 posts

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#71
post #46

The worst thing, the absolute worst thing is, you know all that but you have gotten so used to the way Google services work, that you simply have a hard time to switch. E.g. thank to Gmail I rarely use an email application on my computer and use webmail. When I tried out Posteo it was extremely annoying that it logged me out every few minutes and I couldn't get my email. They said this couldn't be changed. Google rea…

> use webmail ... Posteo logged me out every few minutes

Lets me assume, that you're always logged in. Google thanks you for that, much easier to link this browser's history and searches to your account.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#72
post #46

The worst thing, the absolute worst thing is, you know all that but you have gotten so used to the way Google services work, that you simply have a hard time to switch. E.g. thank to Gmail I rarely use an email application on my computer and use webmail. When I tried out Posteo it was extremely annoying that it logged me out every few minutes and I couldn't get my email. They said this couldn't be changed. Google rea…

I haven’t found a replacement for Gmail yet. I’ve tried fastmail and ProtonMail but both have limitations.

From a search engine perspective I’ve switched to DuckDuckGo and I’m impressed with how good it has gotten.

With maps I’ve tried various solutions including mapquest, Microsoft, and Apple but nothing comes close to Google Maps.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#73
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that "privacy-focused" tends to be conflated with FLOSS. Rather, it's nearly impossible to guarantee privacy in proprietary software. The transparency of FLOSS makes it trustless. Want to know what data of yours, if any, is being collected? Look at the code. This is why, when it comes to privacy, Apple isn't worth consideration. All we have is their word, and that simply isn't enough.

Apple makes its money from expensive hardware. And respecting your privacy and security helps selling it a lot . And they earned trust by being serious about it for a long time.

Uhm 2014 ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud_leaks_of_celebrity_phot...

By comparaison, while there have been a few issues with Google, for a company that processes so much personal data, their track record is excellent. I can't think of any major personal data leak that could be attributed to Google.

Maybe Apple got better within these 4 years, TBH, they most likely did. However, I don't consider 4 years to be a "long time" for a tech giant. Their privacy focus is relatively recent.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#74
post #46

The worst thing, the absolute worst thing is, you know all that but you have gotten so used to the way Google services work, that you simply have a hard time to switch. E.g. thank to Gmail I rarely use an email application on my computer and use webmail. When I tried out Posteo it was extremely annoying that it logged me out every few minutes and I couldn't get my email. They said this couldn't be changed. Google rea…

>When I tried out Posteo it was extremely annoying that it logged me out every few minutes

I haven't encountered this with my personal email server nor heard of it from anyone else. I think this might just be an issue with Posteo.

It's easier if you don't try to move all at once. Spend some time looking at different email options and move that. Do calendar later. Get rid of Google Apps on your Android later still. Gradual change is much easier.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#75
post #46

The worst thing, the absolute worst thing is, you know all that but you have gotten so used to the way Google services work, that you simply have a hard time to switch. E.g. thank to Gmail I rarely use an email application on my computer and use webmail. When I tried out Posteo it was extremely annoying that it logged me out every few minutes and I couldn't get my email. They said this couldn't be changed. Google rea…

I haven’t found a replacement for Gmail yet. I’ve tried fastmail and ProtonMail but both have limitations. From a search engine perspective I’ve switched to DuckDuckGo and I’m impressed with how good it has gotten. With maps I’ve tried various solutions including mapquest, Microsoft, and Apple but nothing comes close to Google Maps.

Can you elaborate on the limitations you experienced with fastmail and protonmail?

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#76
post #69

Again, like I or others mentioned before. If you don't want to be the product, you just have to pay the equivalent of a beer in month [0]. You need a own domain, but who doesn't these days? [0] https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html

This is ridiculous. It is the same company, Ads driven company, you're expecting to be nice just because you paid few dollars.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#77

Besides the Gmails alternatives: 1. Mailfence – Based in Belgium – 500 MB free; 20 GB Pro 2. Tutanota – Based in Germany – 1 GB free; 10 GB Pro 3. Mailbox.org – Based in Germany – 2 GB storage 4. Protonmail – Based in Switzerland – 500 MB free; 5 GB Pro 5. * * Runbox.com - Based in Norway * * They forgot #5, runbox.com

If you use something like protonmail aren't you sending a signal like, "Look at me I've got something to hide!"? If I were role-playing as some mighty and wealthy intelligence bureaucracy, I'd likely monitor anyone using such services as well as Tor, etc. No? I do like protonmail btw and am concerned about privacy in general, esp for the maintenance of democracy. And I'm not at all against the intelligence bureaucrac…

The more "normal" (bad word but you get what i mean) people using protonmail, the weaker that signal becomes :) Same deal with Tor

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#78

Recently I started shelling out $25 a month for a G-Suite account. I wish I could have kept my @gmail email address, as I think your own vanity URL looks a little tacky, but oh well. Anyway, for privacy but also security it’s been amazing. DKIM, DMARC, SPF, and S/MIME for mail. All attachments are executed in a special sandbox before moving to your inbox (delays mail a little bit). None of my personal data / content…

Is it still tacky if you actually run your own MTA?

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#79

Recently I started shelling out $25 a month for a G-Suite account. I wish I could have kept my @gmail email address, as I think your own vanity URL looks a little tacky, but oh well. Anyway, for privacy but also security it’s been amazing. DKIM, DMARC, SPF, and S/MIME for mail. All attachments are executed in a special sandbox before moving to your inbox (delays mail a little bit). None of my personal data / content…

I’m not sure what you mean, isn’t your experience using G Suite as a paid service?

[deleted]

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#80
post #69

Again, like I or others mentioned before. If you don't want to be the product, you just have to pay the equivalent of a beer in month [0]. You need a own domain, but who doesn't these days? [0] https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html

This is ridiculous. It is the same company, Ads driven company, you're expecting to be nice just because you paid few dollars.

No, the G Suite product has a clearly defined privacy policy that's quite different to the usual Google one. If Google violates it they'll be liable to be sued for millions, at the least.

It's not "expecting to be nice", it's "entering into a legal and business relationship that stipulates niceness".

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