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Alternatives to Google Products

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Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#171

Post by smichel17 »

lev99 wrote: post #88
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like/sometimes use Bing, and it's decent, but it's not significantly different than Google in terms of data collection. The biggest difference, arguably, is that they pay you for it via Bing Rewards. DuckDuckGo uses Bing data and respects your privacy more, and probably the best choice for the privacy-conscious.

My primary goal of using Google alternatives is to deprive Alphabet of revenue. Privacy benefits are secondary.

Why do you want to deprive Alphabet of revenue, if not for their privacy-disrespecting business model?

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#172

Post by praneshp »

jhall1468 wrote: post #113
newscracker wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your use of G Suite is only for email (and calendar), and if you don’t need phone support, there are better paid options out there that are a lot cheaper. Mailbox.org, Fastmail, Protonmail, Posteo (this one doesn’t allow custom domains) and more.

None of those are better than Gmail.

Fastmail is better than gmail.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#173

Post by rock_hard »

scarface74 wrote: post #154
izacus wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until it paid for them them to sell out their Chinese customers. There they didn't think for a second.

I have no more trust in the American government to not spy on its citizens than the Chinese government. If iCloud data is encrypted and only the user has the private key. It's just as secure as being on American servers.

The difference being that Tim Cook handed Beijing the iCloud private keys for Chinese users

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#174

Post by dheera »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #72
tehabe wrote: 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.

I'm definitely on the hunt for a Gmail replacement, considering I have been hearing things such as a snapchat-esque disappearing emails, unprintable emails, and other similar stupid ideas. I decide what to do with emails and other data sent to me thank you.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#175

Post by tty89 »

trumped wrote: post #108

You probably should install something like LineageOS to replace stock Android and avoid installing any Google apps/services if you want to be Google-free... (use f-droid or Yalp to find apps). Because if you replace all Google products with alternatives but have a Google service running on your phone 24/7, what's the point?

One problem that I found with Lineage without GApps (using microG) was that GPS was done for. I couldn't use any map application for navigation, nor book a cab using Uber (their web interface kept denying my payment methods), etc. There were times when I was at a tough spot with friends and family -- trying to book a cab but couldn't. Again, using Uber is sending a tracking signal but it's either that or paying 2x the amount to a local cab.

So google play services is the necessary evil that I have to keep using even after switching to Lineage. I'm back to using them again, but PlayStore and PlayServices are the only two google apps that I have currently. I try getting most of my apps from FDroid -- my filter for "good" apps is mostly how active the repo is, not great but it works.

I've moved my mail over to Fastmail, and looking alternatives to Google Drive (Backblaze B2 is one that I'm thinking of). The problem with all of these non-google alternatives is although they're only slightly inconvenient for me, they're almost impossible for my family to use (B2 for example doesn't have an app).

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#176

Post by fencepost »

Perhaps I'm off base, but there's an awful lot of other tracking possible by Google - how many sites are pulling fonts, compressed JS libraries, etc from Google but don't have a referer policy defined? Decentraleyes and the like may help, but are they foolproof?

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#177

Post by tass »

333c wrote: post #163
tass wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah I see, it doesn’t look like there’s a 3 year option anymore. Thanks for the info!

I just logged in to check and the option is not gone: https://i.imgur.com/4gcnqzg.png

Thanks again!

I don’t yet have an account, so was going off the pricing listed on their website. Good to know there are more options.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#178

Post by ariwilson »

alsetmusic wrote: post #164
izacus wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple iCloud privacy policy mirrors Google's. You gain absolutely nothing if you upload your contacts, photos and other data to iCloud. Apple also regularly gives iCloud data dumps to US government (they approved and delivered data in about 80% of US Government requests in 2017: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/25/apple-second-2017-trans... ) (The exceptions here are iMessage and phone backups which are E2E encrypte…

> You gain absolutely nothing if you upload your contacts, photos and other data to iCloud. This seems so deliberately wrong that I shouldn’t respond, but I will. Quick and easy synchronization of contacts, calendars, and photos are all features that I appreciate. What’s more, my fearful-of-technology brother tells me how useful they are to him. He mentioned photo sync as a benefit only a few days ago.

"Gain nothing" ... over Google's superior features.

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#179

Post by [deleted] »

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #30

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…

[deleted]

Re: Alternatives to Google Products

#180

Post by nemothekid »

izacus wrote: post #125
nemothekid wrote: post #2

I'm a little discouraged when I see articles like this that seem to be completely tuned for developers or look over completely decent pro-privacy alternatives like Apple. For example, the "best" calendar alternative is Etar which looks to a Github repo. Really? At the very least you could mention Apple Calendar. Is Maps.Me (which uses AdSense) really better than Apple Maps? I'm not a fan of hooktube either - it just…

Apple iCloud privacy policy mirrors Google's. You gain absolutely nothing if you upload your contacts, photos and other data to iCloud. Apple also regularly gives iCloud data dumps to US government (they approved and delivered data in about 80% of US Government requests in 2017: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/25/apple-second-2017-trans... ) (The exceptions here are iMessage and phone backups which are E2E encrypte…

You mentioned the exceptions - both of which didn't happen 5 years ago. Is it crazy to believe that we may have Tarnsap-like storage from Apple in a few years.

Side note: I don't think Apple will ever encrypt iCloud iPhone backups because that would make it difficult to use them (how would you restore an iPhone backup to a new device if your old one was incinerated? Your private key would be gone)

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