How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
1–10 of 44 posts
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#2I don't find it difficult to not use Google the search engine (instead opting for DuckDuckGo, only resorting to Google but for the most challenging queries). I found switching from Gmail to ProtonMail was a lot more hassle than I thought it would be (yet I still maintain my Google inboxes because I haven't updated my email on every online service yet)
I use Apple Maps when I need directions, but not when I need to look up a business. I find Yelp integration atrocious and a bit of a slap in the face.
The browser is a tough one. I have a desktop computer, which Firefox runs very nicely on.
However, on my Macbook Pro Firefox slashes battery by half, barely churning through pages and a few tabs without grinding to a halt. It's not good enough for Mac laptops, honestly. I tried. Trying Nigthly versions ever since 57.0 was released, profiling CPU usage, tracking bug reports, nothing helped. With every version I am hopeful but I don't hesitate to quit Firefox app and keep hoping the next version will be the golden build for retina Macbook Pro's.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#3Impressed someone who doesn’t know how to code has managed to do this.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#4I don't find it difficult to not use Google the search engine (instead opting for DuckDuckGo, only resorting to Google but for the most challenging queries). I found switching from Gmail to ProtonMail was a lot more hassle than I thought it would be (yet I still maintain my Google inboxes because I haven't updated my email on every online service yet) I use Apple Maps when I need directions, but not when I need to lo…
I kinda agree with this. One place where I think user agnostic search engines are better is that your bubble is burst by default. You can see the different with Google and DDG. DDG sometimes does give outdated results but their results change sufficiently when you change the search query, not so much with google. Sometimes Google just keeps repeating the same stuff over and over.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#5I am trying to do this right now, I want to make android apps but I already have one strike on my account and the threat of losing everything associated with Google is too much. I already successfully moved my email but that took something like a year. Finding all the places where I used that address wasn't easy. I am now wrestling with photos, I haven't found a service that I like yet. I'll try nextcloud but I am not very keen on paying for a vps just for that and all my other have their resources allocated to running other websites. Another VERY important one for me is really Google maps. I travel a lot and both the public transport features and search are extremely useful. And last but not least apps. I don't know if I can make it with just f-droid. For example, neither maps.me or Here WeGo are on it.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#6It's great to see how far open-source tech has come that someone like the author is able to switch to non-google services!
Moreover, I'd just like to mention that it would be fine to leave the gmail account open if it was just for password resets, etc (I've left mine open for whatever obscure service that I might have forgotten to switch over). It is a bit annoying yes, but Google does not really get any data out of it from you apart from knowing which services you have an account on.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#7What's the point of posting a Medium members-only article? No thanks.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#8What's the point of posting a Medium members-only article? No thanks.
I am not a member nor am I signed in and I am able to read the article just fine. Just delete your cookies for the website.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#9I am trying to do this right now, I want to make android apps but I already have one strike on my account and the threat of losing everything associated with Google is too much. I already successfully moved my email but that took something like a year. Finding all the places where I used that address wasn't easy. I am now wrestling with photos, I haven't found a service that I like yet. I'll try nextcloud but I am no…
To avoid this problem in the future, I would recommend registering a domain name and attaching an email address. I have switched to a different email provider three times in the last ten years without changing my email address.
Re: How I Fully Quit Google (And You Can, Too)
#10Nice article by a non-techie. Although I am still a fan of Google (I worked there as a contractor and have fond memories of the experience), I have taken a middle of the road approach to Google.
I still use: Google Play Movies and Music, Google Cloud Platform, Google Photos, and Google Drive. Notice the common thread: things I pay for and that don't impact (too much) my privacy. I am a very happy customer of these services.
What I avoid: Gmail, Google web site analytics, and search.
I rely on Fastmail (with their calendar and notes) in my day to day work.