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What I use instead of Google services

gabrielweinberg.com

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Re: What I use instead of Google services

#71

Post by songgao »

thenomad wrote: post #11
napoleond wrote: post #7

Another Fastmail endorsement--they really are fantastic. I confess to still using Gmail for some things but it's mostly just because I've been too lazy to switch over all of my accounts. Fastmail is truly a better service. As for calendar, I've heard good things about https://fruux.com/ although I haven't tried that myself yet. (And apparently Fastmail does calendar too--again, haven't tried.)

Is their spam filtering good? That's the primary reason I'm sticking with Google Apps for now.

Coming from Google Apps and currently using Fastmail: It's not as good as Gmail. I still get spams in my Inbox but they are not really a deal breaker. I've been using Fastmail for over 3 months and I'm rather happy about it (just paid for a yearly subscription). I'd suggest you to try it out with a 3 month subscription. You can always switch back; it's just a couple MX records after all.

Oh btw, fastmail also has CalDav (Calendar only; no Tasks) and It's been working well for me too.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#72

Post by boling11 »

elliottpayne wrote: post #40

I switched to fastmail and duckduckgo in lieu of google products a little over a year ago for some of the same reasons. I tried to switch to safari from chrome, and that experiment lasted about 3 months before I got annoyed by how safari handles multiple tabs. But, as far as most of the criticisms posted here, they're really unfounded. If you want to be a purist about privacy, you really have to just quit using techn…

This. Right now I'm also more comfortable with Apple having my info, because their business is built on providing me with a premium product & charging me for it. Google is built on monetizing my data and selling me better ads.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#73

Post by Valseuss »

Carrok wrote: post #59
imgabe wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, say someone has a complete database of my location sampled at 10 minute intervals over the past few years. What could they do with that information that would be harmful to me?

So you're saying you're ok with me knowing everywhere you've been for the past few years? I'm going to assume then that you don't visit strip clubs, bars, 'adult book' stores, the house of your drug dealer, the house of your secret lover, a proctologists office, an OBGYN, an abortion clinic, or a million other places. You may not visit these places, but many others do, and having that information publicly available c…

You don't even have to have been there at all. Once an entity holds all your personal information like that, they can just say "Oh you were here, here, here and here at these times" even if it was not true. Who would doubt them? After all they have all the information right? RIGHT?

Perfect way to set up someone you don't like.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#74

Post by Oletros »

dombili wrote: post #69
Oletros wrote: post #29

Browser: Safari / ... Maps: ... / Apple for directions on mobile Phone OS: iOS Calendar: iCloud And then talks about data not given to one company. Really, is it just a strange joke?

It's obviously not smart to rely on one company that heavily, but I can see his reasoning behind using Apple products. I too am not using any Google services if I can help it but if I had to make a choice between giving my data to Google or Apple, I'd choose Apple. Not because I trust Apple more than I trust Google, but because I trust their source of income. Apple's business is to sell you hardware, while Google's b…

Ah, so the problem is not having your data.

By the way, I think iAds pertains to Apple, not to Google.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#75

Post by astrocat »

> "Like most people, I don't like to be tracked. I also am the founder of the search engine that doesn't track you, DuckDuckGo."

It pains me to hear intelligent people talk about being "tracked" as something "bad" a priori. While there are certainly plenty of examples of abuse of knowledge, I tend to think of most "tracking" not as "stalking" but as "relationship building." Let me explain...

Google is a service provider that I frequent, just like my coffee roaster or my stock broker or whatever. Over time, service providers develop a relationship with their customers based on knowledge of that customer. This knowledge helps inform how they provide and improve their service. My coffee roaster knows what kinds of coffee I like and makes appropriate recommendations when new beans arrive. My stock broker knows what kinds of risks I like to take and gives appropriate investment direction.

Ok, so I don't really have a stock broker but... My point is: I appreciate that google is aware enough to know that when I search for "hash salt" I'm not talking about potatoes. DDG shows me recipes and first.

The problem (as with most things that are hot-button issues) is that the most talked about thing - "tracking" - is a red herring. The REAL issue is accountability. True information lockdown rarely benefits anyone, but openness without accountability is useless and downright dangerous.

Suggesting people flee one provider's services and head to other providers who are not concretely more accountable (just because they "say so" doesn't make it true) is simply being petty. We should instead be spending out breath advocating for greater accountability in the system as a whole.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#76

Post by imgabe »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #49
imgabe wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, say someone has a complete database of my location sampled at 10 minute intervals over the past few years. What could they do with that information that would be harmful to me?

Seriously? Now I know everyone with whom you associate. I know everything you like to do. I know how fast you drive. Because you "associated" with several serious felons (you were in the same bar/diner/club as them several times), I can make a case for conspiracy. I have you in the same area as several serious crimes. Perhaps the data source (phone?) isn't exact all the time (it never is), so I have you as being at s…

Do you seriously believe that's how conspiracy cases work? "They were in the same restaurant several times, they must be involved in a criminal conspiracy". I guess every waiter, cook, hostess is also indicted for conspiracy as well, if that's all the evidence they need.

Google doesn't issue speeding tickets. If the government were to issue a ticket for every single instance of speeding and even 1% of them contested it, the system would be so clogged with paperwork that it would grind to a complete halt.

Personally, no I haven't been to the doctor. People go to doctors, though. That's not a big secret. Are you personally on the lookout for every single person who visits a doctor so you can...make fun of them, I guess? Do you imagine other people are?

An abusive spouse/stalker already knows where you live. If they're that motivated and want to find you, they'll wait outside your house. Hiding the information is not a solution to that problem, those people need to be arrested and incarcerated.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#77

Post by lern_too_spel »

jfuhrman wrote: post #27
dhragoon wrote: post #3

"Apple Maps"? This is shameless. Not sure how to reconcile that with the seemingly mandatory PRISM invocations, the post was almost stomachable up until the Apple cameo especially with the recent privacy headlines. At Least recommend something that isn't a huge downgrade in functionality, an OSM client or something. I'm sure that Apple adding DDG to Safari is the reason for this thinly veiled reciprocity. Privacy or…

If you use Google maps on iOS, the location information can be used to track what stores you visit for ad tracking purposes. Does Apple Maps do anything like this? Apple makes most of its money from product sales rather than advertising. http://digiday.com/platforms/google-tracking/ >But Google can also constantly track the location of iPhone users by way of Google apps for iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. IOS i…

How they use the data is independent from whether they collect it. Both products log that data. Is the usage of that data to display more relevant ads really such a terrible thing that you would use an inferior product?

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#78

Post by Valseuss »

MichaelGG wrote: post #63

I, too, am very unhappy with Google. They're obviously intentionally trying to get people to get used to giving up privacy. From the moronic system Android has, to the tricky dialogs Chrome puts up, they don't like the anti-tracking sentiment. But... DuckDuckGo just doesn't compete on search results. I changed to it as my default search engine, but I ended up going to Google most of the time. And switching away from…

Apple spies on you as much as google, without a doubt. They're just not as open about it. After all, why wouldn't they do it when it helps them build "better" products that make them more money.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#79

Post by imgabe »

oconnore wrote: post #67
imgabe wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, say someone has a complete database of my location sampled at 10 minute intervals over the past few years. What could they do with that information that would be harmful to me?

...because you have nothing to hide? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=privacy+nothing+to+hide You are asking your question from a position of luck (that you, in particular, can afford to be an open book) and mostly at the wrong level. It's not about how it will affect you, it's about how it will affect him/her, and us. Improving your privacy helps people who have legitimate things to hide avoid unwarranted suspicion, and it…

I phrased the question in terms of me, but you have no idea who I am or what I might have to hide, so please imagine it in the general sense of what any given person might have to fear from a database of their location information.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#80

Post by Semaphor »

dan_bk wrote: post #31

> On top of the browser I use these add-ons to reduce tracking further; also, note that private browsing mode and the do not track setting will not stop you from being tracked. (Almost) nobody can escape the tracking, as long as fingerprinting remains possible: https://panopticlick.eff.org/ Google's/Facebook's/Twitter's JS scripts are literally on every site. Fingerprinting allows them to increase their ROI since it…

Plugins on click to play, use a plugin that changes your user agent every few minutes, disable plugin list enumeration.

And suddenly the best information they can get is your HTTP accept string.

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