this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2023

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How much of your life have you degoogled? (beehaw.org)

submitted 2 years ago by frogman@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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We're reaching the end of an era wherein billions of dollars of investor money was shovelled into tech startups to build large user-bases, and now those companies (now monoliths) are beginning to constrict their user-bases and squeeze for every single penny they can possibly extract. Fair or not.

Now more than ever, it's important for us to step back and reconsider whether we want to billboards for these companies anymore.

For anyone unfamiliar, some good resources to have when starting your degoogling are below:

Privacy Guides - A list of privacy-respecting services you can use.

Plexus - A crowdsourced information bank of service compatibility with degoogled devices.

This random PDF - A study from 2018 detailing data that Google tracks about its' users.

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[–] cnnrduncan@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Currently the only Google services I use are accessed through open-source third-party implementations - in particular, Aurora Store, NewPipe, and SmartTubeNext! That said, nowadays I only use YouTube regularly and sometimes access their play store's servers on the rare occasion that I actually need to install/update a proprietary application.

[–] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I degoogled by switching to an iPhone 😅 DuckDuckGo is my default search engine.

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[–] Awwab@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Google still runs a good chunk of my life and some of it I know I could use some of the great alternatives that others have mentioned but some of it I'm not really sure about.

Namely:
Maps
Messenger (web browser access to my texts)
Contact sync and backup
Google voice
And all the various services that let my phone operate...

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 1 points 2 years ago

For Maps there's an alternative on FDroid called GMaps WV which is actually just the Google Maps website wrapped in a tiny webview app. It can't spy on you if you run it that way.

Or you can install Hermit and add Google Maps as one of its sandboxed light apps.

If you're interested in things that aren't Google Maps you can look at OSMAnd, a great app with tons of features and my go-to app when traveling because you can download offline maps and info about local stores, restaurants, attractions etc.

On the lightweight side there's Map Marker which can use map tiles from a dozen different map services, and you can place markers on the map and group them in collections.

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[–] ArugulaZ@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

(sigh) Probably not enough. I was enthusiastic about Google when I first started using it in 2002 (twenty years ago, it really was a cut above other search engines) and had intense loyalty to the brand, which hasn't entirely evaporated. I still use the search engine from time to time, still use Gmail, still use Android phones. There's a lot Google was doing right at the beginning, but eventually, they cast aside the façade of "don't be evil" and revealed themselves to be only slightly less sleazy than Microsoft.

I still use Microsoft products, too. Just could never get used to the taste of Linux in my mouth.

[–] coolin@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

I used to be on GrapheneOS, but the drama with the developer plus mainly not being able to put my university ID on the wallet, forced me back on stock Android.

Besides Android, I use Google Play Store, YouTube, and Maps. For YouTube I've technically degoogled, using Invidious and NewPipe, but that's obviously still using Google services.

I really wish that digital payment didn't rely on two proprietary services (Google Wallet and Apple Wallet). It would be so much easier for phone companies to ship privacy friendly versions of Android if there was a FOSS alternative directly integrated into AOSP. I also wish apps didn't have to use Google service framework just to function, it seems stupid af. I don't think this will ever improve, so I'll probably end up on a true Linux phone whenever those catch up (2030 YEAR OF THE LINUX PHONE???)

We also need open collaboration on mapping. There is the OpenStreetMaps and Overture maps from Linux foundation, but those aren't really there yet unfortunately.

[–] tokadorium@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Only apps by Google I use are gboard, gmail and translator. If someone knows well designed alternatives please share.

[–] tranceFusion@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Fastmail is fantastic from a user experience perspective, though depending on your privacy demands it may not pass the test.

[–] nickb333@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Long time Fastmail user here. Where is it failing with respect to privacy?

[–] tranceFusion@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I’m not sure failing is the right word, it’s just that privacy is not prioritized. They don’t sell your data or sell ads, but they are based in Australia which has very anti-privacy laws regarding govt access to user data that they presumably comply with. They don’t offer built-in message encryption, and they don’t have anonymous signups. I’ve also read a few anecdotes about customer service being able to access your messages or at least certain configuration details about your account that you expect to be private.

All that said, this I’ve been using them for years now. They offer a better user experience than something like Proton without data mining and ads. I’m not sure there’s a best-of-all-worlds option.

[–] pvr@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Love Fastmail! I used Protonmail for a while but their development is soooo slow and they never seem to be able to deliver things on time. Promising features that are years late.

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[–] thayer@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

FlorisBoard keyboard is the one to watch as the Gboard killer. v0.40 will finally bring word suggestions and inline autocorrect. In all other respects, it's more customizable than Gboard and can be configured to match the exact size/layout.

For email, K-9 Mail (soon to be Thunderbird Mobile) has made a lot of progress in modernizing its UI this year now that Mozilla has partnered up with the main dev, cketti.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You can use a privacy-respecting mail service and use any mail app you want with it. K9 Mail app is pretty well regarded, and there's no shortage of decent mail services, some suggestions:

https://european-alternatives.eu/category/email-providers

[–] anopen@mindshare.space 1 points 2 years ago

There's also FairEmail for an app: https://email.faircode.eu/ !

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[–] mitexleo@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

90% of my life is degoogled. I'm using Google Play services for some stuff (It doesn't have network access 😶) it my normal profile. My work profile is completely degoogled.

[–] Silviecat44@vlemmy.net 1 points 2 years ago

Not much honestly. Still use Gmail and Drive

[–] cavemeat@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I have slowly but surely moved everything important off google. My main email is a proton mail now, and I changed my pixel for a oneplus :).

[–] clearedtoland@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I’ve wanted to do this too for about a year but I see no benefit since most addresses I correspond with are unencrypted. One-way encryption is negligibly any better - unless I’m seriously misunderstanding Proton.

I’d switch to @iCloud.com but that just feels goofy.

[–] cnnrduncan@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

It's more about the ethics of the company hosting than any encryption benefits for me personally. Self-hosting would be ideal but email is a bit too important for me to do that personally, so I use proton as a compromise.

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[–] PiselloSauro@feddit.it 1 points 2 years ago

Basically outside of Youtube I don’t use any Google service. Started by migrating to Kagi search, and while it requires a subscription, its a price I am willing to pay for a search engine that actually work good.

Everything else I use a mix of FOSS and subscription services.

[–] InterSynth@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I've degoogled my life as much as I can, but it's almost impossible to completely ditch Google Maps, YouTube, and Android. So I'm not even sure I've done anything significant, because I assume they get pretty much everything from my phone.

[–] blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk 1 points 2 years ago

Magic Earth for maps
NewPipe for Youtube
Android with no Google account & FDriod + Aurora Store

[–] saba@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I was degoogled until late last year. Then 2 things happened. 1, I got a Fitbit watch, and 2, I started a delivery gig job where I needed play store and google services. Fortunately I might be getting another job soon (got a conditional job offer yesterday) and quitting the delivery since I'm making less money now. Also, looking at getting a different watch. When these things happen, I'll probably reinstall LineageOS without play services and delete the fitbit account (which is soon going to require switching to a google account.)

I have hosted email and nextcloud that I use for storage, calendar, etc. I've lived without google before with no inconvenience and I can do it again.

[–] frogman@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

thats huge. if its available to you in future, you should try fight for a company phone if they demand you to use your personal device for work stuff. that's not possible for everyone though, i get that.

more power to you man, really happy for you.

[–] Coeus@coeus.sbs 1 points 2 years ago

I'm still in the Google android stuff just because of convenience but I have ditched Chrome and Google search. Eventually I would like to do more.

[–] MarioBarisa@vlemmy.net 1 points 2 years ago

Since the start of the year I have degoogled my life by about 95%, only thing left is YouTube

[–] fades@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Definitely a continuing effort, not enough people care yet

[–] rm_dash_r_star@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

As far as my PCs, I use a subscription service for email (fastmail.com). I'm still using the Chrome browser, but at some point I may have to go to Firefox for the sake of my uBlock Origin extension which I rely on heavily. Functionality of that extension on Chrome may be reduced at some point by the forced migration to Google's new extension platform (Manifest V3).

I have to have a Google account for my Android phone. I don't think I'll ever be able to get away from that. I mean you have two choices with phones, Android or iOS. I'm not going anywhere near Apple so Android is it. I've audited all my privacy settings in my Google account to minimize personal data, whether they actually honor those settings or not, who knows.

[–] averageshade@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Graphene os is a privacy based android operating system. They run containerized google instances, and severely restrict their view.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If you buy/finance your phone through your carrier, you're almost guaranteed to have a locked down bootloader. Also, and I'm unable to find the article at the moment, but apparently larger banks are forcing google to inhibit users' ability to root their phones in the name of security.

[–] averageshade@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I typically get unlocked phones because of that. I hadn't heard about the banks, but they are typically ok as long as they are unlocked and paid for upfront.

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