Stop Using Google

Computeractive Magazine ^ | 1/13/2021 | Oshkalaboomboom

[Oshkalaboomboom]

This magazine doesn't have a place to read articles online but I can summarize it for you. Google tools you can ditch:

Ditch Google Search for DuckDuckGo

Switch from Chrome to Brave

Replace Gmail with Protonmail

Stop using Google Photos

Replace Google Maps with Open Street Maps

Stop using Youtube or, at the very least, sign out of Google before you use it.

Stop using Google Drive and Docs

Stop using Google Calendar

Download and delete your Google Data

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Some other bullet points about Google:

Chrome records every site you visit and offers little protection against third party trackers.

Chrome uses significantly more CPU and memory than other popular browsers. Microsoft released a fix for this in May of 2020 but Chrome has ignored it so far.

Google Search saves all of your searches and uses them to compile a personalized advertising profile of you so it can target you with personalized ads.

Google Photos has changed the way it counts the amount of storage you use and will also start charging for the storage in June 2021.

Google has repeatedly shown that it is willing to change its terms of service at will and on short notice.

Gmail has been allowing developers access to your email and even allowing employees to read some of them.

If you have Google Maps installed on your phone you are effectively allowing Google to track your every move.

Google tracks your activity on Youtube just like it does with its other services.

According to Google Drive's TOS they reserve the right to look at any document you store and delete anything they deem not fit to be stored.

[mewzilla]

That's not all Google does...

Statement From Second City Cop

[airborne]

Bookmark

[Ulysse]

PING

[BiglyCommentary]

Someone posted a link yesterday to a guy (very sharp and knowledgeable) who gave a very detailed overview on DE-GOOGING your Android phone. Precise and detailed on what it was like to use the phone in daily realistic use. Most of the popular Android phones are supported. Very cool thing is that without all the Google spy stuff always running in the background and constantly phoning home, your battery life doubles or triples. Phones run for 2 or 3 days without needing to be charged.

[4Liberty]

Brave works great!

[polymuser]

I’ve gone to Brave browser and Startpage for searches.

Also quit Facebook (long ago), Netflix, Mozilla, Amazon soon (this will be harder, but f’em).

After retirement and no more work PC, dropping Windows and Apple.

[Starcitizen]

Considering that pretty much every organization I’ve worked at or taught at uses Google Drive, gmail, docs and sheets since about 2013, it’s impossible.

Not buying Microsoft products again (Microsoft is just as bad with SSO) and I won’t ever ever use open-source shitware pretending to be office productivity software.

Open-source, Microsoft and Apple products are just as bad. Mostly liberals or Indians run it.

[Starcitizen]

Eliminating Google and Apple will eliminate 26.4 million!! Mobile Developer jobs worldwide. Of that, 6 million that focus solely on Android development, and 2.8 million focus solely on iOS development.

https://www.businessofapps.com/app-developers/

Incredible numbers.

[Auntie Mame]

Thanks.

[WKUHilltopper]

4 later

[Oshkalaboomboom]

To delete or move your Google data go to Google Takeout and browse the categories. By default all categories are included in your data download but you can untick any you don't want.

Click on the Next step button when you're ready and select the delivery method. Under Frequency select Export once. Leave the file type as zip and select the file size, 1 to 50GB in size, then click on Create export button to finish. You can also choose a recurring download under Frequency if you want to keep using the service.

If you want to delete all the data Google has stored on you sign in at Google My Activity and either scroll through and choose what to erase or click the 3 dots to the right of the search box and choose Delete activity by. finally click Always and follow the remaining steps.

[rarestia]

Open-source, Microsoft and Apple products are just as bad. Mostly liberals or Indians run it.

So... just... don't use computers?

[jmaroneps37]

Thank you for this information. It is posts like this that make Freerepublic the best place to gather with other grass roots conservatives.

[Barking Aardvark]

Google makes its money from ads. Block the ads.

[Old Sarge]

Very good suggestions - just got them completed.

[6ppc]

Bookmark **

[Starcitizen]

No. To reiterate with less of a world salad:
1. I would rather bite my tongue and use Google products to stay employed, as those are corporate standards and free
2. Don’t want to pay for a subscription to Microsoft Office (the defacto standards). I will buy *if* a perpetual license was available, as in the past. I already pay too much money every month for required subscriptions - Adobe, Autodesk Maya and 3DMax, Unity3D, ProTools and Substance. Unfortunately they are industry standards, and there are no real substitutes.
3. Apple’s office productive suite and open-source office productivity suites are pure shovel-ware no one who needs real productivity uses.

[SgtHooper]

DuckDuckGo directly or indirectly ships info to Google!

https://voxday.blogspot.com/2020/11/duckduckgo-selling-data-to-google.html

https://godfatherpolitics.com/report-search-site-duckduckgo-hands-user-data-over-to-google/

[.30Carbine]

Saved for later. Thanks!