It took a few months preparation but I deleted all my google accounts today, and it feels good.
Now, send a gpdr deletion request because Google still has your data.
It’s going to be difficult after deleting the account though
Difficult but legally required by them, including establishing your bona fides.
Do you have any guides or tips?
A lot of (all?) email services will allow you to forward your mail from Gmail. My advice would be set that up, have all of them going to a specific folder, and only use your new email moving forward. No harm in allowing some email forwarding while you adjust for the next 6 to 12 months. But that way you can also immediately stop using Gmail itself.
Gdrive unless it is really baked into your daily life in a complicated way, it’s pretty easy to replace. Lots of great services out there.
Proton mail allowed me to export my Google Calendar over with just a few clicks. So that was pretty painless. I’m sure there are other calendar services like that. YMMV.
Google maps is tough lol
For the google maps, it helps for us to contribute to Open Street Maps through recording with Mapillary or making edits in our community.
Is the app itself ready for prime time yet? Can I use it daily? I live in a small but major city.
If you can contribute, that would be great. Especially business names and addresses. The best thing I have found to do is get an address from a place via the internet and plug that into gps-coordinates.net and use the first 7 numbers like 31.12345 -82.12345 into osmand when navigating. Then when i arrive i add it to osm so nobody can claim i stole data from another mapping service.
Sounds good!
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There’s several apps to use open street map data. Organic Maps and OSMAnd to name a few. I use a bit of both along with Waze when needed.
I’ve tried them and prefer Magic Earth.
Also, you can contribute to make the maps more complete with Street Complete.
Magic Earth is proprietary FYI. Good privacy policy and good service, only real problem I have is its not FOSS.
Thanks! You too LWD!
Congratulations! That’s awesome! I’ve been Google-free for 2-3 years, but I haven’t been brave enough to finally delete Gmail. I keep worrying I might need the message history one day?
Regarding Maps: I use OrganicMaps as my main, & I reflex to Gmaps WV when something isn’t in OrganicMaps. I feel this is a reasonable privacy-friendly compromise.
You can transfer your entire Gmail email history to your new service very easily
Oh yeah? I didn’t know that. I’ll have to look into it, thanks!
I’m not 100% but I am close. Off gdrive, off gcal, off chrome, almost entirely off gmail. I’ll check out the maps!
Just dug through a lemmy thread of recommended android apps a minute ago and found someone recommending Organic Maps. Pretty damn good compared to some others I’ve seen!
And of course, popping into streetcomplete here and there and contributing some data helps sharpen the data 🙂
Google maps is tough lol
You could try to see if you’d like Magic Earth. It’s proprietary, but has a good privacy policy, uses Open Street Maps, and has traffic data.
Though if you’re dependent on Google Maps for reviews and photos of places, then it’s much harder to replace. Though I guess you could just use the website to look that up.
A guide? Sure! Go to the account settings and click “Delete my account”
So helpful
This makes as much sense as telling somebody to delete all of the contents on their failing hard drive before transferring them to a new one
Would you be able to let us know the services you used, the replacements, and how did the migration process work?
Here are the things I replaced my Google/Microsoft/Meta services with:
- Tuta(nota): Email
- Nextcloud: Cloud
- Typst: LaTeX/Docs alternative
- LineageOS: Degoogled Android rom
- Aurora Store: Google Play Store alternative
- NewPipe, Odysee, Peertube: YouTube alternatives
- Firefox: Chrome/Chromium alternative
- SearXNG: Meta search engine
- Linux/BSD: Windows alternatives
- Bitwarden: Password manager & 2FA client
- OpenStreetMaps (OsmAnd): Google maps replacement
- LibreTranslate, Deepl: Google translate alternative
- Signal, SimpleX, Briar, Matrix: chat and group organization
DO NOT FORGET TO MIGRATE ACCOUNTS BEFORE DELETING
StreetComplete is a great app to help contribute to OpenStreetMaps
Proton for email and cloud storage. Graphenos on a pixel 7a for phone. Phone spps from aurora and fdroid. Kagi.com paid search engine too.
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Protonmail is a free service with an optional subscription for extra features you almost certainly won’t need
This. I used it for multiple months on the free plan and it worked perfectly.
Does skiff work?
Seconded.
Without a single word on replacements for email, calendar, phone, etc… this post is pretty much useless to everyone else than the OP.
I replaced most of that with proton mail and grapheme is which ironically requires a pixel
No sandboxed Google Play services yet? Can be challenging without.
not sure if this helps, but i believe using a separate android profile/user is the same as sandboxing, although less convenient
See above. Plus I use Thunderbird for calendar.
Great, thanks!
How does Thunderbird work for you wrt to sharing calendars with others (eg. family) and syncing with eg. an Outlook calendar?
I only use Thunderbird calendar for myself so I don’t know. Proton includes a calendar offering in their package but I have not tried it yet.
Welcome to the club.
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You can actually use windows without an account. When installing windows, they will force you to log in. But If you simply use an account that has been blocked it will create a local user instead of an online user. People use no@thankyou.com and it works well
Thanks for the tip!
Or, when it looks like you no longer have a choice, click Back and you will then be given that choice.
Or just don’t connect the PC to the internet during the installation.
I feel like Amazon would be easier than MS and Google, wouldn’t it?
Yep, after you realize the majority of the stuff you can buy of Amazon is mass produced trash with zero quality. It was easy to remove.
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Yeah. Deleting accounts, easy enough. Boycotting, much less-so.
Microsoft is already done same with google I have like one niche product that I have not found a place outside of lime a singular stellar on Amazon to buy from
but i don’t want to lose my ability to play minecraft
(yes i know about minetest)
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I want to delete mine too, but I use GMail and I have not found a good alternative yet. Tutanota doesn’t have Thunderbird support and ProtonMail has, but only on paid accounts. I really want to use Thunderbird because it is such a great email client.
I was in a similar situation and after a lot of research I found posteo.net and I liked its privacy, FOSS and environmental policies and gave it a try. Happy with its service for just 1€ a month.
I’ve been using Proton for about a year and a half now. It’s been really good for my needs, I started on the free version but then decided to pay to help support them and to get access to everything else (specifically SimpleLogin).
I agree! Maybe with more research you’ll find something that suits you. I personally use mailbox.org and I’m quite happy with it :)
If you’re reasonably tech savvy and on linux you can use hydroxide to bridge a free protonmail to thunderbird. I’ve been doing it for ~a year, I suspect they don’t kill it for ratings, but I only have free protonmail on my GrapheneOS phone with forwards from thunderbird for specific things, works great…
If relevant, ask me how!
OK, thanks, I will check it out
This is a daunting proposition, I’m admittedly massively invested in Google’s ecosystem. Gmail and Google calendar, I have a pixel phone, watch and buds and have YouTube premium. I feel like the time I switch is when I have a homelab and am able to find open source alternatives to everything heavily use and be able to do so with all devices I use.
Some are easier than others. Especially if you don’t mind paying. Protonmail, calendar, drive solve some big ones right away. Maps is tough though, I’ve tried to find a better solution and haven’t been able to so far.
I’ve been mapping my city with streetcomplete and using osmand live to download my edits, organic maps has a better address search though, so I use that too. I don’t use the live traffic stuff, but osmand is capable of it.
Use newpipe anad install grapheneos on your pixel. I wish i had a pixel to install grapheneos.
I have one and do so. It’s pretty great. I will admit I still have some google services on it, but I’m working on not needing those.
I wanted to but my pixel bootloader is carrier locked. Supposedly you can call and ask them to unlock it if you own the device but not sure if that’s true.
I think it is true. At least it was last time I checked. Give it a try.
Yeah same. It sucks. I got into Google stuff back when Gmail was in beta and invite only. Admittedly I really only use Gmail, drive and the calendar. But the sso aspects is the part that is the hangup I think. I have so many accounts utilizing their identity provider solution.
Welcome to the real world.
You think that’s air you’re breathing?
Let’s not go all the way down the rabbit hole in one pill. Steps of one less person so inured (Definition: Made tough by habitual exposure), so hopelessly dependent on Google.
What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
Hi,
Trying to do it myself but I’m stuck with YouTube.
I mean, I need a gmail account to pay for the Premium sub. And then, most creators are still using YouTube not the few alternatives… How do you guys do?
My friend, look into Grayjay, SponsorBlock, Firefox and UBlock
GrayJay is awesome, I’m excited for more sites to be added! I just need to work through my YouTube algorithm addiction lmao
if you’re using a desktop, try Firefox with the Ublock origin and SponsorBlock Addons. On Android either try the above or use Re Vanced.
why would you do something so barbaric as paying yt premium?
not sarcasm joke, really curious
not sarcasm joke, really curious
I take your question without sarcasm.
Disclaimer: I use uBlock Origin myself, as I really don’t like being forced to see ads.
That said, I don’t think paying for content is ‘barbaric’ either. It’s a personal choice. Either you want to pay and you can, or you don’t want to, or you simply can’t. All three are fine by me.
As a teen, back in the 80s, I could not and did not pay for content (it was not online back then but copying music, books and even movies, or computer applications was a thing). Since then I got a few jobs, and the money that come with them. So, I can support the creators I like and I don’t need to spend time copying anything or searching for workarounds to access it. Be it on YT, or anywhere else. I would love to not pay Google, mind you, but since so, so many creators are still only hosted there, and since YT premium makes it so easy to pay them (a single monthly payment)…
Fair point! See my answer on the other user’s message where I talk about targeted patronization instead of overall subscription, I’d love to hear your opinion about it
I’ve read it. Since you asked my opinion, here it is ;)
As of now the most basic one is 14usd/month, how much of that money gets to the creators that you Want to support?
(to be precise:) I don’t pay 14/month to support creators. I pay 14/month to be allowed to skip the ads that support those channels while still supporting the creators and YT. That’s what I’m paying for, and that’s what’s advertised in big bold face when you look at the YT Premium sub page:
OK, that plus YT Music but I don’t care much about that forced bundle (I use Apple Music). Not a word on supporting creators… Because we know its ads that are supporting the creators, not the premium subscribers. As a premium, I just pay to skip ads. The difference is essential.
Suppose you are subscribed to 28 channels and the sub money gets distributed evenly, that’s 50 cents a Month to everyone, not much “paying their due” in my opinion.
Creators do chose to sign upon YT knowing it’s ad-revenue that will pay them, not the viewer’s money (unlike say, on LTT Floatplane). As a a viewer, YT gives me the choice to a) watch those ads (knowing a small share will go to the creator) or b) pay a Premium sub to skip them (knowing a small share of my Premium will go to the creator). I chose b).
Is it enough revenue for each creator? It’s not to me to say. Not more than it is the creator’s job to worry if I, as a viewer, earn enough money myself to be able to afford the price of the YT sub ;)
Imho, a much more interesting question to ask would be: how much money to a creator gets from YT ads versus how much does the creator gets from a Premium viewer watching the same video? I’m willing to bet they get more from a premium than from the same viewer watching ads or at the very least that they get the exact same value but, quite obviously, I have no idea at all.
In the end, it’s a simple question of offer and demand. I want to watch X creators. Most are on YT. I can skip YT ads for a fixed amount of money, knowing that if i pay that money all creators will be compensated at least the same as if I watched the ads. Win-win. If it happens those creators consider ad-revenues are not enough, it’s a whole other issue. An issue they should discuss together between creators, and with Google. Not with the viewer or… only if it is to discuss the possibility of leaving YT and see how many viewers would be OK to follow them elsewhere and to pay to support their work.
edit: typos & clarifications.
I understand your view, it’s indeed a lesser hassle to just pay the subscription and be done with It.
I can be wrong about It, but judging by how big corpos operate things most of that sub money probably will end up in the company account, not the creators (again, I can be wrong about this).
Wouldn’t you say that using an adblock and supporting creators directly (hot take here since you could want to support 50 people), be a more reasonable and better approach?
Ads are fine, but while the company is being obnoxiously intrusive and predatory towards Its customers, it’s hard to just pay to not be inconvenienced.
judging by how big corpos operate things most of that sub money probably will end up in the company account, not the creators.
Agreed. Suffice to see the valuation of those corps. It’s not the tooth fairy that gave them all their coins ;)
That said, it is YT that host the gazilion of disk space required to store the videos, it is them who manage the website and all our accounts and payments, it is them who deal with comments and moderation, it is them that finds advertisers for creators, and it is them that provide everything else I’m not even aware of. Do they dot it perfectly? Nope ;) But they do it and they too should be compensated for that. And it certainly not free: disk space cost real money, as people’s salaries, even for Google. COudl they share it more generously? I’m willing to bet yes. But it’s up to the creators, not to me the viewer (I would view them on any other platform they chose).
Wouldn’t you say that using an adblock and supporting creators directly (hot take here since you could want to support 50 people), be a more reasonable and better approach?
Better, I don’t think so: it’s the exact same money that is spend in a way or in another. It woudl also ends up costing me more. Which I probably would not agree with.
Reasonable? Well, it can. It depends your priority. Mine, as a viewer is not to have to spend too much of my free time in managing subs and payments. What I want on YT is to watch stuff and have a good time, not turn that into another job of mine (or then I should get paid, like for any job ;)
To be clear, if I had to micro-manage every single creator I like to watch, I would watch… a lot less of them. A lot. I can only think about two, maybe three.
And that would not be good thing for either the other creators and for Google/YT. As a publicly traded company, Google, needs to be perceived as successful (aka, having a lot of views at every single second) and creators themselves, they need the views in order to, well, become popular. No view, no popularity (no popularity, no sponsors). Note that I did not say they need ‘Premium/paid views’ or ‘ad-supported views’. They need all the views they can get, even the ones behind ad-blockers. Ever wondered why YT doesn’t punish users of ad-blockers by not counting their views as legit views? ;)
Ads are fine,
Not by me. I think they are not. I consider ads (and the constant profiling that comes along) a major threat to our society (very personal opinion, but mine nonetheless).
That’s why I’m happy to pay to skip them (while still using an ad-blocker and multiple browsers, to make sure tracking is really screwed). That’s also why I pay for my search engine (kagi.com: zero ads, zero tracking), that’s why I have not owned a TV set since the very early 00s (when TV ads become so prevalent in my country, France): since there was no way to skip ads on TV, I stopped watching TV (I value my time, and my peace of mind, much more than any series or show… and then I can now watch them ad-free on Netflix or anywhere else if I really want, which is not that often). That’s also why I use iOS and not stock android (less tracking less ads, less Google), that’s why I also use a GNU/Linux Debian laptop and a Mac desktop. And that’s why I will never use a Microsoft product ever again: I stopped using Microsoft the day they decided to introduce ads in their OS, making it obvious to anyone all the tracking that was going on. I refuse that. Ads in the OS, ffs…
but while the company is being obnoxiously intrusive and predatory towards Its customers, it’s hard to just pay to not be inconvenienced.
Sorry, I’m not sure I understand that sentence (I try my best to get better but my English is still so limited). Would you mind explaining it otherwise?
I like paying creators their due and don’t like seeing ads. Fuck me, right?
I’m not trying to criticize anyone here for their choices, I’m just curious about the actual effects of such a subscription.
As of now the most basic one is 14usd/month, how much of that money gets to the creators that you Want to support? As of the writing of this response I don’t know this information nor searched about It. Do we have an actual diagram or any information saying how much are you contributing for each channel you are subscribed to?
Suppose you are subscribed to 28 channels and the sub money gets distributed evenly, that’s 50 cents a Month to everyone, not much “paying their due” in my opinion.
Now if you really really want to patronize one, two or three channels, wouldn’t sending money directly to them or paying their exclusive membership be a more reasonable way to go about It?
Wife watches yt on Roku.
Pihole hasn’t blocked YouTube ads in years because the ads come from the same domain. And that’s not including the new crackdown that YouTube did on ad blocking.
Try Invidious, FreeTube, NewPipe,… All allow you to watch regular youtube content without ads. You can also create instance local accounts to “create playlists” and “subscribe” to people.
Do they support casting to Chromecast etc aswell?
I can’t answer that since I don’t have any cast-enabled devices.
Well done!
I ended up keeping mine for occasional things like leaving YT comments or subscribing to Firebase-distributed apps.
I’m considering it. Youtube just removed a comment of mine calling an elon simp a cracker for “harassment”
Really it’s just about the last straw, they passively protect billionaires but will let outright hate speech stay up. They also advertise nazis.
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Would you prefer I call you a gringo, then?
Jokes aside, Youtube doesn’t consider cracker to be a slur (because it’s not) I didn’t break the rule for Hate Speech I broke the rule for Harassment because I was mean to a billionaire. This is a repeated behavior on the site, where they’ll peckerwood for rich people.
No, cracker, you are not the victim of racism.
I’m building up to doing the same. Already using Protonmail and Kagi. Looking for a less Google-dependent phone to switch over to and then I might pull the plug myself.
Any suggestions on starting this process? I have a Raspberry Pi and was looking into self-hosted Google Drive/Photos/Gmail replacement. Best FOSS replacements?
Look up Syncthing and then never stop trying to replace closed source and paid software/services. Like any time you launch something ask yourself “does this hit the same way as when I swapped to Syncthing?” If the answer is no you then put “[name of thing you want to replace] foss alternative” into your search engine of choice. You’ll end up down so many rabbit holes, but you’ll come out the other side a whole lot better at making your technology work for you, not the company that made it, and with a suite of free open sourced tools you are in complete control of.
Here are some tools I use that are super easy to get going.
- Syncthing (cloud storage replacement)
- KeepassXC or Pass if you’re a command line person (locally stored password manager, coupled with Syncthing you have your own private cloud password manager
- Tailscale/wireguard (private VPN that allows you to easily connect all your devices without exposing any of the traffic to The Internet)
- PiHole (a DNS sinkhole that blocks a lot of ads and tracking on your entire network, bonus points if you set it as you Tailscale DNS provider to give all your devices ad block no matter where you are as long as the device was a connected to Tailscale)
Those are the ones that got me going and I personally believe act as a solid core. Most people will find all of those useful. Other services are more user specific, but that’s a lightweight bundle of software that your RPi will handle well. Much more and you might want to look at beefier hardware.
It’s a bit newer, but Immich is a very promising Google Photos replacement.
I recommend setting up a NextCloud server.
I can’t wait to graduate college so I can stop using my Google account. I still have to use mine for the online office suite. I use LibreOffice if it’s just me but I have to collaborate and do group assignments on Google Docs and Slides too.
It’s a nice journey, and you can also start to look into proxmox for self hosting things. It really feels amazing to have your own little lab of stuff rather than using the public web for all services.
