Has anyone been able to successfully de-Google their life?

[1rottenapple]

DuckDuckGo for most of my search. DuckDuckGo and Firefox for my Windows browser. Firefox everywhere. I like DuckDuckGo on iOS (yes, WebKit underneath) because I like the tab management better than Safari; also use Safari for certain things that work better there. The DuckDuckGo browser for Windows works better than Chrome and/or Edge. On MacOS I still prefer Firefox, but also use DuckDuckGo browser sometimes.

Youtube when someone makes me watch something on youtube. Otherwise, no need. "TV shows and movies"? At various times PBS, BritBox, Acorn, Netflix, OTA TV.

Still use Google for: Gmail for disposable email and junk email. Google Scholar. Google Earth. For some strange reason Google seems to want to get rid of the Google Earth app, despite the fact that for some of us, it is one of the few good things Google still has from its earlier era.

I still don't understand why many people are stuck on Chrome. Firefox works better. So what if Chrome runs the browser speedometer faster?

I will say, transitioning from google to duck duck go was much easier it just took time to get use to it. I first switch on my laptop, then ipad, then iphone. Now its just my go to search engine. And I also use duck AI which is helpful.

Ok my work uses chrome and the website EHR we use is "optimized for chrome".

My therapy platform also doesn't work on Safari but it works on Chrome. Go figure.

 

[Mousse]

Youtube when someone makes me watch something on youtube.

YouTube is my go to source for learning how to fix 💩. Need to replace the wheel bearing on my car? YouTube. Replace a toilet? YouTube. Make fluffy scrambled eggs? YouTube. The secret is a little water. I never would have figured that out on my own.

De-Google? It's easier to find a fart in a Jacuzzi. I gave up trying years ago. How I learned to stop worrying and love accept Google.😶

 

[Black_Mage]

No. I have been able to less Google my life though. I used Google a lot more in the distant past. Then I found out that Google does not respect privacy. It's a shame. They used to be a cool company. I had a lot of respect for them when they introduced 1 GB of storage for e-mail. They also embarrassed a lot of ISPs when they rolled out gigabit fiber to the home. Here's my breakdown of my alternatives.

Chrome -> Firefox
G-mail -> iCloud e-mail + Apple Mail
Google Authenticator -> Proton Authenticator
Google Search -> DuckDuckGo

I briefly owned a Nexus 6 as a backup phone when I was an I.T. professional, only so I could learn how to use Android. After I left I.T. I gave that phone to a friend in 2017. I got mad at Yelp, so I moved my reviews of businesses to Google Maps. However, I use Apple Maps for Navigation. Last, YouTube is still the king of video sites despite competition. YouTube isn't that great, but the content on the site is. I wonder what it would take to get content creators to start uploading their videos to other sites. I wish I could quit Google completely, but I'm hooked on the content at YouTube.

 

[Luftkopf]

I'm slowly untangling myself from Google. I will never be able to completely escape, because YouTube is just too useful, and I'll probably never completely escape Gmail totally, but I am happily moving towards using the minimum Google possible.

I still need to use Google Sheets for one client, and it's taking a while to extricate myself from Gmail. I've had Gmail since so early my address is just my name, and Google was nice. Now it's just the address I use for old online accounts, as it's 90% junk mail now.

 

[paranoidgraylady]

I'm slowly untangling myself from Google. I will never be able to completely escape, because YouTube is just too useful, and I'll probably never completely escape Gmail totally, but I am happily moving towards using the minimum Google possible.

I still need to use Google Sheets for one client, and it's taking a while to extricate myself from Gmail. I've had Gmail since so early my address is just my name, and Google was nice. Now it's just the address I use for old online accounts, as it's 90% junk mail now.

I think I’ve almost gotten one of the 3 accounts over to the main one and I can start thinking about shutting it down. A few utilities are too disorganized to handle changing my email address over with the 3rd party billing system they use so I get bill notifications to the correct address and thanks for your payment at the wrong address but I’ve told them the problem too many times. They’re going to have to figure it out when it bounces because I refuse to work there.
Next, making sure everything from one drive to saved to the other and still accessible without the old address. I think I have to rename everything? Can I rename folders? I can’t rename every photo and document! Right? I better get that answer first. What did I do to deserve this before I realized what I was doing??

 

[Luftkopf]

I think I’ve almost gotten one of the 3 accounts over to the main one and I can start thinking about shutting it down. A few utilities are too disorganized to handle changing my email address over with the 3rd party billing system they use so I get bill notifications to the correct address and thanks for your payment at the wrong address but I’ve told them the problem too many times. They’re going to have to figure it out when it bounces because I refuse to work there.
Next, making sure everything from one drive to saved to the other and still accessible without the old address. I think I have to rename everything? Can I rename folders? I can’t rename every photo and document! Right? I better get that answer first. What did I do to deserve this before I realized what I was doing??

Once it's all tangled, it's hard to get free, isn't it.

 

[paranoidgraylady]

Once it's all tangled, it's hard to get free, isn't it.

It really is! I lost a bunch of old emails but I think I’m over that. Do I really need them? Probably not. I would like all photos in one place so I can go through them and look for duplicates and delete what I don’t want and sort what I do and look through documents and do the same. Much will be chucked but some might need action first. I wish I could print everything out and save it in files like 1977. It worked fine really. Especially photos. And documents. I don’t want to ever move albums again or hundreds of books but the rest I don’t mind hard copies because they’re personal.

 

[romanof]

Actually, Google aside, I have almost completely de-Interneted my life. I have enough games on both PS3,4,and 5 to last a lifetime, most of which I have not started to learn. In the corner is a WinXP server (totally offline, of course) with a hundred titles. Some I haven't played in so long that it is like installing a new game when I crank it back up.

Emails only come from a few friends and the bank. Ditto for messages.

Much use is ordering from the likes of Amazon and other sites. Very handy when you live far out in the sticks. I enjoy a few hobby forums daily, like this one.

My Linux machines are offline and loaded with every possible tool for hobby programming and electronic hacking. Don't even bother to update the security until I have the rare need to get back online to get some tool.

But, the main reason is that the old thrill of just clicking and seeing what is out there is gone. For one thing, most sites that allow for patron entry are a sewers of AI slop, and if it is a place to view pictures, forget it. News is clickbait titles exclusively, with again, more slop in the text and usually just stolen from another article, which was stolen from another article, which was... etc.

Not to mention that just random surfing can be dangerous.

For me, the thrill of the old days is gone. Like a mall now. Once filled with every type of shop you could imagined and a place to be entertained for hours, now they are nothing but big strip malls for women.

End of my 2¢

 

[dmr727]

Years ago I shifted all my important email stuff to protonmail, leaving gmail for just retail stuff, forums, etc. Google can mine that garbage all it wants.

I use YouTube occasionally from the browser, but don't use an account.

 

[Howard2k]

Nope. I do use Google Advanced Protection to lock down data more effectively, add extra layers of security, defend against targeted phishing attacks and other threats. It works with both (certain FIDO compliant) physical security keys (including Google Titan, YubiKey, etc.) or passkeys, which I avoid like the plague.

Seconded. Google, Apple, Microsoft accounts are (for me) of extreme importance and heavily locked down.