I was invited to my first gmail address back in 2002 or 2003 (yes, you had to be invited), and since then, like lots of you, I gradually found myself using more and more Google products:

  • Gmail
  • Google Docs
  • Google Drive
  • Google Maps
  • Google Keep
  • Google Weather
  • Google Search
  • Google Voice
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Chrome
  • Google Play
  • Google My Business
  • Google etc

Degoogling

That’s a whole lot of Google, and doesn’t even include the long list of Google products I use for work every day; Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Cloud, and so on.

This is problematic on many different fronts, which are outlined in pieces like this one. Really, it all boils down to one thing:

Privacy

If you allow it, Google will know where you live and work, where you go throughout the day, where your kids are, what you search for, and so on. The online profiles they have on any one user are shockingly deep–it’s not far off the mark when people say that Google may know more about you than yourself.

I’m not comfortable with any entity knowing so much about me, especially if the entity’s main source of business is selling user data for ad revenue.

So, I’ve been degoogling! Here’s where I’ve moved my business so far:

  • Gmail -> Protonmail
  • Google Docs -> Proton Drive
  • Google Drive -> Proton Drive
  • Google Maps -> Open Street Maps
  • Google Keep -> Notesnook
  • Google Weather -> Breezy
  • Google Search -> Duckduckgo
  • Google Voice -> TBD
  • Google Calendar -> Proton Calendar
  • Google Authenticator -> Aegis
  • Google Chrome -> Firefox -> Vivaldi
  • Google Play -> F-Droid
  • to be continued..

I invite you to join me, if you find yourself over-reliant on Google products and with the same concerns that I’ve had.

Degoogling may be intimidating at first, especially with programs like Authenticator and Google Play, but tackling little bits at a time makes it quite an easy, manageable migration away from Google reliance.

foley.works/degoogling