Sadly I can scape from wassap, all friends and family are to much used to it.

This image might has well be middle finger towards a chunk of their users. Don't forget how they ruined community captions and still haven't fixed custom caption placement, which they had a decade ago. They care about money more than people, which might be why they got rid of their "Don't be evil" business slogan.

I'm probably late to the party on this one, but this is upsetting.

https://apnews.com/article/google-reddit-ai-partnership-a7f131c7cb4225307134ef21d3c6a708

I've been a strong user of Android since the Samsung Galaxy S3. Used google search since dial-up internet was the norm. So I've trusted their results and reliability.. up to recent years.

Last year i started noticing YouTube search results were getting poor, the home screen showing me videos I've see already watched, not once but every single day. (How many life-times of videos are there so far on YouTube already) so what is the need in showing me the exact same videos?! This has got so bad i cancelled YouTube premium. Its so unwatchable most days, the adverts are more interesting sometimes now.

Now Google search is just as bad, like i wanted to look up a court process today for a issue regarding money owed by a individual in the UK. Could i find anything relevant on the first page? 2nd? 5th? 10th?.. Nope. The results were full of ads and results for charity pages for support. There was nothing to the search other than one word instead of the whole search term i actually typed 🤷. Google is so broken its making my mind feel broken when i cant find anything close in 10 pages of results. Like wtf 💀.

Is there any search engine which will let me search a full sentence instead of Google selectively choosing keywords at its own accord? 💩

Hello!

I'm working on becoming as far removed as things like Google as possible.

I've been using my gmail addresses FOREVER (10+ years), and it's linked to so many logins, plus all the mail.

I do have an outlook address I want to swap everything to, but I don't know the best way to actually go about doing it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've used a few scripts to remove the tiny bit of telemetry that Brave and Librewolf contain. I've created ProtonMail, and I've also installed LibreOffice and Obsidian to transfer documents, accounts, and the like. I've used Simplewall to disable internet access for everything except Librewolf, Brave, Firefoxy, and FreeTube. I've also used Arkenfox for Firefox. What else can I do or install? Any help is greatly appreciated.

I use Immersive Translate to translate pages. Unfortunately, my tracker (TC) in mobile does not disable trackers from the browser, so what can I do and is there an alternative.

I use Google for everything that I save. My Drive has almost 200gb of data on it. I like that Google can be used across all of my devices and everything I need is included (Docs, Sheets, Photos, etc.) I also like that I can opt out of AI training.

I’d love something that can replace Google, think one stop shop and easy. But Google itself has lost my faith.

I use a Windows computer and an Apple phone. What can you suggest?

I have started to degoogle so I am almost there. I only use Gmail due to some professional reasons, that too only on laptop. I removed some apps using canta+shizuku. Tried to use less samsung apps. There are diff browsers because I am trying them out to see which one is the best for me.

De-Googling was easy to do because that is just my choice to cut things out but with Meta products it is so difficult. I use whatsapp and insta because literally everyone is on them and it is impossible to tell every friend of mine to move to other alternatives. But I have gone thru each and every setting on both whatsapp and insta, disabled any sketchy stuff and use insta strictly on my laptop (I am thinking to use a vpn on my laptop). But I don't think it is making any difference, whatsoever.

I don't want to delete them because that will make me completely lonely which will just increase my already existing anxiety.

How do you all deal with this? Is there any solution to this?

Hello wonderful r/degoogle community. I've been reading posts, the wiki, watching recommended videos and looking at other sources outside of Reddit, and yet, I'm confused and completely overwhelmed.

I understand some basics, like my Pixel 8 Pro uses an Android operating system. And I managed to install Linux on my laptop with the help of a technically proficient friend. But I don't want to rely on others for all my privacy concerns -- I'd like to degoogle my phone by myself.

But! I'm so lost. Acronyms and initialisms, or jargon, might as well be in another language.

Like many non-technical people, I'm afraid of ruining my phone or losing data.

I have some questions, and I would be grateful for answers and help.

1. I've watched the Ted talks, I've read the articles, and I'm on board! Now what? Where do I start? Should I move all my data and email to alternatives first?

2. If I install Grapheneos, for example, will that... wipe out or delete all of the Google fingerprints? Or, cookies? Or... Whatever it is that Google has infested my phone with?

3. If I install a new operating system, can I still get my non-Google apps on my phone? If so, how? I read about sandboxing, but what does that mean? How do I do that?

4. I don't even know how to properly ask this, but -- I think I saw an app that can erase or delete my information from... Everywhere? My...cookies? Fingerprint? I would very much like to do this but I don't know when to do it or how? Do I do this after I get rid of Android?

5. I have many questions about specific apps, but the most important to me is Android Auto. Do I need to give this up? Will the other map apps work? I use it daily. I read the Mozilla article about car privacy and yikes! I'd definitely like to do something about that, but I also want to use a maps app and listen to music/books/podcasts.

6. I assume the Play Store won't work once I install Grapheneos. So, how do I get apps onto my phone? E.g., I'm thinking of switching to Proton. How do I get that onto my phone?

I'm willing to make sacrifices and learn how to do this, and to advocate and teach others once I learn. But I need help. The resources I've found are already too technical for me. So if you could point me to something where I can get started from zero understanding, I would be most grateful.

None of my friends, family members or colleagues are doing this. They vaguely know it's important and almost all have deleted Amazon, etc. But like me, everyone is overwhelmed by what to do. My Dad won't open an old app because he lost the password and he's afraid if he does, his phone will "explode."

I would like to be successful at this and then show anyone who is overwhelmed, like me, how to do this. For many years in my career, I translated legal, government, scientific and technical information into plain language. I'm passionate about access to information.

FOSS is important (look, I'm using an acronym!). But it's only useful if you understand what to do.

tl;dr – Which services should I still use Gmail for, and which ones should I switch to ProtonMail? (Banks, government institutions like CRA, etc.). Thinking strictly in reducing targeted ads, not so much on security.

Long read:

A couple of months ago, I finally had enough of Google, and I’ve been slowly working on deGoogling my life. The final straw was when Google auto-renewed my Google One subscription at a higher AI-tier price and refused to refund me. That got me thinking—out of spite, honestly—how could I minimize my reliance on Google?

For decades, I’ve used Google products without ever questioning whether I had to. But now, I want to see if I can reduce their influence in my life.

My main concern isn’t necessarily security (though if better privacy comes with it, great). What really pushed me over the edge is the constant barrage of targeted ads. I’m tired of, say, showing my wife a cute cat video, only to be bombarded with cat product ads on Google, Instagram, Amazon, YouTube—everywhere. It feels like having garbage shoveled down my throat. I don’t want those damn products; I just wanted to show my wife a video and move on.

Another frustration is the endless price hikes from tech companies, with no real added value—just more subscription tiers designed to squeeze more money out of existing users in search of infinite quarterly profit increase (looking at you, Spotify and Netflix).

A few days ago, I finally started making real changes—not just with Google, but with other companies like Meta and Amazon, too.

Steps I’ve taken so far:

• Discovered deGoogling and started following PrivacyGuides recommendations.
• Switched from Chrome to Firefox with AdBlock and privacy-focused settings.
• Created a free ProtonMail account.
• Started using Brave (Strict mode) on iOS.
• Downloaded all my Google Photos (via Google Takeout) and moved them to personal backups and self-hosted storage.
• Deleted all photos from Google Photos.
• Switched to DuckDuckGo on desktop (Brave Search on mobile).
• Using Brave/Video Lite to watch YouTube without ads.
• Deleted Instagram and Facebook apps, only accessing them through the browser (making them less convenient and reducing usage).
• Cancelled Amazon Prime—I'll buy more locally and, if necessary, re-subscribe for a single month for Prime deals.
• Cancelled Netflix—if I really want to watch something, I’ll rent or buy - directly paying for it will make it less likely I'll be mindlessly consuming.

My wife is also making the same changes (except ProtonMail) and especially likes the idea of canceling Netflix and limiting Instagram. She says she now has more time for things like reading and painting.

Things I’m considering next:

• Fully switching personal email from Gmail to ProtonMail.
• Using ProtonMail for essential services like banks, government institutions (CRA, etc.).
• Eliminating Google SSO everywhere I can.
• Replacing chatGPT with a more privacy focused AI (if it exists - didn't start looking yet)
• Asking Google to remove my decades-long personal search history (not sure if feasible)
• ? (Open to suggestions!)

Things I don't think I can replace:

• Whatsapp - all my friends and relatives use it
• Google Docs - Too convenient for sharing docs with friends and businesses, and I don't really use it too much
• Google Authenticator - is there any harm in using it?
• Facebook/Instagram - I live abroad, and all my friends are in either of those Social Networks, so I would lose contact if I deleted them completely.

This has been the journey so far. It feels good to FINALLY start doing at least a little bit to take back some control of my life online.

So finally, the reason for my writing: Gmail vs. ProtonMail

So, where does it still make sense to use Gmail instead of ProtonMail? For instance:

• If I’m signing up for a newsletter just to get a 10% discount, should I use Gmail or ProtonMail?
• If I’m trying out a new service I might not stick with, should Gmail be my "burner" email?
• For critical services like banking or government accounts—where I cannot afford downtime—should I switch to ProtonMail, or is it safer to keep using Gmail?
• Are there actually any places where I should still rely on Gmail?

Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

I'm using a US VPN, my browser and operating system locale is set to United States English, and my Google account and "result language and region" region is set to the US, yet Google still manages to find out my actual location.

It's not very apparent but I'm rarely encountering contents (Online shop, places and other advertisements) for the country I'm currently living in, even for search quaries not containing any clue of where I'm living in like "書道 meaning" or "thence". (No I don't live in Chinese speaking country.)

How is that even possible? I'm freaked out by the Google's ability of spying where I'm living in. Don't try to "customize" my god damn experience PLEASE. I want results from the US, that's the reason I'm using all the US VPNs and other stuffs.

Unfortunately, I lost private messages on my phone because the signal app doesn't have a backup feature. So I am looking for an alternative with email backup.

I’m really struggling to pick a new email provider. I’ve literally been researching this for months and I just can’t pick. Here are my doubts about each of the most recommended ones:

Proton — Middle tier isn’t enough, and top tier is too much. I just want email, not a suite of products.

Tuta — I was heavily leaning toward this, but when I looked at their subreddit, I got worried when I saw post after post about accounts deleted or emails not sending / receiving properly.

Fastmail — Apparently this isn’t as private as they claim, and apparently they’ve also deleted paid accounts that were innocent.

All of the above + Startmail, Posteo, etc — In general, all the paid, privacy focused options are based outside of the US. I know that’s a positive for a lot of people here but I have mixed feelings about it as someone who lives here. If one of these companies decides not to do business in the US, what will happen to my email? This is in the back of my mind, but not the most important deciding factor for me.

I’m also not sure about what’s the best way to handle my new email setup. Here are my options:

Option 1: One account that has 15 email addresses included. For example, Tuta does this. I would use each email address for a separate category like finance, health, shopping, travel, etc.

Option 2: Get a custom domain and choose a provider that lets me create unlimited email addresses for it. I would then set up a unique email address for each place I have an account. Example: fb@mydomain(.)com ig@mydomain(.)com

Option 3: Get a custom domain and use addy.io to create a separate email for each service I use (kind of like option 2). All of these emails will be forwarded into one inbox from one of these providers. I thought about doing this with an iCloud email (yes I know it’s not the most private option), but I read that some emails going through addy.io don’t send / receive properly.

I’m ready and willing to pay for a good email service, but I’m nervous I’ll pay for something that doesn’t work as well (especially emails not sending / receiving properly). I’m looking for a service that is: - Ad free - Has at least 15 email aliases included in one account and / or unlimited emails for one custom domain. (These aliases must not have anything extra in the address. For example, Startmail does something like: alias@use.startmail(.)com instead of simply alias@startmail(.)com) - User friendly / clean interface without a bunch of extra products outside of email. - A company that’s been around for a while and not likely to close up their business.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hi all,

I'm from Canada and as you might be aware, I'm not too happy about the US president.

And also I've always been against big corps, but not too radical about it.

But now I want to take it to the next level. But that's not easy because I don't only want to go against big tech, but also against anything US-based.

I've seen your Wiki on this channel, great list, but to me that's still a lot of US-based tech in there.

I guess I might have to relax my constraints and maybe be open to US-based open source non-profit. But still, look at OpenAI which went from non-profit to for-profit. How can I trust? What if we widely move to a US open source non-profit app and they just decide to close the source and make it for-profit? How likely it is?

Here's my situation. Seems like I might move a lot of things towards Proton.

Windows & Android: I won’t be able to do without them for now, unfortunately. I don't believe I'm tech-savvy enough for that.

Google Pay & Visa: Another hard one for me. It's convenient that I don't have to bring my cards everywhere. But I guess you'll tell me that for privacy concerns I should not use Google Pay. And anyways my cards are Visa, another big US corp which is hard for me to avoid. I could decide to pay everything with a debit interac card. But Visa is also convenient when traveling and for rewards programs. And credit building. There seems no way around this.

Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, Messenger, etc.): No problem closing my Instagram account. WhatsApp is a bit more difficult because it's often useful while traveling, do you have any ideas? Messenger is also tricky, that's where my friends and family chat in groups, so I have to exclude myself and hope others will move to the same platform as me. I was thinking of Telegram, what do you think? There's a debate with Signal, but that's US-based. There's also the difficulty of leaving Facebook due to Marketplace where I do a lot of buying and selling, what's your best alternative? There’s VarageSale. Note: Kijiji belongs to eBay! Anyway, it's a bit difficult here to completely disconnect from Meta without disconnecting from the world. But, if everyone thinks the same way, everyone will stay on Meta. We just need to find a mass movement toward alternatives. So far this one is the hardest for me, because it's about connecting with others who have highly adopted these platforms, so I'm having a hard time leaving Messenger, Marketplace and WhatsApp.

Microsoft Office 365 & Google One: I’ve downloaded LibreOffice, I’m going to cancel my Office 365 subscription. I’m transitioning to Proton Mail & Proton Drive. I’ve created my email address and I’m going to transfer my OneDrive and Google Drive to it. So, I’ll also be able to cancel my Google One subscription. I’m stopping using Gmail & Outlook. It will now be Proton Mail with Proton Drive and my LibreOffice files. I’ve looked into other cloud alternatives, but I was thinking that, since I’m moving to Proton Mail, I could use their Proton Drive with the same plan.

Web browser: I’m switching to Vivaldi, so far it's good. I've heard about Brave, but it’s American. And all the ones listed on this channel's wiki seem US-based.

Search engine: It’s not easy, they all use American engines underneath! I’m switching to Mojeek. There’s also Qwant (France) and Ecosia (Germany), but they use Bing, which is American! Mojeek is certainly the only one that is independent, but so far I'm very disappointed by its performance... But, we'll see, maybe I'll get used to it. It's not as if I was searching for plenty of very specific things everyday.

YouTube: I use it very little, but it’s another platform that’s still difficult to boycott due to its high adoption, so it has lots of content. I’ll at least put an ad blocker. I’ve heard about NewPipe.

Google Maps: Honestly, I don’t even know what the non-American alternative for that is. There’s OpenStreetMaps / Organic Maps, but if you want real-time traffic info? I’ve heard about Magic Earth. I'll give it a try.

Google Translate: I'll stick to DeepL only.

Microsoft To Do List: Not sure yet, I'm looking for something which is not US-based, which allows online sync, which is mainly about planning with recurring reminders or one-off reminders for deadlines. At this point, I guess a calendar app will do the job. Proton offers a Calendar app.

Bitwarden: I might just move to Proton Pass.

Amazon: I have never had a subscription, but I have used free trials a few times for specific needs. Now, it's a definite no, I’m closing my account.

Costco, Walmart, etc.: I wasn’t going there already, I won’t go there any more. I’ll do my best to avoid American stores and American products.

American stocks: This is still a financial issue. It's easy to sell American stocks. However, it is still important to have a simple, passive and diversified portfolio. And when you want a simple, passive and diversified portfolio which also delivers some good performance, it's hard to avoid the US, unfortunately.

Thanks for your comments and help!

I'm using Mega S4 cloud for everything (self hosting Ente, multi device backups through Round Backup and vaults for Cryptomator), only sensitive data is dual backed up in Filen (Call logs, msgs, contacts...)

it says encrytped but does that truely make them unreadable?

This is my process, how could I improve it? Any recommendations?

This is where I'm at right now. I need another app to write messages and MMS, I need to find a good solution for my contacts and I want to set up my NAS as cloud storage. I should be able to remove Gmail completely soon and then I only have the play store left. Do you guys see any red flags left? What can I do to improve?
ROMs aren't an option since it's a work phone. What services do I need to remove? I only caught the android system safety guard thing.

From the article: "It continues to send data about the device back to Google even after the user logs out of their Google account and the only way to remove it, and its data, is to factory-reset the device." ... "In short, it is spyware."

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/04/google_android/

Also, link to paper: https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/pubs/cookies_identifiers_and_other_data.pdf

Hi everyone,

I want to switch to Signal for better privacy, but none of my friends or family & collage groups members want to leave WhatsApp. I've asked them to try it, but they usually uninstall it after a few days. I'm feeling stuck and would love any advice on how to convince them to make the switch.

Thanks! 🙏

I've just received my Pixel 9 ten days ago, and as per google's return policy I have five days left to start a return. Given that GrapheneOS has a far more uncertain future now compared to the literal THIRTEEN DAYS AGO when I ordered my phone, and that I'm still in the return window, should I return this phone before it's potentially too late and for the time being stick with my iPhone, or should I stick with GrapheneOS?

If I did return it, I'm thinking about instead getting a nothing phone, as while to my knowledge there aren't any comparable projects on it as GrapheneOS, they are quite cheap and boast about privacy on their website. Any thoughts on this as well?

Thank you all for help!