A process that started roughly a year ago with just changing browser and search engine, now feeling that I got somewhere. The journey ended up being more than just degoogle, but also demetaing and taking more control over my data and privacy.

Before and after picture with notes:

Chrome -> Zen browser (Firefox on iOS)

Google -> Qwant

Gmail -> Proton Mail

NordVPN -> Proton VPN (I don’t use VPN very often, but have NordVPN through another subscription, now replaced with Proton across my devices)

Google Drive / Photos -> Proton Drive

Google Password Manager -> Proton Pass

Google Authenticator -> Proton Pass / Ente (Ente Auth is only used to store my 2FA keys for the Proton account, other keys are stored in Proton Pass)

Google Translator -> DeepL

YouTube -> FreeTube (Unwatched on iOS)

Google Maps -> Magic Earth (OSM on desktop)

WhatsApp -> Signal

Notion -> Anytype

Keep / Notes -> Notesnook

X -> Mastodon / Bluesky

Reddit -> Lemmy (Voyager on iOS, dreaming of an eventual complete migration)

Instagram -> Pixelfed

Facebook -> stopped using

Windows 11 -> Ubuntu (Only personal laptop, work laptop still windows)

  • baggachipz@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    2 months ago

    As predicted, here come all the purity tests.

    I know there’s no way to definitively prove it, but in my mind Apple is the safer alternative vs. anything Google. I know you can do custom roms and all that, but let’s face it: It’s a huge pain in the ass. I know, I know, “It’s not really”… I beg to differ. I went through my purity phase with degoogled roms and all that. Due to driver inconsistencies, updates breaking things (even the phone part), and the inability to use a lot of “normal” apps, I gave up and went with an iPhone. Apple’s business model is to sell you the thing at a higher price, thus reducing the incentive to sell your data or enshittify. Yes, that will degrade over time and I’ll reach a threshold at which I’ll reevaluate my options. Given the two major choices, I choose the less terrible ecosystem of the two.

    I refuse to have any Google or Meta products on my iPhone. I know that makes me lame here, but we should also understand that any normie would never go to all the trouble of OS tinkering. The are a lot more people who want to degoogle vs. the people who understand how to do rom flashing. Criticizing a person’s degoogle effort as “not good enough” does nothing but drive people directly into the arms of the very evil we wish to diminish. This is a community to banish Google, not everything backed by a for-profit corporation.

      • Biskii@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        This is my thing. I’ve ditched all of proton for the obvious reason, but aside from that, I no longer want everything under one umbrella. Convenience has shown it comes at too great of a cost

        • admin@sh.itjust.works
          01·
          2 months ago

          I was just about to pay for their service, started a new LLC so that was gonna be a good excuse to start supporting them and then his CEO shows his true colors.

          I have been happily supporting Tuta instead. Is a bit slow but the aliases and emails work great.

          • jsomae@lemmy.ml
            1·
            2 months ago

            Did the CEO do anything to bother you other than tweet that Slater was a good appointment by Trump? If not, can you explain what the problem is with Slater as a nominee?

            • admin@sh.itjust.works
              0·
              2 months ago

              When the CEOs political preferences get lousy enough or attracted as the necessary amount of attention to make it to a headline, some customers will turn away.

              • jsomae@lemmy.ml
                0·
                2 months ago

                Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but the thing that bothers you about the CEO is that other people are annoyed by the CEO’s tweet?

                Edit: honestly I don’t even understand what’s politically problematic about his tweet. One of the few ways we can encourage the Dems to improve is by voicing our approval on when the GOP actually does something right.

                • admin@sh.itjust.works
                  1·
                  2 months ago

                  I wonder how worrying about how others spend their money benefits you.

                  Edit: also not everyone in the world is American. Not everyone in the world sees the politics as a war of black vs white like you do of the ‘Dems’ vs the ‘backWards’