I’m new to this idea and a Google girl so I’m interested in learning more. I’m not good with tech, but if it’s necessary I’ll do it as much as I can.
I started degoogling because of Google’s more and more transparent business plan of data surveillance. I’m not comfortable with “paying with my information” because of the uncountable (and frankly unimaginable) ways that information can be applied by third parties without my knowledge.
“AI” is one example which wasn’t even on the chart when I started degoogling, but we can all be certain that Google and partners use any language sample available on Gmail and G drive to train theirs. This is the company that casually registered private WiFi networks in the course of mapping their Maps street view. They’ll harvest everything they can.
At heart, I don’t trust corporate mega-monopolies to take care of our best interests as online citizens, and as a European I’m super sceptical of becoming subject to less safe legislation (US, Chinese or whatever) that doesn’t offer me protections that I have or expect at home.
By not using Google (or Meta, or Amazon, or X) I can deliberately pick and choose individual services — or host them for myself — rather than hedge everything on the benevolence of one corporation that doesn’t give a shit about their users.
Because fuck Google and all these companies that profit on our personal data. They claim it is so they can better serve us but we are the slaves. Soon there will be matrix style jobs where yhe working class can trade their life to power the next gen AI for the elite class that the wealth gap has cultivated. They make things easy but it is time to do things the hard way. Digital revultion is upon us. Help those less capable to move off of the prying eyes of FAANG
(half extreme mode)
- I’m trying to be more anti-large corporation, especially those that have bent the knee to Trump.
- I want to support the people who make replacement apps/services that have a DIY ethic about them.
- I kind of like the challenge of it, because it’s not all that easy…which in my mind shows that it’s necessary.
If you don’t want to DeGoogle, that’s fine. It’s a personal decision. If you have all the facts and determine you’d rather stay doing what you’re doing, that’s fine.
I’d add to that great list also the problem of the steady enshittification of Google products. Just today, I was driving with Google Maps and suddenly it asked if I wanted to stop at a McDonald’s. I haven’t been to McD’s in twelve years, so you know how terribly useful that suggestion was.
I find that Maps is one of the most difficult ones to get rid of. There are replacements of course, but they don’t change directions based on current traffic patterns. I also find that for these replacements the routing isn’t very good over medium/long distances.
If Google randomly decides to terminate my account for some reason and won’t tell me why or allow me to reasonably appeal, I’m screwed.
GDrive, my YouTube, my play store purchases, my Gmail going back since forever, and even all these 3rd party sites where I used “login with Google” could be instantly toasted and irrecoverable.
I became aware that this is way way too much exposure to one company and every component is linked together so if, hypothetically, I left a comment on YouTube that triggered some angsty AI ban algorithm, which led to the whole account getting zapped, I would be one sad puppy.
Better to selfhost, encrypt all, and be in control of my own destiny.
Exactly this. As a European I don’t feel comfortable anymore relying on any US service for essential needs. Stuff like youtube is fine, it’s just entertainment. But I cannot rely on big tech on anything that, if suddenly gone one day, would cause me any sort of actual annoyance. When you think about it the list is quite long and sneaky.
Cause fuck ‘em, that’s why.
i don’t like the fact that fbi, nsa, cia, etc. could have access to my data. especially now