Goodbye Google (and other Big Tech)
Oh! The wide open road. No-one to answer to. The freedom to go where you like, when you like, and no-one to follow you, shout at you, trouble you.
Freedom to express wherever you like, however you like.
It’s a dream, right?
Actually, I don’t think it is, and I think it’s getting easier. Or maybe, it’s becoming more common.
This is my story as I continue the quest to extradite myself from the grips of the big tech companies.
It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it (I hope!)
I’ll start with a disclaimer. This journey is a personal one. I still use Google at work, but that’s a company domain, so I think that’s OK.
Over the years, I’ve written stories about online services, and how there are many free services out there.
Of course, when you dig under the hood, these services are anything but free.
You’re trading actually money for your life!
The likes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, TikTok, Snapchat and many others all ‘give’ you their service.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch!
Login, then read, write, interact at your leisure and lo and behold you are constantly bombarded by adverts.
I understand they need to make money. At the end of the day that’s their raison d’être.
However, your personal details are being shared across the technological divides, for the sole purpose of selling advertising space.
Social Media
I gave up Facebook and Instagram many years ago. The reason for this was more based on the fact I couldn’t stand to see all the posts from people I hardly know, sharing their most intimate moments to garner sympathy or congratulations.
Not to mention that adverts appeared for products I’d been talking about (but never actually searched for!) They listen. They really do!
Twitter went by the wayside over 3 years ago; you can find me on Mastodon via my GoToSocial. It’s much more fun.
I don’t use Snapchat or TikTok.
I do use Google Search. A lot!
I guess it’s no big surprise. Over the years they’ve developed products that keep you in their eco-system, and in fairness, some of them aren’t bad at all.
As like many people, I have a Google account, use my Gmail email address, Google Drive (along with Docs and Sheets) and Google Photos.
I recently took stock of this and thought that I don’t want to be part of that anymore.
So, I took steps to move away from the reliance on this HUGE technology giant.
This is the story…. so far….
The Browser
Google almost changed the world when they introduced Chrome and it’s become ubiquitous.
I’ve ditched Chrome.
Apart from the fact it’s quite resource intensive, I no longer want to share what I look at.
I moved to Arc, then when their leadership decided to change direction I now use Vivaldi (on my MacBook). On my iPhone and iPad I use a browser called Quiche from Quiche Industries. Check it out - it’s lightweight and very customisable.
Next step, change email.
This is the biggie. This is where all of online life resides and I need to be careful.
I already have my own domain and have now set up email hosting to use with it.
A quick audit showed that I’ve been using this domain for most of my email addresses (just being redirected to the Gmail account), so it wasn’t a stretch to stop that redirect.
(I did the audit in 1Password, since all of my logins are stored in there).
I set up forwarding from Gmail, to sweep up any that aren’t set, and I’ve already changed addresses with some of my online accounts.
So, that’s email sorted, I think!
Search
What about the search engine?
This is tricky and I’m still working on this.
I don’t like Bing, although that is an option.
I’ve heard about DuckDuckGo, but I got fed up with them trying to get me to download and install the browser.
I’m currently using Ecosia which is a green engine. They plant trees based on the number of search
There are websites that I use Google as my login, so I will need to revisit those and change the login details.
Photos
Google Photos.
I used this heavily.
All of my photos were backed up automatically to Google Photos. I now use Apple Photos.
However, I do have Microsoft 365, and this means I have access to OneDrive, a whole 2Gb of storage; and by pure chance, I’ve been using this as a redundancy storage. I also have Amazon Photos (as part of Prime) but that doesn’t allow video storage (without paying extra).
Google Photos is also used by other family members, with a One storage plan; so I may not be able to extricate myself completely; just reduce my overall usage.
I realise that using Microsoft and Amazon (and Apple) isn’t exactly leaving Big Tech behind, and I do take a download of all my photos and videos and keep them on a couple of external devices!
Storage
I have completely removed Google Drive from my workflow. I had a lot of documents stored but, and this is where it gets more interesting, I have my own Virtual Private Server, on which I have installed Nextcloud.
This is my own instance; where I transferred all of my documents. I can access it via my devices and in conjunction with Collabora Online, I have a full suite of office-like applications.
It’s not as intuitive as Google Drive, but it’s perfect for my needs. It’s free to use and I’m in control of the data.
I also have Apple iCloud, which is shared with other family members.
Conclusion (so far)
I’ve started off well. I feel good about the fact that there are options; I just need to find what works for me, that doesn’t ‘break’ my big tech getaway!
This has been a good exercise to start with.
I’ll be interested to hear if anyone else has done this sort of thing, to move from Big Tech, to create a stack of their own.
Updated article originally published on Medium