shrugal@lemm.ee 5 months ago
I’ve been removing Google services from my life bit by bit over the last year, and I have to say it is crazy how hard it actually is! They have inserted themselves into so many digital workflows, securing monopoly positions and preventing the rise of competitors and open ecosystems. In many areas the only alternatives are other tech giants, or accepting feature downgrades and having to set things up manually.
You need to have effective replacements.
This is why Apple is so popular… much more thoroughly integrated, in many cases a better product, and for the most part paying more than just lip service to privacy.
About the only Google services I still use is the search engine (while it is still marginally useful), and Maps (since so many people on FB Marketplace also use it, so sending an address using a maps link is the ideal solution).
slumberlust@lemmy.world 5 months ago
What lessons have you learned so far? I’ve switched to FF and DDG with great results, but still use Gmail/android/photos.
0x69@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I urge you to check out Kagi Browser[1]. I forgot how pain-free using a search engine could be. With Google, a relatively simple search had me typing:
sink tap gasket intitle:“replacement” OR intitle:“repair” filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc inurl:product OR inurl:details “made in” (site:.com OR site:.co.uk OR site:.de) -site:amazon.com -site:ebay.comI am appreciative that I’ve gotten pretty good at finding obscure nuggets of info, and it makes Google Dork[2] searches even more fun, but when I simply need “where to by $x”, Google shat out mindless SEO content.
I also highly recommend Fastmail[3] as an alternative email host. Far cheaper than Google Workspace for custom domains, and their masked email function is wonderful, even more so with 1Password[4].
Turning your back from the abusive Google can look intimidating to begin with, but it turns out it takes very little effort if you make a lil’ plan of alternative services to use.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
1password rocks big time, AND it’s Canadian!
It even has a Linux desktop application to integrate with system authentication and the CLI for SSH keys.
ShowMeThe@lemmynsfw.com 5 months ago
I can recommended proton to get away from gmail. They also offer a bigger suite with a few other services like cloud storage, VPN, password manager.
The transition is super easy, they also have a free tier if you want to try it out. Though if you like it I recommend sending some money there way, even with a basic subscription
fiddlestix@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I’m going to drop a recommendation for Skiff here. Paid but their free tier (which I’m using) has plenty of good stuff.
qjkxbmwvz@lemmy.sdf.org 5 months ago
Cannot recommend Immich enough as a self-hosted Photos alternative. Obviously not a drop in replacement, and if you don’t want to self-host it’s not really feasible. But it is just awesome.