Digital Protection Foundation

Maybe you don’t like Google stealing information to create its AI, or don’t like how they tracked users even when location tracking was turned off, or how they were tracking user’s personal browsing information while they were in incognito mode. The list goes on, but everyone has their reason to abstain from the Google monopoly.

But where to start? I’m going to go through how you can try to rip your data way from them and what alternative services and products can fill the Google void.

Taking back your information

Go to https://takeout.google.com/ and sign in with your account.

Select what data and information you want to copy (Photos, Emails, Message, Docs, etc. are the only ones you really need)

Select the “next step” button

Select your download method and only export once. Check you are getting everything you want and hit “create export”. You will get a download file in a .zip file that can be uncompressed and will have an assortment of personal information.

Now that you’ve packed your bags, it’s time to leave. Make sure that all the data you want is downloaded and you understand the Google services you use will no longer be accessible (including YouTube and your Gmail email). Go to https://myaccount.google.com/deleteaccount

Select the acknowledgements and click delete account

Search Alternatives

You could swing to Bing or Yahoo, but you end up in the same privacy concerns as Google, especially since Yahoo uses the same search engine as Bing. The only real privacy focused alternative search engine is DuckDuckGo. They don’t track and create user data profiles for advertisers like Google does, they don’t sell personal information, and they don’t save search requests.

Browser Alternatives

It isn’t enough to just uninstall Google Chrome and switch to Oprea GX or Brave. These and many others like, Microsoft Edge, Opera (non-GX), Vivaldi, and many others all use Chromium, which is the underlying source of Google Chrome. While Google can’t track you directly through these alternatives, there is no need to further support Google’s browser monopoly. Firefox runs on its own Gecko engine and offers many privacy features like strict tracking protection and isolating cookies.

Email Alternative

Now that Gmail is gone, there is only a few privacy focused options to choose from. ProtonMail and Tutanota both offer end-to-end email encryption preventing mail from being intercepted, Email stored on their servers are also encrypted, they have no tracking, and they have no ads.

Documents and Office Application

You could buy a local copy of Office 2024, but that requires an online Microsoft Account, instead use LibreOffice. It’s free, open source, doesn’t track data, and does not require an internet connection. It offers word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools just like the Google counterparts.

While it may be inconvenient to leave Google’s ecosystem, you don’t have to worry about them saving your Incognito data or tracking your search habits.