Temptation to go back?

Do any of you ever feel the desire to go back to your “Google’d” existence? For some background, I have used Google for most of my life and have recently started following some privacy-oriented creators on YouTube. I created a Proton account and have started moving my stuff there but am still using a locked Pixel (will unlock when paid off).

It feels great to go with alternatives to Google (Proton, OpenStreetMap, OpenWeather) but there are definitely times when it feels burdensome. I am often tempted to sacrifice privacy for convenience and feel like there is no way to TRULY escape Google in my life.

Wasn’t sure if anyone felt the same way, or had any tips on following this privacy-focused lifecycle.

(I almost look at this like eating healthier–it feels great to do it, but seeing others in happy ignorance adds a challenge…)

ZenkorSoraz,

Privacy isn’t the only reason to have alternatives app alternatives have the advantage that they might have different abilities then Google and thus could achieve more diversity of features though Google is pretty high quality different algorithms might produce different stuff.

AVeryCleverName,

I’m just beginning my de-googling journey. However when I think about the potential loss of convenience this is what I tell myself: in exchange for convenience, particularly since the dawn of the smartphone era, we have lost a deeper understanding of how things work under the hood. And how much convenience have we really gained? I think it is more likely we have been led to believe our convenience has been increased when really the only convenience that matters is how convenient it is to advertise to us.

CrypticCoffee,

For myself no. I did find it with PinePhone. It just wasn’t there yet and the pain to convenience factor was too great.

GrapheneOS was a real game changer. I had a lot of stress and anxiety knowing how much my privacy was being infringed and every day I felt that tension. When I got a phone with GrapheneOS, and got the few needed Android apps I used, I felt nothing but liberated. Yes, there are inconveniences, but that pure feeling of it being my hardware (rather than Google’s), and that feeling of control over it is exhilarating to me. I feel free, and I cannot put a price on that.

This is a process though, and it takes months, or years to get to where you want to be. I knew what exposures I had, and I had to find a solution to each one.

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