Gone are the days when Google was just a search engine that made browsing the internet an easier and more pleasant experience. Today it seems that Google is intent on taking over the world - they have apps and ventures into email, social media, navigation, music streaming and much more. By signing up to each of these apps, you are giving more and more of your data and personal information to Google to sell, and also to create more targeted (creepy) advertising. There are alternatives to Google products which I have started to explore, but moving away from Google isn't as easy as it would seem.
Google the search engine, and Google Chrome
These two products are at the core of Googles business, and it turns out (for me anyway) are the easiest to move away from - and are also the products that collect the most data about you!
Mozilla Firefox
I recently did some research and decided upon Mozilla Firefox as my alternate browser - it doesnt require a Google account, and is big on personal security with all sorts of addons. So far I have been impressed with its functionality and focus on privacy and security. Other alternatives include Safari, TOR (no its not just for browsing the dark web!) and Opera.
Duckduckgo - a privacy search engine
Using Google has become more and more painful for me - yes it gives you results you want but it is giving more and more ads based on your search history. There has even been accusations that they only show certain results based on your search history and preferences.
I recently found Duckduckgo as a worthy alternative. There selling point and 'slogan' is '
Take Back Your Privacy! Switch to the search engine that doesn't track you. Ever.'
I have found so far that it has given me the result I have been after without those annnoying ads! They don't ask for any of your personal information, and you can select what search history they keep or whether they wipe it each time you go to their website.
I wonder if Mallard the duck uses Google?
Google Maps
As we have been doing a fair bit of travel, Google Maps is one app I have come to love and wouldn't be without. There are alternative navigation apps - and yes I have tried most of them - Maps.Me and Herewego are the two main competitors. I found both sufficient, but found they lack the detail and ease of use of Google maps. Although one thing I like about Maps.me is the ability to download offline maps easily - this has always been a gripe of mine about Google maps. For the moment I am stuck with Google maps as I dont see a better alternative.
Gmail
Gmail is another major app from Google - and yes I have had a Gmail account for years. Although thye are great and easy to use I am going to look at moving away from Gmail at some point soon - it just takes time to change all your accounts email adresses - and I think this is why others don't jump ship.
With email there are so many legitamite competitors that I don't think finding one will be a challenge. Outlook seems like a good place to start looking - does anyone have any suggestions for alternate email servers?
Google Play Music
There are many that have subscribed to Google Play Music (not me!), although in this case I know there are many alternatives. I use Spotify Premium, which costs a very reasonable 10 Euro a month. I have never used Google Play Music, and don't see the point in changing from Spotify when it works perfectly well for me. Another alternative I looked at was Deezer, which was also around the same price.
Conclusion
Google has become a giant company who has moved into just about every competitive digital space - and collect more data on us than ever before. Although completly removing yourself from Google may not be the option, I think it is time to atleast evaluate the alternatives and give other apps a test drive - whats the worst that could happen?
What do you think - do you use Google exclusively, or are you open to alternatives? Any app suggestions would be welcome!
