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What's your current situation with Google? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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I use GrapheneOS with multiple profiles. My main profile contains only FOSS apps, along with two proprietary apps that have no network access. One secondary profile is for my personal Google account (just Gmail) for work and bills, while another is for a disposable Google account for apps like Google Maps when I need GPS.

On my PC, I maintain a browser profile for work Gmail, which I almost never check, and I don't have anything else connected to Google.

I’m not entirely comfortable knowing that I'm not free from Google and still rely on some of their services. However, I feel much better than I did a few years ago, when Google had complete control over my phone and everything I did on it. Now, I feel free most of the time.

What about you? Do you feel free? Or does it ever seem like Google owns a part of your life? Share your thoughts with me

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[–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

I'm not 100% degoogled, but if Google deactivated my account tomorrow, it wouldn't be a big deal. I've migrated everything important away from Gmail. Gmail is basically just my spam box now.

I also have Chrome installed on my PC for testing purposes. It is my browser of last resort, only used on occasion when I suspect my normal browsers' ad/tracker blockers are breaking some site.

Google Maps is hard to get away from because nothing else has all its key features, and a lot of alternatives also use Google's data so they're not really more private. For example, I don't know of any good public transit apps that work in my city and are degoogled (though to be fair, it's been a few years since I reviewed the options).

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    I sometimes buy used stuff from people and drive to their houses to get the items. I was surprised to find out that while Google maps was very outdated on more recent buildings and neighborhoods, Organic maps and Mapy were all correct. Sometimes a whole street was missing and I struggled to find the way, so I stopped using it.

    Transit is tough if you don't have options though. The official transit app for my city is leagues better than Google so I've never had a reason to look elsewhere.

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