Hello devRant fellows, I have a question for those who avoid Google products...

What are your main motivation behind the decision of not using any (or almost any) Google product?

Respectful-for-everyone analogy:
Google is meat, you are a vegan and your non-vegan friend asked you why to start being vegan?

I'm going to highlight the word -friend- because I'm looking for constructive, argumentative, educational and respectful answers.

that's too much manners _/\_ xD

My main reason is the way Google tries to track everything and everyone online. Analytics, web searches, tracking pixels, location tracking through android devices and so on and so on.

I think it's dangerous if/when one company knows so much about people.

This would be manageable to a certain degree if people would actually have an easy way to opt out completely. Even if you choose to not use the service you can still get tracked by using their dns service, Google analytics, tracking pixels, other sites using their cdn etc etc. That way you make that people have to block shitloads for themselves in order to stay out of its databases and that's far from okay to me.

Another very important reason for me is the fact that Google is (as far as the snowden leaks tell us) integrated within worlds biggest mass surveillance program ever created; PRISM.
If the docs are right (which I presume since they're internal nsa docs and he doesn't really have a reason to fake them or gain anything by that) then Google is one of about 10-15 US based companies which are directly integrated with all its services into this mass surveillance program. Meaning that anything you do on any of their services (this goes for Facebook, Microsoft, apple, Yahoo and other names as well) gets directly into the hands of worlds most powerful surveillance agency.

If you betray your customers by getting integrated instead of shutting down then I guess you don't give a single fuck about your customers and when you don't give a fuck about your customers security and privacy while you collect data like your life depends on it, I'll do anything to avoid using you.

@linuxxx The type of answers I'm looking for here. Thanks for taking the time to share in such a clear and precise way.

Let's back to the answer

search engine : dudukgo / yandex

email : protonmail / my own email server

video : youtube (no better option but have difffernt channel for differnt purpose so suggestion list don't mess up)

and many more

yup android is not replacable yet

Motive :

privacy : I don't like if I am eating something and someone continuesaly staring at me like dog with empty stomach then how can I allowed search engine to stare on me 24/7.

monopoly:

I don't want to see google's monopoly on world.

yes they are rulling internet but if single company own maximum data then it can create own rules and regulation. competation is good in that sense.

I only use the foss alternatives that are better than the google variant

@import-fun I see what you mean. Privacy and monopoly are indeed good concerns.

@import-fun You can run an android phone without Google services though. (lineage without flashing gapps for example)

@linuxxx

yes but in that case, my important payment app's not work properly.

@import-fun Mine doesn't either so I do everything from desktop ;)

@linuxxx that's called managment.

#respect

@import-fun Management? I don't get it 😅

But nope, I'd refuse to use gapps for anything really haha

@linuxxx

I can pay with paytm to my shop keeper near to my office for cigg or for my cab.

How can I pay him through laptop / pc instantly ?

you are managing such things this then your management must be good or u use cash.

and about gapp,yes if somebody is serious about privacy then he/she must stay away from gapp

@import-fun Oh no I just said that I only use banking through my laptop mostly, except for that either cash or bank cards.

@linuxxx yup I got it.

_/\_

Ok... so for whoever is reading this, being Google-vegan or not, having commented or not:

What about the trade-offs?

Do you think is worth it avoiding any Google product in favor of your reasons (privacy, etc), considering the different type of work you have to do in order to accomplish it (switching to other alternatives)?

Or you prefer to leverage the benefits of their services knowing (or purposely ignoring) the cost behind it?

Or maybe trying to find a balance (?).

@grayfox I'd like to refer to the fourth and fifth paragraphs of my first comment.

Anything is better than using something that basically is a mass surveillance network imo.

@grayfox

for trade-off

it is difficult to avoid google app in professional purpose.

example

1) when I was creating account in bank in I wrote myname@protonmail.com

I don't know how but that fucking data entry guy type myname@gmail.com

they are used to gapp.

2) gmail for communication:

if you try to convence non-technical people to communicate on slack,they behave like angry bull

I am full stack developer and i am at beginning stage of carrier,I commumnicate with non-technical peoples for project.

google created nice eco system so it hard to convence people to avoid it in trade-off

I'm finding it hard to believe that Google having some data on my search queries, metadata on my emails and whatnot is going to affect my life in any way.

Maybe if I was searching for child porn or doing something else either illegal or frowned upon then there would be slight chance something would flag me and get me in trouble, but otherwise I'm just some data in database that nobody cares about on personal level.

So it isn't the same as someone in here asking me to disclose my private stuff.

And if government ever wants to do hardcore surveillance then you will be flagged even more if you wear tinfoil hat on the basis "what is he hiding from us?". And you won't have a choice, most likely, since most people don't really care and we have a democracy. And even if people did care, government just might go full China with it and in the end result will be the same.

Using duck duck go on google-chrome. Gold.

@RantSomeWhere why not? Do i really care who gets to see what porn i watch? How the hell is that information useful to anybody?

I havent really had any inconvenience from not using google products. The people i talk with are on telegram, protonmail is perfect and my country has a google pay alternative

I'm going to call in our privacy masters: @Root @FrodoSwaggins

@shaji Maybe it's not right now but what if it becomes something to hide in 10 years for whatever reason?

@FrodoSwaggins Sure thing!

@RantSomeWhere but my boss isn't google, nor are my colleagues. I like how people ask to tell them private things that Google/NSA knows and make it sound as they're the same thing.
1. You don't provide any services to me.
2. You're not a computer (most likely) and not a security agency.

So stop making them sound like the same thing as they're completely different.

@FrodoSwaggins Well, little late but I was asleep three hours ago haha

@RantSomeWhere not really no. I do watch that but not without grannies though.

@linuxxx we'd probably be dead by then.

@FrodoSwaggins Awesome!