Google has become so popular in our world that we have literally replaced the word search with Google in most of our natural conversations. The use of Google search has become so pervasive that most of us consider Google as a search engine company, which is just one piece of the pie. In reality, Google is an ever-expanding company which makes most of its money by collecting and using user data to show you relevant ads, links and content.
Do note that Google is just one company that collects data, while there are other forms of surveillance that tracks your online activity, which is much harder to evade. But if you are ready to take the first step towards taking charge of your online data, here is how you can remove Google from your life:
Before we begin our article, I know some of you might have doubts as to why you should rely less on Google to become more private. The reason behind this reasoning is pretty simple. Most of us are relying on Google for almost all our online needs. We search for stuff on Google, watch videos on YouTube, use Gmail as our main email provider, use Google Maps to navigate, use Chrome for browsing the web, and so on.
While Google like any other company doesn’t associate data directly with you, with so many services in place, it doesn’t have to put much effort into recreating your entire virtual life. Just think about it, Google knows where you live and travel to, what you search, what you do on the web, what videos are you interested in, who is on your contact list, and so much more. If you are using an Android phone then Google also has access to all your photos, call data, and a list of every app that you use on your phone.
If you are ready to replace Google, congratulations. You have already taken the first step towards improving your privacy. However, as I said, the journey will be harder than you expect. To remove Google from our lives, we will need to replace its services with other services that explicitly promise not to track us. Sometimes, those services are not as feature-rich as Google, and then, you will have to decide if you want more convenience or more privacy.
Most of us will choose different things depending on our needs and that’s completely fine. You don’t have to switch everything and remove Google in its entirety from your life. You just need to make it tougher for Google to read your patterns so that it can’t track your every second of your life. If that means using third-party services which might also track you, you can do that too.
DuckDuckGo markets itself as a search engine that doesn’t track you. The service offers complete anonymous search allowing you to keep your searches private. You can use DuckDuckGo on your browser or download its mobile apps (Android/iOS) if you want to use the service on the go. DuckDuckGo provides users with anonymity by not tracking your IP address, not asking you to create an account, and not saving cookies and search history. One good thing about DuckDuckGo is that it automatically forces all your web browsing to use the secure “HTTPS” route so that you protected while browsing the web.
2. Replace Google Chrome with Other Secure Browsers
Google Chrome is a behemoth in the browser industry as it has captured the majority share in the browser market. As of June 2018, Google Chrome has captured over 67% of browser market share in the world. If you are one of those users who is using Google Chrome, it’s time that you switch to something more private. If you are an Apple user, the simple answer is to use Safari as not only it’s fast but it’s also very secure as Apple is adding more and more privacy features every year.
3. Discard Google Password Manager
If you have been using Google Chrome all this while, chances are that you are using Google’s password manager to autofill your password. Since you are switching the browser now, it’s better to let go of a browser-based password manager and use a product which is built for it.
- Visit LastPass
4. Move Your Email from Gmail
This probably will be the hardest thing to do as most of us have had our emails for quite a long time and it’s what we use to create other accounts and talk to our contacts. That’s why, if you can’t switch your email, you don’t have to.
5. Don’t Use Google DNS
Using an open and free DNS service is good for people who want to protect their browsing data from the prying eyes of their internet service providers or ISPs. One of the most popular free DNS services is Google DNS. While Google DNS is good for protecting your data from your ISP, it won’t protect your data from Google itself. If you want to make sure that your browsing history is not being track by either your ISP or Google, you better move to a more private DNS server like Cloudflare. There are other free and secure DNS providers in the market and if you like to see a list of them, visit our article which lists the best open and free DNS services that you can use.
6. Move Your Files Away from Google Drive
Google Drive is yet another major data harvesting tool in the hands of Google. If you are using Google Drive, it’s time that you switch to a more secure and private cloud storage provider.
7. Stop Using Google Maps
This is yet another major Google service which is pretty hard to replace because of sheer convenience and accurate data that it offers. Before Waze got acquired by Google, it used to be a good alternative to Google Maps, however, after the acquisition went through, we are not sure whether it’s sharing data with Google or not.
8. Replace Google Weather with DarkSky
Another way Google can track your location data is using its weather app. Since, a weather app needs your location access to tell you what it’s like outside, using Google Weather is not recommended. It’s also pretty easy to replace Google Weather services as there are a number of more accurate and good looking weather apps out there. My favorite weather app of choice is DarkSky (Android/iOS) as it’s accurate and looks great.
9. Move Your Chats Away from Google Hangouts
While it’s hard to reset your email, moving your chat service away from Hangouts is pretty easy, especially when there are a ton of exceptional chatting services out there. iOS users have the benefit of using iMessage which is one the most secure and feature-rich messaging service in the market right now.
10. Check Out Google Docs Alternatives
In recent years, Google Docs has emerged as a great productivity suite. Not only you get this service for free, but you also get one of the best live collaboration features I have seen in the market. If you are using Google Docs a lot, it might be a little tough to switch from the service but there are options out there which will make the transition easier.
- Visit Quip
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Google Chrome Alternatives
That ends our article on how you can safeguard your online privacy by relying less and less on Google. If you follow all the above ten steps, your online life will be less reliant on Google, and more secure for most use-cases.
