13 ms·

I've seen a few stories of businesses and their employees all losing their Google accounts, just because the company hired a freelancer who had previously been

by mcbits 7y ago

I've seen a few stories of businesses and their employees all losing their Google accounts, just because the company hired a freelancer who had previously been banned, and Google detected the association. (Pretty sure they got the accounts back after some public outrage.) I wouldn't risk intentionally violating their terms if you're not quite ready to wake up one day 100% Google-free, or very good at hiding your tracks.

warp_factor 7y ago
The fact that this is even a remote possibility should worry everyone of the ugly monopoly that Google became. I found myself in a similar situation a couple months ago. An android App falsely charged me on the Play store. After trying to contact Google for multiple weeks I gave up and disputed the charge on my credit card. This resulted in Google coming after me for 8.99$ and threatening me to close all my Google accounts including gmail, calendar, photos, drive and everything I rely daily in Google. That was a wake-up call for me. I decided to move everything OUT of Google. That company got too much power, it should worry way more people.
- iKevinShah 7y ago
  > I decided to move everything OUT of Google Have you been successful in it? Any guidelines / tips? How hard is it?
  - guitarbill 7y ago
    The sooner you start, the better. I've moved most of my email/contacts/calendar away [0], and the longer you give yourself to catch the things you've signed up for but forgotten, the better. Youtube was also a pain, but I transitioned my subscriptions manually to a different account. Maps seems like it'd be the trickiest if you're invested. I wasn't a heavy user, and maps still works pretty good when you're logged out. [0] I use fastmail + custom domain, which works great, but you have to guard the domain very closely.
    - vageli 7y ago
      > [0] I use fastmail + custom domain, which works great, but you have to guard the domain very closely. What do you mean by guarding the domain? To prevent large volumes of spam?
      - LostJourneyman 7y ago
        I think OP means that you have to make sure you don't forget to/neglect to renew it and make sure you don't accidentally lose the domain for any reason.
        guitarbill 7y ago
        spot on, basically you now have to worry about the domain being lost or hijacked also. for me, the flexibility to change email providers behind a domain is worth it though
        vageli 7y ago
        Thank you for the clarification. I use a dedicated card for domain hosting (with autorenewal enabled) to prevent this specific issue but I recognize most people likely don't do the same.
    - mxuribe 7y ago
      > you have to guard the domain very closely I'm intrigued by this, would you kindly share more on this!?!
      - pault 7y ago
        It means if you slip up and lose your domain, nobody can send you email (including 2FA, reset password, add a new email to your account, etc). You can imagine how inconvenient that would be. I use fastmail with a custom domain and that scenario gives me nightmares.
        epicide 7y ago
  - peex 7y ago
    - Custom mail with your domain or use Outlook online. - Use Yandex Maps instead of Google Maps. It's very accurate and navigation is smooth. Way better than Gmaps imo. - Use Office 365 instead of Google Docs. - You can use One Drive for cloud storage or buy a cheap VPS.
  - duiker101 7y ago
    I have been doing it for a long time, the hardest for me is all the registered users I have around the web linked to the email. After a few years of changing each one that mattered I finally get close to zero mail on gmail. Search I moved to ddg, that was the easy one. Android can work fine with just f-droid since I noticed I rarely even use the store any more and I need just a few essential apps. For storage, I tend to store only documents and I like to use mega.nz. The only thing I haven't managed to find a even close to decent alternative it's photos. Google Photos is just simply too good. I would be even willing to pay but really, all the other apps struggle to get sync right or have some other crappy stuff that makes them barely usable.
    - Justsignedup 7y ago
      I used shoebox as a great alternative to Google photos. The problem is they just shut down.
      - duiker101 7y ago
        As I wrote that comment I went on another small search as I do every so often and I found Canon Irista and I have to say, I am impressed. The sync seems to work fine, it's pretty fast and the UI both of the website and the app is pretty solid. I suggest giving it a try if you are on the lookout for a new photo hosting service.
    - dienzo 7y ago
      Yandex disk is an alternative to Google photos.
  - r3bl 7y ago
    Nextcloud, preferably on a machine you own (but there are companies selling Nextcloud hosting as well). It replaces Google Drive, Contacts, Calendar, Photos (face recognition can be done with a third-party app), has an RSS reader, bookmarking service etc. Just look at its app store, you can install any of this with two clicks: https://apps.nextcloud.com/ https://apps.nextcloud.com/ It really is a suite that can combat Google's suite — and you can truly own it. Other than that, DDG for search, and your own domain for email (so that you could transfer it between different hostings if necessary). I do have a Google account, but I use it for precisely two purposes: Google Play (my phone wouldn't work without one) and YouTube subscriptions (I can use an RSS reader for this, but it's a bit inconvenient). You can create a Google account without creating a Gmail account.
    - m-p-3 7y ago
      May I suggest using NewPipe[1] for a Google-account-free experience to follow channels? You can import them from your current subscription list, and easily export them when you switch phone or for backup purposes. [1]: https://newpipe.schabi.org/ https://newpipe.schabi.org/
  - warp_factor 7y ago
    Late reply but here is what I did: - Bought a new domain name and moved my mails in fastmail. I have been super happy with it so far. - My Gmail address is now only for spam or very low importance emails. - All my Pixel pictures are still uploaded to Google Photos, but I backup everything once a month or so. - I don't use Google Drive for anything anymore. I have an Evernote account and a Dropbox account. - Completely switchecd to DDG and Firefox. - I'm still using my Pixel2 as of now but my next upgrade will be an IPhone, or a rooted Google-Independent Android phone.
- pettersolberg 7y ago
  Surely, Google has way too much power, but as the old adage goes: don't put all your eggs into one basket :)
  - chii 7y ago
    It's unfortunate that they are the only basket in town!
    - alpaca128 7y ago
      Are they? Email, calendar, online office, cloud storage etc. are all available from various other companies(even beside the big few corporations). The only two areas where you'd really have to sacrifice features would be Android apps, and YouTube if you're running a channel.
      - chii 7y ago
        tell me which provider has an integrated single signon service for all of those above? Which provider has apps for their service for all major OS'es (including mobile), and is mostly free (or low cost)?
        StavrosK 7y ago
        The cost of free is worrying about arbitrary closure, in this instance. Fastmail is much better than Gmail, for what it's worth.
        tskguarantee 7y ago
        Microsoft does. OneDrive for storage, Outlook webapps does email and calendar. Office online has Word, Excel, etc. All accessed with one Microsoft account. All free. You might not want to be tied to Microsoft but Google is not the only option. Edit: Overlooked the comment about Apps. Microsoft offers apps for mobile, but not Linux. Although even on Windows I use the browser to access the services which will work on Linux.
- tjbiddle 7y ago
  Yeesh. I had the same happen - Except I never followed through on reversing the charge on my credit card. I spent multiple hours trying to dispute $2.99 or something. Clearly not for the monetary value - just from pure frustration! However, I was scared for my Google account so just ended up dropping it. Ridiculous.
- rahimnathwani 7y ago
  "An android App falsely charged me on the Play store." I'm curious to know how this happened. Would you mind sharing more info? As I understand it, the only way for an app to 'charge you on the play store' is to: 1) Be a paid app (in which case you pay before the app starts installing), or 2) via in-app purchases, which are handled by the app initiating the IAP, and then Play services taking over to ask for confirmation. In either case, the transaction is only confirmed by a user action (tapping a button) with the app having no control. Sure, it's possible for an Android app to trick you, by covering everything apart from the button with something fake, but I'd be surprised if such an app found its way into the Play Store.
  - warp_factor 7y ago
    Sure, I might have hit a corner case but I made an in-app purchase for a one year subscription for a service. After using the app for a couple of days and restarting the phone, the app seemed to hit a bug and behave like if I didn't buy the subscription, prompting me to buy another subscription which I did thinking that this would unblock the backend and somehow merge with the fact that I already had a subscription. Unfortunately, Google Play charged me again for a subscription I already had. Both the app creator AND Google Play were difficult to join. The App creators never replied to any of my emails. Google Play got an automated support website that decided that "I was not eligible for a refund" and there was nothing I could do about it. It also seems to be impossible to contact a real human being to explain the situation.
fireattack 7y ago
Isn't that story debunked, if we're talking about the one coming from reddit?
DonHopkins 7y ago
That gives a new meaning to "google bombing" -- a bad actor could cultivate a terrible google rating, then hire onto a low level freelance gig at a big company they wanted to bomb by association! Let's just say Oracle as a hypothetical example -- Russia, if you're listening...
dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago
> Pretty sure they got the accounts back after some public outrage. This may happen only if you manage to get it to the front page of HN or have many Twitter followers. In most cases you don't stand much chances though.
dnate 7y ago
If you have a significant problem with waking up one day 100% google free, you are already in trouble.

by mcbits 7y ago

warp_factor 7y ago

The fact that this is even a remote possibility should worry everyone of the ugly monopoly that Google became. I found myself in a similar situation a couple months ago. An android App falsely charged me on the Play store. After trying to contact Google for multiple weeks I gave up and disputed the charge on my credit card. This resulted in Google coming after me for 8.99$ and threatening me to close all my Google accounts including gmail, calendar, photos, drive and everything I rely daily in Google. That was a wake-up call for me. I decided to move everything OUT of Google. That company got too much power, it should worry way more people.

iKevinShah 7y ago
> I decided to move everything OUT of Google Have you been successful in it? Any guidelines / tips? How hard is it?
- guitarbill 7y ago
  The sooner you start, the better. I've moved most of my email/contacts/calendar away [0], and the longer you give yourself to catch the things you've signed up for but forgotten, the better. Youtube was also a pain, but I transitioned my subscriptions manually to a different account. Maps seems like it'd be the trickiest if you're invested. I wasn't a heavy user, and maps still works pretty good when you're logged out. [0] I use fastmail + custom domain, which works great, but you have to guard the domain very closely.
  - vageli 7y ago
    > [0] I use fastmail + custom domain, which works great, but you have to guard the domain very closely. What do you mean by guarding the domain? To prevent large volumes of spam?
    - LostJourneyman 7y ago
      I think OP means that you have to make sure you don't forget to/neglect to renew it and make sure you don't accidentally lose the domain for any reason.
      - guitarbill 7y ago
        spot on, basically you now have to worry about the domain being lost or hijacked also. for me, the flexibility to change email providers behind a domain is worth it though
      - vageli 7y ago
        Thank you for the clarification. I use a dedicated card for domain hosting (with autorenewal enabled) to prevent this specific issue but I recognize most people likely don't do the same.
  - mxuribe 7y ago
    > you have to guard the domain very closely I'm intrigued by this, would you kindly share more on this!?!
    - pault 7y ago
      It means if you slip up and lose your domain, nobody can send you email (including 2FA, reset password, add a new email to your account, etc). You can imagine how inconvenient that would be. I use fastmail with a custom domain and that scenario gives me nightmares.
      - epicide 7y ago
- peex 7y ago
  - Custom mail with your domain or use Outlook online. - Use Yandex Maps instead of Google Maps. It's very accurate and navigation is smooth. Way better than Gmaps imo. - Use Office 365 instead of Google Docs. - You can use One Drive for cloud storage or buy a cheap VPS.
- duiker101 7y ago
  I have been doing it for a long time, the hardest for me is all the registered users I have around the web linked to the email. After a few years of changing each one that mattered I finally get close to zero mail on gmail. Search I moved to ddg, that was the easy one. Android can work fine with just f-droid since I noticed I rarely even use the store any more and I need just a few essential apps. For storage, I tend to store only documents and I like to use mega.nz. The only thing I haven't managed to find a even close to decent alternative it's photos. Google Photos is just simply too good. I would be even willing to pay but really, all the other apps struggle to get sync right or have some other crappy stuff that makes them barely usable.
  - Justsignedup 7y ago
    I used shoebox as a great alternative to Google photos. The problem is they just shut down.
    - duiker101 7y ago
      As I wrote that comment I went on another small search as I do every so often and I found Canon Irista and I have to say, I am impressed. The sync seems to work fine, it's pretty fast and the UI both of the website and the app is pretty solid. I suggest giving it a try if you are on the lookout for a new photo hosting service.
  - dienzo 7y ago
    Yandex disk is an alternative to Google photos.
- r3bl 7y ago
  Nextcloud, preferably on a machine you own (but there are companies selling Nextcloud hosting as well). It replaces Google Drive, Contacts, Calendar, Photos (face recognition can be done with a third-party app), has an RSS reader, bookmarking service etc. Just look at its app store, you can install any of this with two clicks: https://apps.nextcloud.com/ https://apps.nextcloud.com/ It really is a suite that can combat Google's suite — and you can truly own it. Other than that, DDG for search, and your own domain for email (so that you could transfer it between different hostings if necessary). I do have a Google account, but I use it for precisely two purposes: Google Play (my phone wouldn't work without one) and YouTube subscriptions (I can use an RSS reader for this, but it's a bit inconvenient). You can create a Google account without creating a Gmail account.
  - m-p-3 7y ago
    May I suggest using NewPipe[1] for a Google-account-free experience to follow channels? You can import them from your current subscription list, and easily export them when you switch phone or for backup purposes. [1]: https://newpipe.schabi.org/ https://newpipe.schabi.org/
- warp_factor 7y ago
  Late reply but here is what I did: - Bought a new domain name and moved my mails in fastmail. I have been super happy with it so far. - My Gmail address is now only for spam or very low importance emails. - All my Pixel pictures are still uploaded to Google Photos, but I backup everything once a month or so. - I don't use Google Drive for anything anymore. I have an Evernote account and a Dropbox account. - Completely switchecd to DDG and Firefox. - I'm still using my Pixel2 as of now but my next upgrade will be an IPhone, or a rooted Google-Independent Android phone.
pettersolberg 7y ago
Surely, Google has way too much power, but as the old adage goes: don't put all your eggs into one basket :)
- chii 7y ago
  It's unfortunate that they are the only basket in town!
  - alpaca128 7y ago
    Are they? Email, calendar, online office, cloud storage etc. are all available from various other companies(even beside the big few corporations). The only two areas where you'd really have to sacrifice features would be Android apps, and YouTube if you're running a channel.
    - chii 7y ago
      tell me which provider has an integrated single signon service for all of those above? Which provider has apps for their service for all major OS'es (including mobile), and is mostly free (or low cost)?
      - StavrosK 7y ago
        The cost of free is worrying about arbitrary closure, in this instance. Fastmail is much better than Gmail, for what it's worth.
      - tskguarantee 7y ago
        Microsoft does. OneDrive for storage, Outlook webapps does email and calendar. Office online has Word, Excel, etc. All accessed with one Microsoft account. All free. You might not want to be tied to Microsoft but Google is not the only option. Edit: Overlooked the comment about Apps. Microsoft offers apps for mobile, but not Linux. Although even on Windows I use the browser to access the services which will work on Linux.
tjbiddle 7y ago
Yeesh. I had the same happen - Except I never followed through on reversing the charge on my credit card. I spent multiple hours trying to dispute $2.99 or something. Clearly not for the monetary value - just from pure frustration! However, I was scared for my Google account so just ended up dropping it. Ridiculous.
rahimnathwani 7y ago
"An android App falsely charged me on the Play store." I'm curious to know how this happened. Would you mind sharing more info? As I understand it, the only way for an app to 'charge you on the play store' is to: 1) Be a paid app (in which case you pay before the app starts installing), or 2) via in-app purchases, which are handled by the app initiating the IAP, and then Play services taking over to ask for confirmation. In either case, the transaction is only confirmed by a user action (tapping a button) with the app having no control. Sure, it's possible for an Android app to trick you, by covering everything apart from the button with something fake, but I'd be surprised if such an app found its way into the Play Store.
- warp_factor 7y ago
  Sure, I might have hit a corner case but I made an in-app purchase for a one year subscription for a service. After using the app for a couple of days and restarting the phone, the app seemed to hit a bug and behave like if I didn't buy the subscription, prompting me to buy another subscription which I did thinking that this would unblock the backend and somehow merge with the fact that I already had a subscription. Unfortunately, Google Play charged me again for a subscription I already had. Both the app creator AND Google Play were difficult to join. The App creators never replied to any of my emails. Google Play got an automated support website that decided that "I was not eligible for a refund" and there was nothing I could do about it. It also seems to be impossible to contact a real human being to explain the situation.

fireattack 7y ago

Isn't that story debunked, if we're talking about the one coming from reddit?

DonHopkins 7y ago

That gives a new meaning to "google bombing" -- a bad actor could cultivate a terrible google rating, then hire onto a low level freelance gig at a big company they wanted to bomb by association! Let's just say Oracle as a hypothetical example -- Russia, if you're listening...

dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago

> Pretty sure they got the accounts back after some public outrage. This may happen only if you manage to get it to the front page of HN or have many Twitter followers. In most cases you don't stand much chances though.

dnate 7y ago

If you have a significant problem with waking up one day 100% google free, you are already in trouble.