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This is your daily reminder that nothing in your digital life should EVER entierly depend on any Google services. Im writing this from an android phone. It is

by zibzab 5y ago

This is your daily reminder that nothing in your digital life should EVER entierly depend on any Google services. Im writing this from an android phone. It is not de-googled per se, but uses a replacement for every single Google service (files, books, maps, search, movies, ...). Yes I pay money for those replacements, but God its good to not my life in the hand of a overzealous ML algorithm.

tyingq 5y ago
There's a middle ground too. I use lots of cloud services, but I also spent $300 on a home NAS device to sync copies of the stuff I can't live without. Not affiliated with them, but I bought a Synology unit, and the UI lets you pretty easily sync things like Google drive. I'd still be scrambling around a bit to fix stuff if Google banned me, but I'd at least have copies of the most important things.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  That works for us tech people who have know-how and cash. Most Internet users across the world don't have 300$ to spend right away (in many parts of the world, 50-200$ for a laptop/phone is already quite the expense). I believe only by empowering smaller, user-friendly providers (eg. hosting coops) can we actually change the situation.
  - tyingq 5y ago
    Yes, but the $300 device wasn't really my main point. Just some middle ground of using Google, but maintaining a copy of important data. The copying could be done with a $30 external usb hard drive and regular visits to the Google Takeout page.
zamadatix 5y ago
What do you use for maps?
- JanisL 5y ago
  OpenStreetMap can be quite good: https://www.openstreetmap.org https://www.openstreetmap.org
  - fuzzfactor 5y ago
    Mapquest is still good. Google was better when they first got going, but has since declined well below Mapquest.
    - habi 5y ago
      MapQuest uses OpenStreetMap data, or at least shows me stuff I added to OSM in my vicinity. On their mobile website they seem to be missing attribution, though!
  - habi 5y ago
    OSM is actually much better than Google Maps in certain parts of the world. There’s a bunch of apps for Android (which I guess OP uses): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android#OpenStreetMap_applications https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android#OpenStreetMap_ap...
  - antihero 5y ago
    Do they bring in stuff like opening hours and can it do searches like "pub near me" yet?
    - thinkingemote 5y ago
      Yes. but remember that openstreetmap is the database. Its third party applications which will expose and build upon it, e.g. including searches in DDG and Facebook and Apple. The project website is not a one stop shop to compete against gmaps.
    - habi 5y ago
      Certain apps do, I recommend https://organicmaps.app/ https://organicmaps.app/, which can also work completely offline. Of course the data can only be shown if someone adds it; with OMaps you can contribute for example `opening_hours` and the pub which is non-existent in OpenStreetMap ;)
slyall 5y ago
Even if you don't stop using them completely then the fewer services you use then the lower this risk. eg If you don't use photos or storage then zero risk that they will cause you to lose your gmail account.
- Gigachad 5y ago
  You can use everything and just dump your account data frequently with Google Takeout. It's super simple to use and provides the data in a format you can easily upload to alternatives. Google drive and photos are my primary data copy and the .tgz dumps are my backup.
  - cube00 5y ago
    The problem with this is you need to remember to do this often enough before the ban hammer falls. The only automated takeout default they allow is once every two months.
sigmaml 5y ago
This can happen with any company! I had Apple lock me out of iTunes, App Store, Mac Store, ... - for an entire month, if not more - alleging that I spammed others with my iMessage account. The fact is that I never, ever used iMessage! I used only WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS. In every support call, I would hear them say the same thing. I would tell them that I never used iMessage, let alone spam others. But, they would say, some users marked your iMessage account as spamming. I would ask them for proof, with iMessage records; they would say they cannot disclose that! After that experience, I simply moved off iPhone to a Pixel. I still have an MBP for work purposes, but I needed to create a different AppleID. Summary: This can happen with any company!
- philpem 5y ago
  "But the automated bot is infallible, sir! We don't know how it works, but we know it's perfect!"

by zibzab 5y ago

tyingq 5y ago

There's a middle ground too. I use lots of cloud services, but I also spent $300 on a home NAS device to sync copies of the stuff I can't live without. Not affiliated with them, but I bought a Synology unit, and the UI lets you pretty easily sync things like Google drive. I'd still be scrambling around a bit to fix stuff if Google banned me, but I'd at least have copies of the most important things.

southerntofu 5y ago
That works for us tech people who have know-how and cash. Most Internet users across the world don't have 300$ to spend right away (in many parts of the world, 50-200$ for a laptop/phone is already quite the expense). I believe only by empowering smaller, user-friendly providers (eg. hosting coops) can we actually change the situation.
- tyingq 5y ago
  Yes, but the $300 device wasn't really my main point. Just some middle ground of using Google, but maintaining a copy of important data. The copying could be done with a $30 external usb hard drive and regular visits to the Google Takeout page.

zamadatix 5y ago

What do you use for maps?

JanisL 5y ago
OpenStreetMap can be quite good: https://www.openstreetmap.org https://www.openstreetmap.org
- fuzzfactor 5y ago
  Mapquest is still good. Google was better when they first got going, but has since declined well below Mapquest.
  - habi 5y ago
    MapQuest uses OpenStreetMap data, or at least shows me stuff I added to OSM in my vicinity. On their mobile website they seem to be missing attribution, though!
- habi 5y ago
  OSM is actually much better than Google Maps in certain parts of the world. There’s a bunch of apps for Android (which I guess OP uses): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android#OpenStreetMap_applications https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android#OpenStreetMap_ap...
- antihero 5y ago
  Do they bring in stuff like opening hours and can it do searches like "pub near me" yet?
  - thinkingemote 5y ago
    Yes. but remember that openstreetmap is the database. Its third party applications which will expose and build upon it, e.g. including searches in DDG and Facebook and Apple. The project website is not a one stop shop to compete against gmaps.
  - habi 5y ago
    Certain apps do, I recommend https://organicmaps.app/ https://organicmaps.app/, which can also work completely offline. Of course the data can only be shown if someone adds it; with OMaps you can contribute for example `opening_hours` and the pub which is non-existent in OpenStreetMap ;)

slyall 5y ago

Even if you don't stop using them completely then the fewer services you use then the lower this risk. eg If you don't use photos or storage then zero risk that they will cause you to lose your gmail account.

Gigachad 5y ago
You can use everything and just dump your account data frequently with Google Takeout. It's super simple to use and provides the data in a format you can easily upload to alternatives. Google drive and photos are my primary data copy and the .tgz dumps are my backup.
- cube00 5y ago
  The problem with this is you need to remember to do this often enough before the ban hammer falls. The only automated takeout default they allow is once every two months.

sigmaml 5y ago

This can happen with any company! I had Apple lock me out of iTunes, App Store, Mac Store, ... - for an entire month, if not more - alleging that I spammed others with my iMessage account. The fact is that I never, ever used iMessage! I used only WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS. In every support call, I would hear them say the same thing. I would tell them that I never used iMessage, let alone spam others. But, they would say, some users marked your iMessage account as spamming. I would ask them for proof, with iMessage records; they would say they cannot disclose that! After that experience, I simply moved off iPhone to a Pixel. I still have an MBP for work purposes, but I needed to create a different AppleID. Summary: This can happen with any company!

philpem 5y ago
"But the automated bot is infallible, sir! We don't know how it works, but we know it's perfect!"