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How to Live Without Google: Alternatives That Protect Your Privacy

40 points by tempodox 4y ago

upinsmoke1980 4y ago
I use Fastmail and recommend them. I'm never going back to Gmail.
- ajyey 4y ago
  +1 for fastmail
  - helph67 4y ago
    Have used Fastmail for many years and recommend it!
- mdaniel 4y ago
  In case folks were not aware, Fastmail is a Calendar, Contacts, Drive, and Keep replacement too, all built on open standards so you can use your favorite tools to interact with them Since you're a paying customer, there's no front page posts ever saying "I got locked out of my account and there's no one to call" as with some other free mail provider I can think of
- lazyeye 4y ago
  A really nice feature of Fastmail is "virtual domains" where you can receive emails on multiple domains in the one inbox. It's a 5 min job to setup email capability (including wildcard addressing) on any new domain you get. They've made it very simple and easy to configure.
  - mdaniel 4y ago
    Another fun trick is their partnership with 1Password to make "masked emails"; all the fun of mailinator but with much less hassle: https://support.1password.com/fastmail/ https://support.1password.com/fastmail/
LastNevadan 4y ago
I recently upgraded my iPhone and I'm trying hard to live without Google. Google is evil. The only two Google apps I can't seem to get away from are Authenticator and Maps. I travel a lot, and I find the reviews are helpful for deciding where to go. Even if I don't read the reviews, the number of reviews are helpful to find a useful store of any time. Apple maps' reviews aren't as helpful.
- unethical_ban 4y ago
  There are a ton of alternatives to Authenticator. AFAIK Authenticator is a generic TOTP app, easily replaced by open source tools or Authy, which is what I use. Authy has an encrypted backup service to cloud, and there are others which allow local backup. Authenticator isn't just bad because it is google, it's bad because it is an inferior app.
  - LastNevadan 4y ago
    Thanks, I didn't realize that. I thought Authy worked differently. I'll try Authy.
    - tzs 4y ago
      I believe that Authy's encrypted backup is to their cloud service. If you are only going to need to access backups from your Apple devices you might want to consider a TOTP app that stores its backups in iCloud, since you presumably already are using that. Of course this doesn't matter it all if you aren't going to use backup, in which case I can't think of any reason not to use Authy. As far as in-app TOTP backup goes you may not need it. I'll get to that later. A good TOTP app for Apple devices if you want something that can backup to iCloud is OTP Auth. It can save/restore/sync with iCloud. OTP Auth also supports making and restoring from encrypted backup files which you can save using the usual share options. Both Authy and OTP Auth support Apple Watch which is handy. You might not actually need in-app TOTP backup. When I set up a TOTP on a new site I save a copy of the QR code PNG on my Mac. I keep the collection of such QR codes in an encrypted file (which then automatically ends up in my Time Machine backup and my offsite backup). If I need to set up a new TOTP authenticator or restore an old one I simply decrypt that file, open all the PNGs files, and scan then. If you don't have a large number of accounts that is not much trouble. I think I have maybe 20. I open the PNGs all in Preview, set it to show one per page, then it is scan, page down, repeat. Takes a second or two per code. It would probably get a bit annoying around 100. Even if your TOTP app does support backup and restore and you use that, I think it is still a good idea to save the codes as described above, because if you ever want to change TOTP apps you likely can't restore from your previous app's backup. If you've saved the individual codes there is no such limitation. That's what I do. I consider the encrypted file of PNGs to be my main backup, and the encrypted backup I saved in iCloud Files from OTP Auth to be for restoring OTP Auth if I ever have to reset a device or setup OTP Auth on a new device. If you still have Google Authenticator somewhere, such as on the device you upgraded to your new phone from, you may be able to get your TOTP data out of it and into whatever TOTP app you use on the new phone. See my other comment that is near this one for details on how to do that.
barbazoo 4y ago
I was hoping for an alternative to Photos, the only Google service I still use.
- randomluck040 4y ago
  How do you use it? I don’t use any kind of cloud for my photos, they’re either on my pc or on my phone. How do you utilise the cloud?
  - Zizizizz 4y ago
    Automatic backups, decent editing, magic eraser, great search either by face, context, etc.. I can search for dogs, waterfalls, trees, clouds, whatever and it usually gives me exactly what I want.
    - randomluck040 4y ago
      I’d have to look into editing and what magic eraser is but my phone offers the same functionality. I don’t have automatic backups though which is a huge plus. Thanks.
      - Zizizizz 4y ago
        What do you mean offers the same functionality, what search options can it do locally? Genuinely curious
        randomluck040 4y ago
        I have an iPhone 12 Mini and in the Photos app I can e.g. search for specific faces (it groups similar faces behind a folder) and can e.g. search for „Dog“ and it gives me all dogs. I don’t know by how much the cloud solution is better though and maybe I didn’t understand it and you mean something entirely different?
        4y ago
temende 4y ago
The main one that's pretty much impossible to find an alternative to is YouTube (if you're into watching videos on the Internet). Tons of creators/channels only upload their content on YouTube and nowhere else.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Invidious is a solution: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
- hilbert42 4y ago
  Use NewPipe or another independent viewer for goodness sake. I never watch YouTube in normal mode. Why watch ads when you don't have to? Also, NewPipe and like allow downloads. It's a no-brainer.
  - classified 4y ago
    Recommending an Android tool for de-googling has its own irony.
    - kevviiinn 4y ago
      Take it a step further and buy a pixel to use grapheneos on, totally degoogled phone made by google
      - hilbert42 4y ago
        I don't use a pixel but I always use a rooted degoogled phone. Something feels wrong and dirty about using a phone that hasn't been so processed.
x86x87 4y ago
I found this the other day and it aligns to how I've been going about it: https://epsilonmachine.com/nogoogle/ https://epsilonmachine.com/nogoogle/

40 points by tempodox 4y ago

upinsmoke1980 4y ago

I use Fastmail and recommend them. I'm never going back to Gmail.

ajyey 4y ago
+1 for fastmail
- helph67 4y ago
  Have used Fastmail for many years and recommend it!
mdaniel 4y ago
In case folks were not aware, Fastmail is a Calendar, Contacts, Drive, and Keep replacement too, all built on open standards so you can use your favorite tools to interact with them Since you're a paying customer, there's no front page posts ever saying "I got locked out of my account and there's no one to call" as with some other free mail provider I can think of
lazyeye 4y ago
A really nice feature of Fastmail is "virtual domains" where you can receive emails on multiple domains in the one inbox. It's a 5 min job to setup email capability (including wildcard addressing) on any new domain you get. They've made it very simple and easy to configure.
- mdaniel 4y ago
  Another fun trick is their partnership with 1Password to make "masked emails"; all the fun of mailinator but with much less hassle: https://support.1password.com/fastmail/ https://support.1password.com/fastmail/

LastNevadan 4y ago

I recently upgraded my iPhone and I'm trying hard to live without Google. Google is evil. The only two Google apps I can't seem to get away from are Authenticator and Maps. I travel a lot, and I find the reviews are helpful for deciding where to go. Even if I don't read the reviews, the number of reviews are helpful to find a useful store of any time. Apple maps' reviews aren't as helpful.

unethical_ban 4y ago
There are a ton of alternatives to Authenticator. AFAIK Authenticator is a generic TOTP app, easily replaced by open source tools or Authy, which is what I use. Authy has an encrypted backup service to cloud, and there are others which allow local backup. Authenticator isn't just bad because it is google, it's bad because it is an inferior app.
- LastNevadan 4y ago
  Thanks, I didn't realize that. I thought Authy worked differently. I'll try Authy.
  - tzs 4y ago
    I believe that Authy's encrypted backup is to their cloud service. If you are only going to need to access backups from your Apple devices you might want to consider a TOTP app that stores its backups in iCloud, since you presumably already are using that. Of course this doesn't matter it all if you aren't going to use backup, in which case I can't think of any reason not to use Authy. As far as in-app TOTP backup goes you may not need it. I'll get to that later. A good TOTP app for Apple devices if you want something that can backup to iCloud is OTP Auth. It can save/restore/sync with iCloud. OTP Auth also supports making and restoring from encrypted backup files which you can save using the usual share options. Both Authy and OTP Auth support Apple Watch which is handy. You might not actually need in-app TOTP backup. When I set up a TOTP on a new site I save a copy of the QR code PNG on my Mac. I keep the collection of such QR codes in an encrypted file (which then automatically ends up in my Time Machine backup and my offsite backup). If I need to set up a new TOTP authenticator or restore an old one I simply decrypt that file, open all the PNGs files, and scan then. If you don't have a large number of accounts that is not much trouble. I think I have maybe 20. I open the PNGs all in Preview, set it to show one per page, then it is scan, page down, repeat. Takes a second or two per code. It would probably get a bit annoying around 100. Even if your TOTP app does support backup and restore and you use that, I think it is still a good idea to save the codes as described above, because if you ever want to change TOTP apps you likely can't restore from your previous app's backup. If you've saved the individual codes there is no such limitation. That's what I do. I consider the encrypted file of PNGs to be my main backup, and the encrypted backup I saved in iCloud Files from OTP Auth to be for restoring OTP Auth if I ever have to reset a device or setup OTP Auth on a new device. If you still have Google Authenticator somewhere, such as on the device you upgraded to your new phone from, you may be able to get your TOTP data out of it and into whatever TOTP app you use on the new phone. See my other comment that is near this one for details on how to do that.

barbazoo 4y ago

I was hoping for an alternative to Photos, the only Google service I still use.

randomluck040 4y ago
How do you use it? I don’t use any kind of cloud for my photos, they’re either on my pc or on my phone. How do you utilise the cloud?
- Zizizizz 4y ago
  Automatic backups, decent editing, magic eraser, great search either by face, context, etc.. I can search for dogs, waterfalls, trees, clouds, whatever and it usually gives me exactly what I want.
  - randomluck040 4y ago
    I’d have to look into editing and what magic eraser is but my phone offers the same functionality. I don’t have automatic backups though which is a huge plus. Thanks.
    - Zizizizz 4y ago
      What do you mean offers the same functionality, what search options can it do locally? Genuinely curious
      - randomluck040 4y ago
        I have an iPhone 12 Mini and in the Photos app I can e.g. search for specific faces (it groups similar faces behind a folder) and can e.g. search for „Dog“ and it gives me all dogs. I don’t know by how much the cloud solution is better though and maybe I didn’t understand it and you mean something entirely different?
        4y ago

temende 4y ago

The main one that's pretty much impossible to find an alternative to is YouTube (if you're into watching videos on the Internet). Tons of creators/channels only upload their content on YouTube and nowhere else.

Nextgrid 4y ago
Invidious is a solution: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
hilbert42 4y ago
Use NewPipe or another independent viewer for goodness sake. I never watch YouTube in normal mode. Why watch ads when you don't have to? Also, NewPipe and like allow downloads. It's a no-brainer.
- classified 4y ago
  Recommending an Android tool for de-googling has its own irony.
  - kevviiinn 4y ago
    Take it a step further and buy a pixel to use grapheneos on, totally degoogled phone made by google
    - hilbert42 4y ago
      I don't use a pixel but I always use a rooted degoogled phone. Something feels wrong and dirty about using a phone that hasn't been so processed.

x86x87 4y ago

I found this the other day and it aligns to how I've been going about it: https://epsilonmachine.com/nogoogle/ https://epsilonmachine.com/nogoogle/