I disabled location permissions for everything I could after I discovered that Google had removed the "report location in background" feature toggle for applications. I discovered that it had been removed one day on a trip to Walmart when Google Maps popped up asking me to take a picture of the location.
I hadn't used Google Maps in weeks. :-/
My next phone will most likely be an iPhone since Google seems more and more intent on outdoing Facebook in the e-stalking business.
That was me as well. I’m a free software zealot, so it took me a long time to switch to iPhone. Eventually the amount of fiddling with Android permissions to keep some sense of privacy while still retaining some utility became too burdensome. The last straw was when an update disabled the pedometer feature I’d been using on my treadmill unless I enabled location so they could “help me map my routes”. I’m pretty sure I know where my treadmill is at all times, and entirely sure I don’t need Google to help.
Since then I’ve switched to Firefox or Safari and stopped using any Google things except YouTube. I was surprised at how easy it was to get this far.
This was me last year. After purchasing nothing but android phones, going back to the t-mobile G1, I decided enough is enough and got an iphone.
Switched to the new Firefox - it's great. Feels like when I moved to chrome the first time.
DDG is my default search engine. I still use the google bang over 80% of the time, but hopefully that goes down over time and it's gotten me out of the habit of thinking google right away.
With 60+ accounts, I've slowly started migrating to fastmail. It will probably take a full year to do it slowly, but it will be worth it.
My last real reliance is on google maps, truly a superior product. That said, I try to keep my use to longer trips between cities, including longer road trips. I try to use Apple maps for smaller trips around town.
This isn't even necessarily all because of everything I think google does wrong, rather it only makes sense to diversify a little.
So many people I know use google/chrome/maps/gmail/android/google photos/google docs. Once I realized I was one of them it spooked me a little.
I also switched my personal phone from ~8 years of android to the iPhone after getting an iPhone 6s for work. What a wake up call.
> I still use the google bang over 80% of the time, but hopefully that goes down over time
I've been using DDG since ~2011 and have found myself using the google bang more today than years ago. Maybe my searches today are harder for DDG? For sure though, DDG has changed. It used to respect weirder search terms much more than Google which made it more appealing to me as a programmer, but now it over zealously corrects keywords, and completely common keywords get left out. Doesn't seem to care as much about keyword order/distance in the results either. It's like they amped the fuzziness beyond what is helpful. I'm proactively quoting half of my search terms today.
> google maps, truly a superior product
I tried a few times to switch to Apple maps over the last 3 years and each time was disappointed. But about a month ago I tried again and have decided that they are really neck and neck. I don't know if it got better but my partner uses Google still and we compare options and sometimes Apple finds something better sometimes Google does but for the most part they get the same results. Some traffic data exists, including construction/accidents (I have no idea how). You lose streetview and I think the dependence on Yelp is annoying but makes sense. After using it consistently for a month I find the UI/UX is actually a lot better too. It has quirks but so does Google Maps. All that said, it's only getting better and the network effect will help! Give it another try!
Ehhhh... I don't know if it's the marketing doing its job or what but sifting through DDG and startpage meta pages I just get a better feeling from DDG. It's a little more modern, seems a little more transparent, I like the total break from Google, I like that DDG has other projects and a living community behind it. Frankly even the name DDG, while kind of dorky, is a lot easier to sell friends/family on than some generic term. Somehow I just don't trust them?
If I had to guess why startpage hasn't felt the ban-hammer yet, I would say it simply isn't big enough for Google to care.
That was a lot of hand waving.
Anyway, I will continue to use !g over !s because personally I'm not _that_ paranoid (yet?) and between 1) not being signed into Google, 2) uBlock/privacy badger/decentraleyes I'm not at all concerned about them doing a good job of tracking me. My trust for Google is still greater than startpage.
> DDG is my default search engine. I still use the google bang over 80% of the time
Use the Startpage bang !s, or use Startpage itself. Startpage provides results from Google, AFAIK, but Startpage is designed for privacy. Startpage even has a built-in proxy service - there's a link under every search result.
(I don't know how private Startpage really is; I don't know why DDG has more credibility with privacy advocates; I don't know how they get away with providing Google's results. Does anyone know?)
I hadn't used Google Maps in weeks. :-/
My next phone will most likely be an iPhone since Google seems more and more intent on outdoing Facebook in the e-stalking business.