Quick guide to ditching Google.
Google sucks now, but there are alternatives, here's a list of shit I use in place of Google's stuff.
Note: My position on AI is that AI should be strictly optional, that is, you should not be forced to use an LLM to use a thing, your data and works should not be used to train an AI (this includes AI art as well as whatever you do with an AI) and AI use should be purely at the discretion of the user. This might not be the most popular position, but it's mine. With one obvious exception, all things on this list either reject LLMs or make LLMs strictly optional. The Main purpose of this listicle is to get away from Google.
Anyway with that out the way.
Search: DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo is great for two reasons. Firstly, it doesn't track you, it prides itself on that. Secondly, it shows Google's AI obsession is supremely stupid. It's search is a good ol classic web search that doesn't use AI. It's AI features (an unobtrusive infobox that doesn't block the search results), can be easily turned off ans stays off. It even lets you block AI images from the image search which, while it doesn't do it perfectly does it well enough that it makes image search functional. It keeps AI completely optional, showing that Google's strat of forcing AI on people was a completely terrible and pointless choice. Even if you want to ask an LLM something, DDG's in house LLM doesn't track you, doesn't use your search for training, and let's you choose the model you use so if one model messes things up, you can switch to another. In short: DuckDuckGo shows what Google could've done, but didn't.
Email: Proton Mail: Proton is going to make a lot of appearances, but I can gladly say Proton is no longer for your paranoid cousin who gloated at Thanksgiving 2013 when the Snowden files dropped. Proton has a while suite of things but Email is it's flagship. it does not use your emails for training, it keeps them encrypted and as private as your emails can be. It actually is worth getting a Proton Subscription for the other features too, which will also appear on this list!
Maps: OpenStreetMaps: I want you to imagine if Wikipedia and Google Maps had a baby, That's OpenStreetMaps; an open source map site that is updated and mapped out by volunteers, and as a result, it's more detailed and accurate because these beautiful nerds actually get out onto the ground and use local knowledge to keep things up to date. Now they do not have an official Mobile app and let the community deal with that, and that's where CoMaps comes in, which let's you download the map for the area you are in onto your phone so you can use it even when there is no data, oh and neither CoMaps or OSM track you.
Cloud Storage: Proton Drive: Proton Drive is a great slot in alternative for Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Photos, especially if you actually pay for even the basic plan. Like all proton stuff, it's encrypted and they don't use your stuff to train an AI. Literally the only complaint I have with it is that they don't yet have an integration app for Linux, but it's in development as we speak.
Chromebooks/ChromeOS: A cheap Laptop running Linux Mint: There's plenty of Cheap laptops running windows out there you can easily install Linux on. I have one myself, and the distro I recommend is Linux Mint. It's basically a fork of Ubuntu with a lot of the bad stuff taken out and made easier to use for normies. Easy to install, easy to use, and free and open source. It even has flavors for lower end laptops.
Chrome Browser: Firefox: Pretty much every alternative browser out there is built on Chrome, Firefox is not and although it has it's own relationship with Google, it's not based on Chrome meaning you get ad blocker and no Google tracking. You can change the default search to DuckDuckGo, easily turn off all AI features with a Kill Switch (yes, a Kill Switch) and it's available on all major Mobile and Desktop OSs, and some obscure ones too!
Authenticator: Proton Authenticator: Same deal with all Proton stuff: Secure, Encrypted, and doesn't snoop, plus it will tell you what the next code will be so there's no more panicking to write in a code with five seconds left! Also use 2FA where you can, you won't regret it.
Calendar: Proton Calendar: Same deal as all proton's stuff, solid, reasonable Calendar app. If you are wondering why Proton has a Calendar App, it's because Google and big tech do in fact track you through your Calendar! So yeah, go use Proton Calendar.
AI chatbot: Lumo AI: Remember at the start where I said "With one obvious exception, all things on this list either reject LLMs or make LLMs strictly optional"? This is the obvious exception, because sometimes you get curious and wanna see what an LLM does with something or go "fuck it, let's see if an AI can tell me" and then take a long shower afterwards to wash off the dirty feeling. Lumo uses an Open Source Model, does not use the things you tell it to train AI, doesn't log conversations and even deletes them after a period of time, and is encrypted (like all Proton Stuff). It let's you personalize it on your terms with you able to set up different "Custom Lumos" or let's you tell it select pieces of information if you want to and memory of past conversations are turned off by default and you can delete everything if you need to. You can even toggle web search. And on top of that, all your other stuff is kept away with the AI unless you actually give it a document to deal with. I understand that a lot of people are against AIs and why they are, but if you wanna use one, this is the one I recommend. Just take everything it says with a grain of salt and don't start believing it's sentient.
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