Google

A few months ago I talked about online privacy, and how I’d been trying to give up Big Tech software like Facebook and Google products. Here’s a quick update on how that’s going. On Google: I still use one gmail account, though it’s no longer my primary email address. I use Google Drive only for a few files (spreadsheets) that I like to edit from my phone, but that’s it. I still use Android, although I’m considering getting an iPhone later this year. I read that since Apple makes their money from selling (expensive) hardware, they don’t need to exploit your privacy for advertising as much as Google, but I’ll look into that more before making a final decision. I don’t use Google search or Chrome at all. So I don’t think Google is getting much of my online data anymore, which I think is a win! ...

Introduction I’ve been trying to reduce my reliance on Big Tech companies (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.) for some time now. There’s many reasons, but I can summarise it like this: I don’t think they make a positive impact on the world. Part of it is about privacy. Most big tech companies rely on advertising, and advertising means tracking you so they can target you with ‘better’ ads and make more money. All these companies track you as much as they can. For example, take a look at Facebook’s Off Facebook Activity page. If you haven’t already seen it or turned it off, you might be in for a shock. ...