Google knows more about you than your closest friends. Here's how to change that, one service at a time.
Google Search tracks your queries, and it makes it almost impossible to get rid of its AI overview, which drastically reduces traffic to publishers on the internet. DuckDuckGo and Startpage return real search results without tracking your queries or building an ad profile from them. DuckDuckGo makes AI optional, and Startpage does not offer an AI overview.
Gmail can read and scan every message you send. Proton Mail provides automatic end-to-end encryption for messages between Proton users, with password-protected links for external recipients, plus two-factor authentication, no ads, and a comprehensive suite of privacy tools including a calendar and drive. A free account includes 1 GB of storage; other plans start at $3.99 a month.
Firefox and Brave both block trackers by default and aren’t built by a company whose business model is watching what you do online. Both offer strong privacy protection, and use fewer memory resources than Chrome. DuckDuckGo is primarily a search engine, but it does offer a private browser that includes features like tracker blocking, forced HTTPS encryption, and optional AI chat.
Every time you open Google Maps, Google tracks where you are. Try MapQuest, which tracks less of your data, or better yet, the non-profit open-source OpenStreetMap instead. Absolutely free. No ads. No tracking. Or download the Organic Maps app, a privacy-focused offline maps & GPS app powered by OpenStreetMap for hiking, cycling, biking, and driving. And you won’t find Lake America on any of them.
Proton Drive is a Swiss-based provider that is fully open-source and end-to-end encrypted, integrating with the broader Proton privacy ecosystem, including Docs, which offers all the same features as Google Docs, with no tracking and no advertising. A free account includes 5 GB of storage, plus an online document and spreadsheet editor. For $3.99 a month, you can get 200 GB of storage.
Iphones offer better privacy protection than Android phones, and you can increase your protection by adjusting your settings, but your iPhone is not as private as you might think. Privacy-focused Android builds like the free GrapheneOS for Google’s Pixel phones strip out Google’s tracking layer while keeping your apps working.
The DeGoogle movement is a grassroots campaign driven by privacy advocates urging users to stop using Google products due to growing concerns over data harvesting, monopolistic power, and surveillance. Google’s business model relies on collecting exhaustive personal data—including search history, location, and app usage—to build detailed profiles for targeted advertising and government surveillance programs. Google has also historically been a major contractor for U.S. military and intelligence agencies, including the NSA, CIA, and Department of Defense. And Google is destroying the traditional open internet by pivoting from a gateway that directs users to external websites to a closed “answer engine” that keeps users within its own ecosystem.
Don't try to quit everything Google at once. Start with search — it's the easiest switch.
Google Takeout lets you download everything before you migrate away from it.
Pick a date to actually delete the old account, or you'll keep drifting back.
Google's convenience is real. The alternative is worth it anyway.
Pick one service from above and make the switch this week.