Remove Google from
your life? Yes, it can be done! 
Google trackers
have been found on 75% of the top million websites.
This means they are not only tracking what you search for, they're also
tracking which websites you visit, and using all your data for ads that
follow you around the internet. Your personal data can also be subpoenaed
by lawyers, including for civil cases like divorce. Google answered over 100,000 such data requests in
2016 alone!
More and more
people are also realizing the risk of relying on one company for so many
personal services. If you're joining the ranks of people who've decided
Google's data collection has become too invasive, here are some suggestions
for replacements with minimal switching cost. Most are free, though even
those that are paid are worth it — the cost of not switching is a cost to
your personal privacy, and the good news is we have a choice!
Google Search
-> DuckDuckGo (free)
Let's start off with the easiest one! Switching to DuckDuckGo not only
keeps your searches private but also gives you extra advantages such as
our bang shortcuts, handy Instant
Answers, and knowing you're not trapped in a filter bubble.
Gmail, Calendar
& Contacts -> FastMail (paid)
We host @duckduckgo.com addresses on FastMail,
an independent, paid service that also includes calendar and contacts
support across all devices. There are also several ways to get encrypted
email between trusted parties by integrating PGP encryption
tools. Even more private email alternatives are ProtonMail and Tutanota,
both of which offer end-to-end encryption by default.
YouTube
-> Vimeo (free with paid options)
For videos that are only on YouTube (unfortunately, a lot), you can search
for and watch them on DuckDuckGo for better privacy protection via
YouTube's "youtube-nocookie" domain. If you're creating and
hosting video yourself, however, Vimeo is the best-known alternative which
focuses on creators.
Google Maps
-> Apple Maps (free), OpenStreetMap (free)
For iOS users, Apple gives you an alternative built in via Apple Maps, so
no installation is necessary. For wider device support, check out
OpenStreetMap (OSM) which is more open, though may not have the same
ease-of-use or coverage quality as Apple Maps.
Google Drive
-> Resilio Sync (free with paid options)
Another service we use internally, Resilio Sync, provides peer-to-peer file
synchronization which can be used for private file storage, backup, and
file sharing. This also means your files are never stored on a single
server in the cloud! The software is available for a wide variety of
platforms and devices, including servers.
Google Chrome
-> Safari (free), Firefox (free), Brave (free)
Safari was the first major browser to include DuckDuckGo as a built-in
private search option. A more cross-device compatible browser is Mozilla's
Firefox, an open source browser with a built-in tracker blocker in private
mode. Brave goes one step further with tracker blocking switched on by
default. There are also many more browsers that come with
DuckDuckGo as a built-in option.
Blogger
-> Ghost (paid), WordPress (free
with paid options)
Ghost is both a hosted (paid) and self-installable blogging platform,
tracker-free by default and run by a non-profit foundation. We like it so
much we use it for our own blog! A free alternative is
WordPress, powering an estimated 25% of the world's websites. It's also
available both for self-installation and as a hosted service with no
third-party trackers by default. The community is huge with extensive
multilingual documentation and many themes to choose from.
Google Hangouts
-> Zoom (free with paid options), appear.in (free
with paid option)
Zoom is a robust video chat alternative we use internally that works well
even for large numbers of participants, though requires software to be
installed. A web-only alternative is appear.in which
doesn't require an account — just go to the website to open a chat room and
you're ready.
Google Allo
-> Signal (free)
There are several services offering private messaging but, as we've
mentioned before, Signal gets our recommendation. It offers free,
end-to-end encryption for both messages and private calls. It's also
recommended by Edward Snowden and renowned security expert Bruce Schneier,
among others.
As you can see,
moving away from Google needn't be hard. In fact, you might find you prefer
the alternatives while also getting better privacy!
Proudly Private,

Dax the Duck,
Mascot - DuckDuckGo
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