And since you won’t be able to modify web pages, it will also mean the end of customization, either for looks (ie. DarkReader, Stylus), conveniance (ie. Tampermonkey) or accessibility.

The community feedback is… interesting to say the least.

  • N4CHEM
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    1 year ago

    Yes. Degoogle completely. It might not be easy. It is not one action, but a process. But every one of their services you use is power you give them over you: they not only track you, but have the power to lock and remove your data. Leave as soon as you can.

    • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      I’ve degoogled about 8 years ago now. My only service that I still use from them is YouTube, because there is no alternative. Odysee is also becoming more and more corporate, and barely any creators are on PeerTube, and also PeerTube has no monitary incentive for creators to use that platform.

      • VonReposti@feddit.dk
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        1 year ago

        I’ve found Nebula to be a great substitute for YouTube for me. Even though it’s not all my subscriptions that are on Nebula I’ve found that I’ve reduced my YouTube usage to near zero.

        • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.one
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          1 year ago

          Same - I actually check Nebula for new videos first now, then NewPipe (YouTube).

          Personally I think the future is probably people supporting content creators (video and written alike) through direct financial contributions, not through ads - unless there’s some kind of major change in how ads work

        • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          I have over 600 subs in YouTube (NewPipe). Not sure I can find even half of the people I watch (which varies from popular to super niche) on any other platforms.

      • count_duckula@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 year ago

        If you don’t mind paying, Protonmail. I pay €12 per month for mail and VPN combined however it is cheaper if you only want the email option. I haven’t used Gmail in about three years now.

        Degoogling is a long and difficult process. I highly suggest you start with small steps. For example, you could start using Invidious to watch Youtube videos. It is definitely not without bugs and you will run into issues. Change your search engine to Duckduckgo or Brave or whatever else you prefer. For general searches, these are good enough. Unfortunately, for addresses and navigation, Google Maps doesn’t have a good enough competitor that I know of. I urge you to make Firefox your daily driver if you are still using Chromium-based ones. I have Brave browser as an alternative for sites like banking or to access Maps or Google search. Start an alternate Protonmail account while still using Gmail. Be warned though that the free tier has 500MB, the paid tier 500GB.

        If you want to go full hardcore, look into Graphene or CalyxOS as a replacement for your Android. I specifically bought myself a Pixel phone so I can get a degoogled OS for my primary phone. I still have a secondary phone running Android for banking and paying which I turn off when I do not use it. Look into Shelter to freeze apps. For example, Uber doesn’t need to know your whereabouts when you are not specifically looking for a cab.

        But please, please, DO NOT start doing everything all at once or you will get overwhelmed. I now almost fully use open source stuff, and I pay and donate for services. I think this is the only way to show support for the projects you love and to have a voice against big tech/ad tech.

          • count_duckula@discuss.tchncs.de
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            1 year ago

            I agree. I only use Brave for very specific purposes - somehow my bank doesn’t like my Firefox configuration, and mostly to access Google maps. Otherwise I use Firefox and its profiles for all other activities.

          • mihor
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            1 year ago

            Yes, Brave moved to chromium for some stupid reason.

        • N4CHEM
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          1 year ago

          I think the Google Maps issue depends on how you use it. The thing is that Google Maps is at the same time:

          • a map database
          • a business database with user ratings
          • an app to access those 2 things and get routing.

          I ditched Google Maps long ago and rely on OpenStreetMap and apps that use its data. But I had to change my mentality, because it is not all in one app:

          • OpenStreetMap is a database that has mapping data. This data is very complete in some regions of the world, and you can contribute to improve it.
          • Organic Maps or OsmAnd are very good, FOSS, Apps that use OpenStreetMap data and allow you to look up any address or business, and have their own routing engines.
          • I don’t really care about the businesses ratings, so I don’t mind missing that aspect of Google Maps
      • s_s@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Common suggestion is Proton. Try the mail for free, the suite (VPN and cloud storage) is $8/mo

      • N4CHEM
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        1 year ago

        Proton Mail or Tutanota are good options, with free basic services and paid, more complete, ones. Check what the people in degoogle and privacy suggest and try for yourself. In the end you need to find what suits you best.