I’m in the midst of eliminating anything from my life that is connected to big tech. I’m going to delete my Amazon, and Google Accounts. I already deleted my Facebook. I’m working on getting my purchases downloaded and converted from Amazon as of writing this.

I’m going to get rid of Reddit as well. Sadly reddit has become super contaminated with censorship, and that is one of the hardest platforms for me to leave. It must be done though, i can no longer support their platform. Gmail will probably be the last thing to go. Already switched email services and i’m trying to get everything moved over. Years of connecting services to Gmail leaves me in a tangled mess.

I didn’t have a point really. I just wanted to tell people who might appreciate, and solidify my actions in my own mind. I’m trying to create a new self identity in a privacy focused environment.

  • Adda
    5·
    4 years ago

    I am in the middle of doing pretty much the same. Even though it takes some time, I can say it is definitely a good decision. The most difficult appears to be leaving or changing accounts connected to Gmail. Slowly but surly it is coming through though. Overall an interesting process, I must say. And healthy of course without a doubt.

    • HondolorOP
      5·
      4 years ago

      ah, good to hear from a like minded individual. For so many years I trusted google, but the political situation over the last 5 years has really opened my eyes to what google, and its tech peers have become. Its soo bad

      • Adda
        5·
        4 years ago

        The more I learn, the more sick I am of what has happend to us and the internet as a whole. That and…. terrified of the implications, to be honest. Truly a sad story.

  • riccardo
    3·
    4 years ago

    I’ve lived for a good two years without Google on my phone, this summer I had to put it back because of exposure notifications. I’m planning to get rid of it again shortly.

    As for Amazon, it’s really hard to avoid to buy from them as we are in the middle of a pandemic and sometimes other alternatives are too expensive, even if I live in a western country (Italy). I’m trying to buy as much second hand products as I can and I’m actually surprised of how much I’ve been able to save for objects that are often still good and usable. Buying second-hand still involves big tech corps (eBay/Subito mostly) but at least it’s not Amazon and at least I’m not supplying further demand for new goods. And a lot of times I just rather go to the nearest physical shop instead of buying online (now it’s almost impossible since I have no time to go during the week and during the weekend most shops are closed). How’s going with Amazon though? What kind of products are you going to buy from somewhere else? I was using Amazon mostly for books, home stuff (like small furniture and disposable goods) and tech stuff (pc components, cables, hubs and this sort of things). Tech stuff are definitely the most comfortable to shop for because of the enormous choice Amazon offers

    Sadly reddit has become super contaminated with censorship

    What have they been censoring lately? Last time I’ve heard about communities being removed was with the ban wave that involved r/ChapoTrapHouse and other smaller subs. I’m a bit out of the loop, did they close other subreddits too?

    • SFloss (they/them)
      3·
      4 years ago

      MicroG supports exposure notifications! You could replace Google services with MicroG and only activate the exposure notifications and it’ll be like almost having a non-Google phone all over again.

    • HondolorOP
      21·
      4 years ago

      Its just that Reddit is connected to all the other big tech conglomerates and its watched to closely, its getting creepy. I don’t really think i can point out specific examples. They banned Trump though, and for me that was the red flag. They are just censuring at their leisure now. As for Amazon, my plan is to try to buy direct from manufactures. I might use Amazon’s interface to browse, and then go else where to buy

  • geopoliticssuck
    2·
    4 years ago

    Bear in mind, that deleting accounts in Big Tech won’t destroy the data that you’ve already given them…

    • HondolorOP
      3·
      4 years ago

      for sure, all we can do is try to build habits that will help protect us and improve personal privacy