De-googling is a term which means one is cutting themselves out from Google services or in other words, deleting all of their Google accounts. One of the reasons why a lot would like to de-google themselves is because of the online privacy policies that Google has. If you are one of those who would want to leave and de-google, you came to the right place.
Google is a huge company, like other companies, Google needs to gain returns or profit to be able to continue to function. Aside from that, like other companies, they keep investors happier which means, they could provide better services, better products and better opportunities not only for the customers but also for the company itself. With Google being successful in terms of its numerous users and clients, they were able to expand their services and products. Some examples of these are Gmail and Google Drive which could be accessed by anyone for free. There are also paid versions such as business version of Gmail. These paid versions have more features and more functionalities like more storage space, technical support and many more.
With that said, many would agree that Google has many good and amazing services and products. However, there are some, as mentioned above, who are a bit concerned about using Google’s services and products due to privacy issues. They say that if you are using their products for free, you will become Google’s “product”. Meaning, your information and privacy will be kept in their possession which they could provide to third parties. For better understanding, you could read their Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#infocollect .
Below are the information or data that Google could access:
- Videos that you have watched
- Terms that you have searched
- Voice and audio information whenever you use audio features
- Purchasing activities
- Activity on third party sites
- Apps that you have used on Google
- People with whom you communicate or share content with
- Browsing history which you have synced with your Google account.
All of the information mentioned above is all being tracked and everyone knows that, that is not a good sign. Do not worry as you could still enjoy Google services at the same time keep all of your data and information secured and the best way to do this is through the use of a VPN. In this case, we highly recommend CyberGhost VPN. CyberGhost VPN does not keep any user logs and ensures its users private connection.
Do keep in mind, however, that for Google to be able to continue operating it needs to keep tabs on its users and they collect everyone’s details through different methods such as through pixel tags, cookies, local storage- application data caches or browser web storage, server logs and databases.
All of these mentioned data that Google is able to collect is used to serve advertisements that target Google users according to search history and browsing habits. Though Google has announced that they only do this with its users’ content, there are claims that it does more than it. Advertisers are so eager to pay Google to get such information about all its users for them to be able to deliver relevant ads. Though this is the case, even if you choose to receive targeted ads, you will still receive ads that are not really relevant to you. There are even times that you would receive ads of products that you have already bought.
You might think that that is only what Google does but hold on! Google also needs to track you for some of its service. One good example of this is Google Maps. Google Maps work by tracking where you are through your smart phone.
Some would say that this little information seems to be benign, however, some would say that it does sometimes hit close to home for those who are very much concerned about privacy. Though Google is 100 percent honest about their privacy policies there are also some concerns about hackers being able to breach data. With this in mind, it is not a surprise that de-googling is becoming a trend. Hence, if you are one of those who are starting get creeped out and would like to get some privacy back, then, keep reading through this article to learn more.
How to quit Google services and its alternatives:
1. Neutralize Google Chrome
As of July 2019, Google Chrome has about more than 55 percent of the market share as the most popular web browser with Safari coming behind with just 12.5 percent. Though with the privacy concerns, one question is how do you neutralize Chrome?
- Go to Chrome settings. You will be able to find this on the triple dot icon found on the upper right corner of your browser. Click Settings
- Go to Privacy and Security tab.
- On the right bottom, click Clear Browsing Data option
- Go to Advanced Tab
- Choose All Time
- Tick every box that you will find
- Click Clear Data button.
- Ensure that you secure the web browser
How to change your internet browser to Firefox
- Go to https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
- Click download now
- Once the installer has been downloaded, execute it. This will install it automatically.
- Once installation has been completed, the browser will automatically be launched.
How to close a Gmail account?
Before you decide of getting rid of your Gmail account, take note that:
- You could lose one way you could connect with some people and building back your contacts will be difficult.
- Your old conversations even attachments will be lost.
- People who could contact you through your email might not be able to reach out to you.
After considering the things mentioned above and you would still like to delete your Gmail account, all you need to do is to:
- Go to Gmail.
- Click the 3 by 3 dots grid icon.
- Click the first icon in the drop down menu. This will show you your initial or your avatar.
- On the general Google account, on the left, click on Data and Personalization tab.
- Click Download, Delete or Make a Plan for Your Data Subsection.
- Click Delete a Service. This will bring you back to the sign in page.
- Sign in and on the next page, download your data.
- Select all the data you would wish to keep.
- Scroll down and click Next Step.
- Choose your preferred archive format and how you would like to download it.
- Click Create archive.
- Click Download.
- Go back to step 6 and click trash bin icon.
- You will need another email address that is not a google mail address to proceed.
- You will be sent a confirmation through email.
- Check Delete Gmail.
- Click Delete Gmail.
As an alternative to Gmail, we highly suggest ProtonMail. This mail will ensure you privacy and security. It is a sister company or service of ProtonVPN. If you choose this alternative, take note that ProtonMail comes with a price of minimum of $5.00 per month.
Another alternative that we could recommend is Mailfence. This option is offered for free but also has the option to upgrade.
Deleting YouTube Account
- Go to YouTube
- Click your avatar
- Go to settings
- Go to Advanced settings menu
- At the bottom of the page, click delete channel
- Enter your password
- You will be directed to the Remove YouTube content
- Check I want to permanently delete my content
- You will see the confirmation portion. Click and check delete my content.
How to completely remove Google?
- Go to your google account https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-personalization?hl=en
- Go to Data and Personalization Menu
- Go to Download, Delete or Make a Plan for your Data tab
- Download your data first. This step is highly recommended. This will allow you to get a hold onto your bookmarks, Hangouts, search history and many more in case you would need it in the future.
- Once you are sure of your decision, click Delete a service or your account.
- Choose account deletion
- Verify by entering your password and providing the required information.