Hi, I have everything on Google these days. I’d quite like to get away from it to some extent at least. I can’t see that’s going to be easy, particularly on Android. But ChromeOS, Google drive and email seems like a good place to start, any suggestions or good guides?
Thanks!
Mozilla Firefox is my main browser, I definitely like it more than Chrome. It supports adblocking, doesn’t hog RAM, and doesn’t track your activity.
But it goes beyond that. Firefox lets you open tabs and specific domains in “containers” which cookies and login info don’t cross. By default, Facebook is separated into its own thing.
Try librewolf browser same Firefox but “ungoogled”
If you can, host your own file server to replace google drive. If not i guess mega.nz is ok.
ChromeOS can easily be replaced by linux. https://linuxmint.com/
There isn’t really a great alternative for gmail, so unless you will host your own email server i guess you can use tutanota.
I recommend you check out MentalOutlaw on YouTube.
Linux (Ubuntu could be a good start), own NAS drive or a service like Mega for a shared drive, and Protonmail/Tutanota could be good options. There are probably more online shared drives you could look for if you don’t want to use Mega.
If you have a Chromebook you’d like to install Linux on check out The Eupnea Project. Works like a charm for me and it’s way easier than modifying firmware.
I’ve moved away from google as much as I can whilst still having an android phone. A lot makes sense if you can self host things and ive found that to be invaluable, although it’s not for everyone and it has been a journey of discovery for me.
Email is via ProtonMail and Thunderbird on desktop.
I run my own Nextcloud that syncs photos etc from my phone.
Any docs stuff I use Libre Office.
Search is DuckDuckGo.
Browser is firefox and anything chromium can sod off.I did use E/os on my phone for a while and liked it a lot. Completely de-googled android fork (even stock LineageOS has call backs and links tongoogle services). Nowadays I have a OnePlus Nord with all the google apps and services disabled. I use Aurora to access the play store anonymously and FDroid where I can.
Instead of YouTube app I use NewPipe which is really good.For many android phones you can install LineageOS or similar custom android versions without necessary including google apps. There is also https://e.foundation/e-os/, which includes google-free drive and email alternatives in an easier setup.
Email: ProtonMail or Tutanota Android: GrapheneOS or Caly Drive: ProtonDrive or Tresorit ChromeOS: Any Linux OS
Sorry I’m still learning Lemmy and don’t know how to edit my comment, I didn’t realise this post was on foss, so for a shared drive Nextcloud could be a better option than Mega
For email, checkout Protonmail (https://proton.me). That can take care of Email and Calendars and Drive (drive is a bit limited at the moment). You also get VPN as a bonus.
Alternatives is Android to lineage os ChromeOS to manjaro kde (or arch) + waydroid Google drive to mega Email to protonmail You can also self host protonmail and hook mega to your Linux machine if you don’t mind your machine to work 24/7 Also there is fediverse alternative to YouTube called framatube, it works from newpipe app and browser Also newpipe app support both YouTube and framatube don’t show ads and don’t use API so can’t be blocked, downside is you can’t write comments inside newpipe app as it’s don’t use accounts
Thanks for the suggestions.
I hadn’t considered self-hosting. I have set up a home network using a Raspberry Pi before but I am self taught and pretty slow, plus stuff always catches me out that I don’t have the knowledge to solve. I’m wary about opening my mistakes up to the whole Internet…
I will have a look at the other suggestions here though. ChromeOS seems like the low hanging fruit.