Oh my god I knew this was gonna happen at some point, me and Google have a long history, and I doubt I’m gonna stop using Gemini, Google search, or YouTube.
Gemini: I’d recommend not using AI, but if you want to, then use Deepseek, Claude, ChatGPT, or anything else
Google Search: DuckDuckGo, SearXNG, Kagi, Mojeek, Qwant, Startpage, Marginalia
YouTube: use https://invidious.io/ for watching YouTube videos (it also gets rid of ads), and use PeerTube (video platform federated like Lemmy) and watch videos, and maybe post some if you have something to post about
You can also search the web for lots of deGoogling advice and guides and for alternatives to Google services
They’re basically all equally good, but some are less confirmed to give your data to the government (probably they all do that too, which is why they were recommending you not use any of them.)
We are all targets for data capture. We might not see how it affects us, but it does. It’s a big part of the reason why everything is going to shit. Why the worst people are reaching for absolute power everywhere, your area is not immune either. Unless something changes technology will allow the worst people to seize power and affix themselves in there.
“My parents were a bunch of homophobic racists, so it’s OK for me to be a bigot today.”
“I grew up with domestic violence, so beating up my kids is just my way of being nostalgic.”
These statements sound insane, don’t they? Well, they’re perfectly analogous to what you said. You’re making it sound as if growing up with something makes it an immutable fact of one’s life. They aren’t. As we obtain better judgement of the world around us, we can grow out of things just like we once grew into them.
Google has been a terrible company for a long time now, and recently it has even become an active supporter of the fascist regime trying to establish itself in the U.S.
I’m not saying decoupling from the big tech oligopolies is easy; it isn’t. But not even making a conscious effort to even try, that amounts to being complicit in, if not supportive of the fascist takeover.
I already miss out on basically everything that happens in my town because it’s all shared and done on Facebook. I’m fine with that, whatever, I don’t really care, but Google services are much harder for me to decouple from. I will admit that YouTube is the strongest vice in my life, I just can’t get enough of it.
I also feel it’s too late, I’ve shared my stuff with Google, uploaded tax shit to get AdSense to work, had a channel, bought domains, used Gemini for a long time, and more spanning years of my life since childhood.
Google’s got my data by the balls. I think it’s a bit too late for me.
I will admit that YouTube is the strongest vice in my life, I just can’t get enough of it.
Well, do it like everyone trying to shake off a vice: if you feel you can’t go cold turkey, switch to a less harmful surrogate. Ditch the YouTube app and switch to something like Newpipe or FreeTube that both give you access to YouTube’s content, but at the same time comes with more functionality (background playback, downloads), protects your privacy (accountless subscriptions and playlists) and also fucks with Google’s bottom line by blocking ads.
Google’s got my data by the balls. I think it’s a bit too late for me.
I get this post-privacy fatalism a lot, but luckily for you, it’s patently false.
Big tech’s business model - at least for now - is to profile you and sell this image of you off to advertisers and other businesses for personalised targeting (and possibly other shenanigans, but let’s not get into that). In order to be valuable to them, this profile must be accurate and up-to-date.
Now, luckily, people aren’t static beings. We change as we grow, not just older, but as human beings. We change jobs and even careers, social circles and places of residence. We change our marital status (hopefully only once ;), the number of people in our family (hopefully only incrementally ;) and the people we want to spend most time with. We change contact details and bank accounts, brand preferences and spending habits. We change our beliefs and habits, political convictions, our outlooks on and goals in life. Just try to picture the person you were ten years ago, and, I hope for you, you’ll see a Venn diagram that may have some overlap, but also some pronounced areas of difference. As time goes on, these differences will become larger and larger, until the profile of ‘old you’ is entirely worthless to any advertiser because it gives them little to no idea who ‘present you’ is and how to target them.
You may be right that the best point in time to untether yourself was yesterday. But the next best is today.
Oh my god I knew this was gonna happen at some point, me and Google have a long history, and I doubt I’m gonna stop using Gemini, Google search, or YouTube.
You can also search the web for lots of deGoogling advice and guides and for alternatives to Google services
Why use ChatGPT over Gemini?
They’re basically all equally good, but some are less confirmed to give your data to the government (probably they all do that too, which is why they were recommending you not use any of them.)
Sorry, my sensors for irony, sarcasm and satire have been severely damaged by 2025. Please, puh-leaaase tell me this is!
Nope… This is a person actively choosing comfort over morals and over actual safety.
I don’t see myself as a target, and I don’t live in the United States.
We are all targets for data capture. We might not see how it affects us, but it does. It’s a big part of the reason why everything is going to shit. Why the worst people are reaching for absolute power everywhere, your area is not immune either. Unless something changes technology will allow the worst people to seize power and affix themselves in there.
I used Google since I was a kid, so their products have been a part of my life for a long time. I don’t see myself not using YouTube.
You pick the platforms and pick what you share on each of them, be careful now what you say.
“My parents were a bunch of homophobic racists, so it’s OK for me to be a bigot today.”
“I grew up with domestic violence, so beating up my kids is just my way of being nostalgic.”
These statements sound insane, don’t they? Well, they’re perfectly analogous to what you said. You’re making it sound as if growing up with something makes it an immutable fact of one’s life. They aren’t. As we obtain better judgement of the world around us, we can grow out of things just like we once grew into them.
Google has been a terrible company for a long time now, and recently it has even become an active supporter of the fascist regime trying to establish itself in the U.S.
I’m not saying decoupling from the big tech oligopolies is easy; it isn’t. But not even making a conscious effort to even try, that amounts to being complicit in, if not supportive of the fascist takeover.
Your choices matter. Make them count.
I already miss out on basically everything that happens in my town because it’s all shared and done on Facebook. I’m fine with that, whatever, I don’t really care, but Google services are much harder for me to decouple from. I will admit that YouTube is the strongest vice in my life, I just can’t get enough of it. I also feel it’s too late, I’ve shared my stuff with Google, uploaded tax shit to get AdSense to work, had a channel, bought domains, used Gemini for a long time, and more spanning years of my life since childhood. Google’s got my data by the balls. I think it’s a bit too late for me.
Well, do it like everyone trying to shake off a vice: if you feel you can’t go cold turkey, switch to a less harmful surrogate. Ditch the YouTube app and switch to something like Newpipe or FreeTube that both give you access to YouTube’s content, but at the same time comes with more functionality (background playback, downloads), protects your privacy (accountless subscriptions and playlists) and also fucks with Google’s bottom line by blocking ads.
I get this post-privacy fatalism a lot, but luckily for you, it’s patently false.
Big tech’s business model - at least for now - is to profile you and sell this image of you off to advertisers and other businesses for personalised targeting (and possibly other shenanigans, but let’s not get into that). In order to be valuable to them, this profile must be accurate and up-to-date.
Now, luckily, people aren’t static beings. We change as we grow, not just older, but as human beings. We change jobs and even careers, social circles and places of residence. We change our marital status (hopefully only once ;), the number of people in our family (hopefully only incrementally ;) and the people we want to spend most time with. We change contact details and bank accounts, brand preferences and spending habits. We change our beliefs and habits, political convictions, our outlooks on and goals in life. Just try to picture the person you were ten years ago, and, I hope for you, you’ll see a Venn diagram that may have some overlap, but also some pronounced areas of difference. As time goes on, these differences will become larger and larger, until the profile of ‘old you’ is entirely worthless to any advertiser because it gives them little to no idea who ‘present you’ is and how to target them.
You may be right that the best point in time to untether yourself was yesterday. But the next best is today.
Download a YouTube frontend.