Can you replace Google in your life?

For most people, Google knows more about you than you know about yourself. It has become an integral part of your life, be it at home, work, or even a vacation (Yes, Google is part of your vacation). It knows everything about you, your schedule, your lifestyle, your route to work, your online shopping interests, your favorite OTT show, and the list goes on for pages.

Today the term "Searching on the Internet" has been replaced with "Googling It" and the influence?of Google is being noticed in things apart from Internet Search Engine searches, videos? Youtube, lost your way? Google Maps, Payments? Google Pay, Internet Marketing? Google Ads and there are many more such segments where Google is beginning to dominate.

You might be thinking why hide from Google? Why does it matter if it has so much of my info collected and stored with them? Just like the old saying "Too much of anything is harmful", it stands true for Medicines, Chocolates, Food, and even Oxygen in the atmosphere. So the same can be applied to Google. Too much info in their hand might not be good at some point in time. In 2021 it was reported that Google paid Apple 15 Billion Dollars for a year so it can be the default search engine for all Apple products including iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks. 15 Billion Dollars just to open google.com whenever the user opens a browser or a new tab. And being default search engine matters a lot because the majority of people don't care if their results show up on Bing or Google, the result matters to them and they never feel the need to change their default search because their searches are easy and common to find but this is an opportunity for Google to learn more about them.

The real question is not "How much Google knows about you?", its "Can we live a Google-free life?"

A Google-free life, easy talk, difficult?walk. Tried it, failed at it. Personal Experience. No matter how far you reach in achieving?a Google-free?life, at some point you will not be able to erase Google completely from your life. Let us take a look at what I did and how far I reached.

• Google Search Engine:

google.com, Introduced in 1997, is one of the first and still a root products of Google. Even in the past 10 years the market share of google.com never dropped below 85%. Whereas bing.com rose to 6% from 3% and Yahoo dropped from 4% to 2% (source).

Boring data? Thinking about "What do I have to do with these market share numbers?", right? Well with basic logic we can conclude that Bing only won 1% of the additional market share from Google in 10 years. That shows Google Search is dominant?in our lives for decades.

Replacing Google Search was very difficult?primarily because it is just so powerful and has been around since we all were kids or not even born. It feels like Google Search just knows what we want to search. That is fascinating yet scary at some levels.

I chose DuckDuckGo.com as my replacement, there are other alternatives?too but they are more like the last choice. The UI of DuckDuckGo is clean and similar to some sort with Google. I would say it is 80% about powerful when compared to Google. But it is 100% privacy-friendly and Google is just 40% of that. That big difference is because DuckDuckGo does not use cookies. A Cookie is a sweet name used on internet services for small files that collect data and send it back to the server, each cookie collects a different set of data, the same rule as the old saying too many of these cookies is bad because?it is exposing your activity. DuckDuckGo?is free from cookies which means your searching activity is 100% anonymous?and private which is a good deal for the exchange of 20% less powerful?search engine. But DuckDuckGo?is getting there, improving day by day. DuckDuckGo uses Apple Maps instead of Google Maps and that is very interesting.?Took me almost a week to get completely familiar with it but worth the effort. I am now 95% free from Google Search. I have to go back to it 5% of the time because?of that 20% lack of power of DuckDuckGo. Still good progress so far.

• Google Chrome Browser:

Google Chrome Browser is?the very first thing someone downloads after purchasing a new laptop using Microsoft Edge and then use Chrome Browser forever and Edge is ancient history. Chrome Browser?is popular primarily?because?it is very simple to use. It needs zero to low configuration?and has the power of Chrome Store for customization?and extensions. This simplicity?comes at the price of information. Outside Chrome?is easy-to-use?and user-friendly?but inside it is?a megastore for user data. Switching from Chrome was not a tedious?task. It took me about 2 days to get used to the new browser. There were a lot of options.

First I chose Microsoft?Edge as my replacement for Google Chrome Browser. Surprised right? Why would I switch to an ancient browser which people only use to download Chrome? Well because?it is faster, lighter, and more privacy-friendly?compared to Chrome. Yes, Edge is faster than Chrome. Microsoft?has made major progress in the past few years and made a reliable browser. Edge is not Internet Explorer. Edge is Edge, Edge is Fast, Edge is Safe. Edge offers built-in settings to block major trackers and cookies. And the default setting is already good to go. Edge is easier on RAM usage compared to Chrome. You need zero configuration?in the privacy and security?section if you switch to Edge. Browser customization?depends on your personal?preference. But after a while...

I switched to Brave. Because?it is built for privacy by the Inventor of JavaScript?Language?and Co-Founder of Mozilla. Every developer knows about JavaScript, it is a very powerful?frontend language?and Firefox has always been privacy-friendly?but it was always more of a developer's playground. Brave's default settings are so much privacy-friendly?for a common user. It has by default Tracker Shield enable which blocks all cookies from all sites. It is truly a shield. This helps the pages load about 30% faster compared to Chrome as per Brave's website. Brave is also easier on RAM usage compared to Chrome.?I still use Edge sometimes if I have to use multiple browsers for some reason.

If you want a simple switch without any hassle, choose Edge. It is built-in in Windows, the default settings are good to go, and it is faster. Choose Brave if you want the features of Shield.

• Google Maps:

I was never able to replace Google Maps. It is just so powerful, no other map service providers?are even near to competing with it. Even if we delete Google Maps or switch to another service like Apple Maps or Bing Maps, your life will still include?Google?Maps because?companies?in segments like ride-hailing, food delivery, etc use Google Maps on their apps. So Google still knows when and where you are traveling or from where you are ordering your food. It is not much data but it is still data, which is enough if maintained and combined with other Google's services, to make sense of your lifestyle and even life.

Google Maps is a guiding light to those who are lost, not metaphorically but literally. It is irreplaceable?so far. I still use it and it is very reliable. All we can do is hope for a competitive privacy-friendly?maps service provider to make its debut.

• Youtube:

Irreplaceable. It hosts all types of content, Educational, Entertainment, Memes, Music, and the list goes on. But did you know, your Youtube ads are based on the data Google collects about you? Yes, they literally build a profile page with a list of tags and all the meta info they can get. Check out your own page via this link: https://adssettings.google.com/

There is no alternative to Youtube so we all are just crops for Google to harvest data and we can do nothing about it.

• Google Mail (Gmail):

60% of people in the age range of 18-29 use at least one of the Gmail services. Gmail has every single detail about a person in detail. Gmail knows it all, the AI ML revolution has given it the ability to understand?and categorize every single mail. Gmail is basically?an endless pit for user data collection. Gmail even shows ads, you might have noticed it. I could not replace Gmail even if there were some alternatives available?primarily?because?I have been using it since forever.

If you are interested?in alternatives?Proton Mail is a very privacy-focused alternative. It is also effectively free with some limitations like 100 Outgoing emails per day, Storage Limit, etc.

• Android OS by Google:

I have only used an Android phone?for a year, it was my first phone. I switched to iOS after that and never looked back. Android?vs iOS is not the question?here. The question?is does Android?makes it easier for Google for building its databases of users. I would say Yes. Android?comes with every Google?product out there pre-installed. Power users take their time and effort to replace them with alternatives of their choice. But a normal user would just continue to?use them and as we know a Google account?is required?to make the Phone functional all the activity?can be linked to the account. It depends on you if you want to replace every Google app on your phone or just continue to?use them, they are still getting your data no matter the size of it.

• Google DNS:

Google DNS is the world's largest DNS service provider, the simple 8.8.8.8 DNS address handles a major amount of internet activity across the globe. And Google can see the traffic and monitor it and stores the metadata like IP, region, etc. Even though it states on its site that it deletes the traffic records after a few weeks, it also states that a small part of the data is stored with them permanently. If you have a smart home setup that has multiple devices depending on the internet and your DNS is configured?to Google, Google receives all the information?& activity conducted in your home on the internet.

We are just covered with Google on all sides, and with more than 200+ products and most of them are free-to-use, Google makes sure there is no angle left open to surrounding us. The other popular products like Sheets, Docs, Drive, Pay, Translator, YT Music, YT Kids, Pixel Phones, Chrome Notebooks, FitBit, News, Meet, Lens, Home, Go Language, Stadia, and many many many more, can not be covered in this primarily?because?I never used them. I always compared them for a better alternative?and usually?found one. Google is still part of my life even though I tried my best to cut it out.

I can conclude that Google is permanent and the only way to erase it from life is to give up every electronic gadget and probably live like a monk. That is not possible?for any of us, well for most of us. But this does make me think about the trust and power we are vesting in just one particular company, hoping that it will not be misused or abused against us. Controversially, Google has been frequently questioned by lawmakers about its practices, especially?by the US & EU. Google has been fined almost 10 Billion Dollars by the EU in the past couple of years.

Despite all these fines & penalties, they are just business operation expenses for Google. It is us the consumers who have to take charge for a change because privacy matters. Thank you for reading my write-up, I hope you learned something new and something you can ponder upon intellectually.