I’m slowly escaping Google’s ecosystem, and it’s easier than I thought

Edgar Cervantes / Android AuthorityAdd Android Authority on Google: Google’s got products to fill almost every consumer tech niche, from web search to smartphones to connected cameras to office software. For a long time, I liked that about the company; using Google’s services everywhere I could felt like a way to simplify my technological life. I’ve gotten a lot of value out of Google’s big, interconnected ecosystem over the years.But as the company’s put its weight behind converting Search into a chatbot and adding Gemini-powered features I don’t use to every corner of every app and device, I’ve found myself wishing I wasn’t so invested in its products. I’ve stuck around mostly because of inertia: I’m used to Google, and it’s already got all my data, and moving to competing services seemed like a big undertaking.Over the past couple of months, though, I’ve finally started making a real effort to diversify my tech diet. It’s been a lot easier than I thought it would.Have you thought about "deGoogling?"3 votesThe apps and services I’m replacing Google withTaylor Kerns / Android AuthorityI haven’t completely gotten away from Google’s ecosystem, and I’m sure I won’t anytime soon. Some of Google’s services are genuinely irreplaceable in the current market, and I’m committed to making the hardware I already own last as long as I can (the Google Home Max is still a great speaker!). But I don’t feel like my entire online life is mediated by Google anymore.Search seemed like the easiest service to replace, and maybe the most impactful day-to-day. I started checking out alternatives earlier this summer; after spending a few days each with DuckDuckGo and Startpage, I landed on Kagi.I used to balk at the idea of paying for web search — I’ve been getting it for free since I was a kid — but at $10 a month on the unlimited Professional tier, I’m pleased with Kagi so far. (Kagi also offers a $5 plan with up to 300 searches per month.)Kagi is a very competent take on the classic, blue links-style web search experience Google offered before AI Overviews came on the scene. It leverages both Google’s and Bing’s search indexes in addition to its own, and it does almost everything I used to use Google Search for just as well.There are AI features in Kagi that are similar to Google’s, but they’re much less intrusive. You can get a Quick Answer (Kagi’s version of an AI Overview) by adding a question mark to the end of your search query or clicking a button. But Quick Answers don’t appear unless you ask for one, which is a big plus for me.I'm now paying for email, a development I wouldn't have predicted a few years ago.You can customize your search results, weighting different websites to appear more or less frequently or blocking certain websites altogether, and there’s an option to organize search results by recency. These are really handy tools in my line of work, which often involves research about current events under time constraints.Kagi is completely ad-free, and it makes a point to advertise that it doesn’t log your searches or funnel your personal data into ad networks. I think it says something about the state of consumer tech that I’m reflexively skeptical of claims like these. But they’re true in this case, as far as I can tell, and I’m happy to pay for that.Tushar Mehta / Android AuthorityI’m also now paying for email, a development I wouldn’t have predicted a few years ago. I’m using Proton for mail, calendar, cloud storage, and passwords, all of which I used to handle through Google.Getting my passwords out of Chrome and into Proton took all of five minutes, thanks to simple export and import tools in both services. Proton’s apps aren’t as polished as Google’s — Proton Docs and Proton Sheets are flatly worse than Google’s versions — but much like Kagi, they’re lighter on AI integration and privacy-forward.My day-to-day experience using Firefox hasn't actually felt all that different from Chrome.Proton’s ecosystem gives you the option to create aliases, single-use emails that forward to your primary inbox without revealing your “real” email address. It’s been great for providing contact info for online shops and newsletters without having to worry my address will end up on spam mailing lists — if an individual alias is compromised, you can simply shut it off. It’s a feature Gmail could stand to borrow.Andy Walker / Android AuthorityI’ve jumped from Chrome to Firefox on both macOS and mobile. With some tweaking, Firefox can be more private than Chrome, with options to block or cordon off cookies that can track your activity across websites. On the user-facing side, my day-to-day experience using Firefox hasn’t actually felt all that different from Chrome; it’s entirely fine for my web-browsing needs, just like Chrome was.Depending on how you use Chrome, your mileage may vary here. Firefox isn’t based on Chromium, meaning the two browsers have different extension ecosystems.Keeping what worksTaylor Kerns / Android AuthorityA lot of my tech life still flows through Google, even after cutting out a number of the company’s services. I’m sticking with my current Pixel phone until the wheels fall off, and I’ve got a Nest thermostat and a handful of Google smart speakers around the house (used almost entirely for media streaming these days, with mics switched off). The hardware’s still good; replacing all of it seems impractical and wasteful.I’m still using YouTube, since it has no real competition, and Google Maps, because it’s always worked so well for me (though alternatives are looking increasingly appealing). Google Photos is especially difficult for me to replace, given both its integrations with my Nest Hub display and my Aura picture frame and the way I’ve structured my ever-growing photo library. I’m thinking of migrating my images to a NAS system someday, but that’ll require real financial and time investments that I’m not eager to make right now.Paying for services I used to get for free does sting a little, but (mostly) moving away from Search, Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Chrome has been less of a hassle than I’d imagined, and I’m actually (mostly) enjoying the alternatives. I’ll probably always have some contact with Google’s ecosystem, but I feel less tied to it than before, and my experience online is better for it. That seems worth paying for.Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.