It was so convenient to keep all my recipes and other files on google drive. I started decades ago, it's easy to share, searching is easy, you can track history.
But you know what? Keeping recipes (and other files) on my own computer, in a plain old text file, is just not that much of a problem. It's not hard. It's a tiny bit less convenient, sure. But this way, I'm not trusting Google with my data and information. And my computer is still useful, even if I'm not connected to the internet.
I plan to de-google completely, including gmail and google maps. I don't want to be the cash cow in their data mining farm. Also I'd like to get rid of Windows, and all the Microsoft products. Microsoft Word has some algorithm, every X time that you save a file, it prompts you with something like "Are you sure you don't want to be more secure, and back up your files to the cloud"? It drives me nuts every time it comes up, more motivation to get off their products.
Anyway, I'd love to hear people's stories on this topic.
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I'm thinking very seriously about getting a Pixel with Graphene OS. I know some people have written up accounts of their experiences with this on SN. Will have to check them out...
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It's the best decision you can do. Your smartphones is an extension of yourself, dont neglect mobile privacy and security. You can get a Pixel 7 for somewhat cheap, it's a great device.
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I have found getting rid of some things (chrome browser, Gmail, Keep) is easy. Most Google products I guess. Microsoft is harder. I have not found I can get rid of the familiarity.
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