I run uBlock origin on every device I can. I use PiHole on my home network. I've canceled every streaming service in favor of self-hosting, and IoT devices are blocked from the internet. Incoming connections are geoblocked. Meta is blocked at the DNS level. Suffice to say I have put a lot of effort into privacy and security.
I still can't get rid of Google, though, solely because of Gmail. I've had the same address for so many years (ever since the invite-only days), it would be an absolute nightmare to try to change it.
Forward gmail to new provider and then use new email from now on. Eventually you'll want to go in and update your email address for all the other sites you frequent..takes a few hours but you'll be free.
Nah, just get some email provider with a good reputation and setup gmail to forward all mail. From there you can start to change the emails in all your accounts one by one. And hey, even if takes you 5 years to complete, it's still worth it.
Oh, some else had the exact same recommendation. I should have read the other comments first. Oh well
I certainly don't think it will be easier in a few years, but I also think that after 19 years of using gmail, a few more years aren't going to make a huge difference. It's really kind of sad to think about how far Google has fallen. I started with gmail in 2005. At the time, Google was starting to become the "go-to" search engine. They had better results than Yahoo or AltaVista; the "do no evil" slogan was also a great "feel-good" factor. I don't think anyone at the time expected how different things would be in 2024.
I can host my own media on my own server. I use Nextcloud Talk for IMs (also hosted on my own server). Just about any online service can be self-hosted, except for email. I have certainly tried in the past, even hosting email on a VPS. You run into so many issues, though. Your server isn't trusted, websites don't recognize your domain, a whole litany of problems. Email is just one of those things that you really can't self-host.
Sure, I could switch to a new email provider, forward gmail, and slowly over time update my email address for everyone who's sending to my gmail account. What happens then when my new email provider decides to start harvesting my data for profit? Email is one of those things where you can't live without it, but you're forced to use a service that isn't your own and could fuck you at any time.
For some reason I imagine that scene in of one of the first few episodes of the HBO mini-series Chernobyl, when they wade into the water near the exploded reactor and their flashlights just immediately die due to the massive amount of radiation and the episode ends in darkness with the crew’s Geiger counters just going absolute ape-shit sounding like a singular continuous tone.