So far, I’m only using cost-free alternatives:
Gmail -> web.de
Android/Google Play -> LineageOS/FDroid
Google Search -> DDG/Qwant/Ecosia
Google Maps -> Openstreetmap/Organic Maps
Windows/Office -> Linux/LibreOffice
Netflix -> 🏴☠️streaming sites
Spotify -> internet radio/digitizing CDs bought directly from the band at concerts
The only service I haven’t replaced is YouTube (AdBlocked without account), which I use a lot, also for music. And I don’t see an alternative for it either.
It seems like web.de is still tracking me, I was getting round to hosting my own email server but I’m to broke to buy a hard drive for my banana pi.
Somewhere around $12. Covers email, VPN, and non-KYC data. Might jump up several dollars if I get around to making a personal website with a custom domain.
The only streaming media I consume regularly is on Youtube and I don’t see a good alternative on the horizon. uBlock and Pipepipe it is for now.
A domain that isn’t hotly contested (basically anything over 10-12 characters), usually goes for under 8 USD a year. So probably wouldn’t jump up that much.
Nothing.
Nebula instead of Youtube ($36/year), Kagi instead of Google search ($10/month), Soundcloud instead of Spotify (12/month), Bear instead of Apple Notes (35/year if I remember correctly). And I’ll probably move my email over to Proton at some point and start paying for that.
its not quite the same but as a YT-alt i use Nebula. It’s owned by some of my favourite creators and pretty cheap considering what you get. (~36$/y)
instead of iCloud/GDrive i use pCloud - which is a one-time payment-which i prefer instead of a recurring subscription (otp/400$)
and technically i am paying for ‘streaming-services’ by having a VPN. (~3$/m)
if you listen to a lot of radio/music you should give radio.garden a try!
it not much, but it is a start.
In terms of money, nothing. In terms of time? Several hours per week using offline methods. Keep in mind, I don’t own a phone at all, and only use my computer for an hour or 2 a day at most. I do as much as I can in person.
The amount of time and money I spend to avoid them makes me want to take them to small claims court.
47 eur for my vps setup
- Photos -> Immich
- Documents -> Seafile
- Gmail -> Proton Mail
- Android -> GrapheneOS
- Google -> Kagi
I have my own mini PC on which I host most stuff myself, using Tailscale to connect to it from outside. So my only subscriptions are Kagi and my VPN provider, in total 15 USD per month.
A VPN is the quickest, easiest way for me to avoid having my data sucked up by my ISP and Google. I’m using Thunderbird for email instead of Google. I use DuckDuckGo for searches, and it allows you to block search results on a per-site basis. I mostly use that feature to block AI-generated search result sites.
a VPN does not prevent the fingerprinting google does.
Also I heard a bunch of them got some sketchy Israel connections…
