Hi all
I know this is a bit of a strange post but there doesn’t seem to be an ‘off-topic’ section so this is the nearest thing I could find.
I am trying to stop using Google and other spying systems (Facebook, etc) so I am currently looking at Purism’s new services, I just wanted to ask if anyone has used this [or something similar] as a complete Google replacement. If so, how easy did you find it? Do you feel more secure/private? and would you recommend it?
Also, I have literally thousands of DVDs, Blurays and CDs that are just taking up space. Does anyone have any suggestion how to replace them with digital copies (which I can redownload if accidentally deleted) that don’t require DRM or proprietary software? I have purchased quite a lot of tracks on 7digital in FLAC format and I am very happy with them but not all tracks I want are available - 3 albums that I bought were even remotely removed due to some dispute between the service and the music publisher. I haven’t been able to find somewhere to download my DVDs to replace and don’t like the idea of Netflix. I also don’t want to rip them and then get rid of the physical DVD as I would prefer to obtain the films legally. I realise that I can keep backups of my DVDs and Blurays on my harddrive or wherever but I would still have the physical disc and I want to remove the amount of clutter I have.
Hi @mjl
Can’t help you with drm stuff, but I did degooglified myself in 100%. I didn’t used Purism services neither, but for example they’re intention in smartphone privacy is to use matrix as a communication protocol, which I do use. Actually you can do almost all stuff they provide by yourself:
Tor browser wherever possible, both mobile and desktop
NoScript obviously
Matrix (with Riot as client apps) - I set my own instance with YunoHost, invited family members and frieds, and this is my default method of text based communication
LineageOS - NO GAPPS! There is fantastic fork of Lineage called LIneageOS for microG - microG services provdes api and fake google functionality so apps don’t crash when trying to use google api
Silence - encrypted sms
ProtonMail
PiHole in home, of course no 8.8.8.8 nor any google dns
Wireguard for encrypted web access
NewPipe - android app for youtube (okay, this service I am using, so I’m 99% degooglified)
F-droid for open source apps, aurora store for apps from google-store
Syncthing and NextCloud as replacement of other cloud storage
LuckyPatcher is great to remove google analitics, crashlytics, firebase etc etc from any app you want
Probably there’s more that I can’t remind myself now… As for purism services - probably they’re good, but all of them are already out there in other form, they’ve just adopted those technologies and most likely will sell it later. I see no point in getting their services.
You can check out few things:
https://yunohost.org/ ← want to try to self host a service and don’t want to spend days on configuration? Here’s the answer. Oh and you get ta domain with ddns for free! https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ← check out whether your mail was in one of leaked databases https://panopticlick.eff.org/ ← check your web browser fingerprint
There’s so much more stuff…
Edit:
And if you’re EU citizen do not forget to write e-mail to company who has your data, and ask them to remove all your data based on ‘right to be forgotten’ based on GDPR regulations. It took me some time to write to all service providers I could remember, but results are really really good. They don’t want to risk miliions on fees for keeping some data/metadata about you.
I think you can’t de-googlefy yourself 100% as soon as you hit the internet there is some site or webtechnology relying on some Google-stuff. @patryk has done more than most users. Kudos for that! And I agree that you don’t need the Purism-Services cause there a probably just Matrix and Mastodon with another label.
I changed my mailservice and avoid Google-Services as far as possible but for example I got an Androidphone that I need for work and my contacts will never use Riot/Matrix cause “why? there is WhatsApp and I got nothing to hide.”
I don’t know if there’s a cloudservice for your - it sounds like that - terrabytes of data that is payable and secure. Besides is it legal to keep a digital copy of your CD/DVD and toss it in the bin? In the past it wasn’t but maybe that has changed?
Anyway… good luck with your mission! There is much you can do, but it’s not easy.
I have all my media on my harddrives/SSDs. Google can spy on me all they want. I don’t have anything valuable for them. I just block all ads and skip the ones that get through.
Used to like Apple, but I started to get targeted commercials while using their services too, so the switch to Android was easy. At least I can block them more easily on Android.
What the likes of Google are after is not the things people may want to hide. This is all about profiling!
These companies will grab every tiny bit of information they can get to map out who you are.
How many attributes can you list to describe yourself? Size, weight, hair colour…a hundred? Two hundred? Well these companies hold up to 30.000 attributes of you: https://crackedlabs.org/en/corporate-surveillance.
And while having a well refined personality profile allows companies to sell your profile for a higher price on just in time advertising market places, this goes already way further.
Next level is about risk management! All companies who’s business depends on managing risks are extremely interested in buying profiles/scores of their potential customers to make sure they price their services accordingly. Think of banks who hand out loans, if your profile leads to a low score because others with a similar profile failed to pay back their loans before, you surely will get an offer which will have the increased risk priced in.
E.g. if you happen to download a diabetes app for your partner or friend, expect to get a different offer when you ask for any service which relates to health risks. “New live insurance?, Sorry we can’t take you on”
Next level of escalation is forecasting, these guys know us better than we do! Which means we are open to be manipulated. Data brokers start to predict the future/how people will behave and what needs to be done to monetize whats going to happen.
Im not necessary de-googling guy… but if you can disable it is fine
Free is not as gratis… personal i dont mind that. using gmail also since 2003.
got an A7 samsung is just a pain to switch of samsung services , that is a pain need to root my phone but on that one im a scaredy cat
it complains everytime your not logged intoo samsung services thats a drag.
Everyone got its opinion but for me it must not complain if i disable it.
Yes please
But to be honest, I don’t lose my sleep over this.
If you are not concerned about real-time-ads for privacy reasons than there’s also the latency aspect, it takes time for your profile to be sold on such a market places which means your web page loads slower.
You can use a Firefox plugin, lightning, to show those laggards.
But I guess from this point of view you might actually want as much data in your profile as possible so you get sold faster
And I agree that you don’t need the Purism-Services cause there a probably just Matrix and Mastodon with another label.
There is much you can do, but it’s not easy.