To tell the truth, most Google services are fairly good. That’s why most of us are using them a lot and sometimes also some sort of addiction can evolve to this services.
Some Google services are good and some are bad or mediocre, but mostly useful. Some may seem quite perfect for me and poor for you. For example, I like to take notes in Keep when I’m on my way and have only my mobile phone in my hand, but I never take notes with it on my notebook. (Normally I use Evernote to take notes, I wrote about some very handy free software here.)
Puppies for sale :(
But we all know Google is spying on us, is recording our searches, is collecting individual and also big data. I searched for a puppy once for somebody and I received ads about puppies for sale for several weeks and I hated it so much. Another day, I searched some indecent theme on my notebook and the question appeared also on my phone’s search line. (I was also angry with Windows, that showed thumbnails of my pictures on the opening screen.)
They know anything
And scandals by Facebook, data thefts by other social media firms and internet giants make me suspicious and cautious. I don’t feel comfortable anymore with my family pictures and traveling shots on Google Photos. “Google knows where you've been, what you've searched, all your apps and extensions, your YouTube history, and more.” – wrote PC Magazine.
I don't think they want to make you harm, they are just pretending to make money like any other companies. But time to change many things.
1. Modify your Google settings
I have to admit Google is helping to review all your privacy and security options in this settings center. You can, for example, disable the storage of searches and also delete the older queries. (On this page.) The first one was quick, but I find the second one tricky. If you don’t do it well you only delete some says or some special themes from your history. (To delete all your tracks, search for the menu “…” on the upper right, not in the middle.)
2. Use other mail services
Gmail is good, and you get 15 GB online cloud storage, use it. But there are many other nice free services. You can also use one for work, other for family or friends, the third for online forums or hobby themes. So no one of the companies can control all your emails.
Yahoo is still good, Protonmail and Tutanota are famous for privacy (you can send password protected encrypted emails), Mail.com is also serious and free. In many countries, you can find a national mail service. (But some of them are powered also by Google.)
3. Use DuckDuckGo
I’m testing the privacy-oriented DuckDuckGo for some time now and I have pleasant experiences. Mostly the same good search results as by Google, and I like the language settings, safe search and time settings on the front.
4. Use two browsers
There are many good browsers now on the market, but all of them have advantages and disadvantages. Some sites don’t support the one, some the other. So, since I have my SSD drive and notebook memory is no longer a big problem, I use two browsers simultaneously.
On the one, I’m signed in Google and using its services, on the other, not. I can only hope my activity with the “non-Google browser” remains invisible for this company.
5. Stay in incognito
You can use also private browsers, like Firefox Focus, or private (incognito) windows of other browsers to surf without leaving traces behind.
6. Do you need a GPS?
Disconnect your GPS on your phone if you don’t need it. Who knows which software is collecting the data. I only use it if it’s really necessary. Many times I disconnect all the internet, for example, if I’m reading or sunbathing.
7. Encrypt your files
Don’t make hacker’s or spy’s life easy: if you upload sensible data files to Google Drive or other cloud storage, better encrypt it. Making zip or rar encrypted compressed archives can be very easy, for example, with Total Commander.
8. Use VPN
Maybe it seems already the paranoid mode – but not if you are using file-sharing services or cryptocurrency wallets. The remote servers of VPN providers are hiding your real location and identity, and are making much more difficult to trace or hack you. Your internet provider won’t know either where are surfing.
I suppose this makes life (data collection) of Google also tougher. They obviously don’t like it. Sometimes you will have problems with VPN, for example, you have to fill a lot of Google captchas (puzzles to determinate you are human), and they can be very long and annoying.
I’m not a programmer or IT security expert but I’m trying to learn continuously how to defend myself in the jungle called the internet. About my other experiences and ideas on security I wrote here: 9 Ways To Be Healthily Paranoid
(Photo: screenshot from Google logos in Google search engine.)