2019 goal: remove myself from big tech as much as possible

**jafomofo** · 12-09-2018, 07:48 PM

degoogling is the term. Its a lot harder than you think. I think you would be more successful in divorcing your online persona from your PII.

**Nerve_Damage** · 12-09-2018, 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by Bar182

Spotify - possible keep, but maybe there is a better solution out there? I dont listen to music while running but some sort of music would be good to have
Smartphone - Again this is nothing to do with social media or "restraining myself". This is about removing myself from the apple eco system and simplifying my life
Laptop - Well like I said that is going to be difficult but happy to explore ideas, I dont need to rid myself of everything, its just a goal to work towards
Amazon account - I dont, therefore i dont need it.
Cloud storage - dont really need anything save in the cloud so dont need it (more life admin tidy up)

There is multiple cogs in this. 1. Removing myself from ecosystems of companies i dont like 2. Protecting my privacy 3. Minimalism 4. Removing mental clutter from my life. 5. Im also an anti-technology luddite now

This has nothing to do wit him on instagram all day and cant restrain myself...

also, if I recon correctly, you are the miscer who travels all the time and/or live in Thailand no?
If you haven't done so already, check nomadcapitalist blog - good stuff on taxes, government tracking, passports/residence topics

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by Nerve_Damage

Fair enough. In terms of eco systems - I'm what you would call an Apple user. MBP/iPad/Iphone. That being said I dont rely on it and if I were to switch to Android phone/win laptop tomorrow that would require min effort. Getting rid of smartphone completely tho - I rely on it for work (even outside of office hours) so it won't be feasible. But again in terms of reliance on apple/google/microsoft - I'm fluid.

Privacy can be a concern so going protonmail/duckgogo/vpn/onion is a start. But you would need to completely disconnect yourself from the world if you want privacy and it's a rabbit hole. Think about - bank accounts (including any mortgages/loans), utilities (aka off the grid), ssn, tax declarations, etc.

Baby steps man, im not trying to change the world here just work towards where I want to go. One step at a time

**Ratfish** · 12-09-2018, 07:52 PM

i can't see why spotify would be a problem.

in general, if you're making your life objectively worse as a result of removing these then it's illogical to do so. there are good reasons to stop using ig/fb/google/amazon though.

beyond this, people need to be man enough to vote with their dollars. that includes ad revenue these fukkers make

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by jafomofo

degoogling is the term. Its a lot harder than you think. I think you would be more successful in divorcing your online persona from your PII.

Why is it harder than I think? I can get rid of all those google products I use pretty quickly and will be my PHASE 1 of my clean out. I will be de-googled within a couple of months.

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by Ratfish

i can't see why spotify would be a problem.

in general, if you're making your life objectively worse as a result of removing these then it's illogical to do so. there are good reasons to stop using ig/fb/google/amazon though.

beyond this, people need to be man enough to vote with their dollars. that includes ad revenue these fukkers make

Spotify may stay. Work in progress.

Certainly not looking to make my life worse, doing this to make my life better.

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by Nerve_Damage

also, if I recon correctly, you are the miscer who travels all the time and/or live in Thailand no?
If you haven't done so already, check nomadcapitalist blog - good stuff on taxes, government tracking, passports/residence topics

I was close to doing a conference call with Andrew(?) at the start of the year about offshoring but didnt go through with it. He has some dodgy reviews.

**Nerve_Damage** · 12-09-2018, 07:58 PM

I live/work in Shanghai, where google/fb/ins/twitter/youtube/etc are blocked. And while I use vpn if I need to access any of that, over the years I basically stopped using any of the social media platforms and it's absolutely great. The only problem is when I want to bang, tinder is using fb thus it also doen't work without VPN. I'm missing out on some non tech savy local sloots and basically have to reply on constant supply of ABCs here..

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by BOZZ

speaking from personal experience, normal people are super hesistant to **** like protonmail, or for that matter anything that isnt a corporate email or major provider. One of few reasons i actually keep a gmail account

I have my own domain names that I will run through protonmail.

All the upside of protonmail's service but using my own domain name in my email address instead of protonmail.

**Peacening** · 12-09-2018, 08:09 PM

Mirin bro I'm am all the way in it undoetunately.

Use IG for business (client relations and promotion)
Use ******** for business (networking)
Use pixel 3 for business (that picture quality tho)
Use Gmail for business and personal

Basically Google knows everything I do, say, everywhere I go, and every single person I cross paths with.

**jordanair45** · 12-09-2018, 08:21 PM

Bro....

All these things are just distraction machines that take you away from the real world, collect and sell your data.

Cant do away with my MBP and iphone though, i need my misc bros....

How can the internet be controlled by only a handful of companies? Its crazy to me.

**IronILLinois** · 12-09-2018, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by jordanair45

Bro....

All these things are just distraction machines that take you away from the real world, collect and sell your data.

Cant do away with my MBP and iphone though, i need my misc bros....

How can the internet be controlled by only a handful of companies? Its crazy to me.

well the world is controlled by just a few people. ask Caeculus

**juvefan** · 12-09-2018, 08:27 PM

Might as well cancel your internet subscription while you’re at it

**triception** · 12-09-2018, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Bar182

There are going to be a couple of tough things, I have some 2FA apps I use and WhatsApp especially will be very painful if I get rid of that. Although I am far less invested in big tech then most.

Looking to do the following so far:

All email -> Protonmail
Chrome -> Brave
Google Search -> Duck Duck Go
iPhone -> Lightphone2 (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/light-phone-2)

Netflix -> CANCEL
Dropbox -> Delete
Spotify -> CANCEL
******** -> Delete
Amazon account -> Delete
Google Drive -> Delete
Skype -> Delete
Google Maps -> Stop using
Instagram -> Delete

The hard ones for me

- Office365
- LinkedIn
- Macbook Pro (No idea how to move on from this)
- WhatsApp

Reps for life for awareing me on Brave and LightPhone2

**hotsaucebrah** · 12-09-2018, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by doughnutking

Funny you posted this thread op, as i started the cleanse this week.

so

IN!

I started with running Pi-hole on a raspberry PI

This month I'm purging everything Google.

Op, Macbook pro can be replaced with a Thinkpad running a linux distro like Ubuntu.

Linux is good for an IT environment or hobbying but it is a pia as a daily os. Even with friendly distros like Manjaro, Ubuntu, etc.

**hotsaucebrah** · 12-09-2018, 08:36 PM

Also any VPN suggestions?

**eatmycrackers** · 12-09-2018, 08:37 PM

OP... I see you didn’t list the misc on your things to cancel... I have some bad news

**wincel** · 12-09-2018, 08:44 PM

das it mane...gonna setup a protonmail

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by juvefan

Might as well cancel your internet subscription while you’re at it

Funny thing is I would if I could.

But I need the internet for my work.

I would disconnect in an instant otherwise. I feel the best when offgrid and in nature.

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by hotsaucebrah

Also any VPN suggestions?

Private Internet Access

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by eatmycrackers

OP... I see you didn’t list the misc on your things to cancel... I have some bad news

Ok its on the list then.

Goodbye misc 2019.

Would be nice if they had a feature to delete all your posts. Just cancelling the account without removing any data seems a bit half assed.

**topperstyle** · 12-09-2018, 09:11 PM

Are there companies who can scrub the web clean of your social media or anything else?

**IronILLinois** · 12-09-2018, 09:12 PM

using Brave now. im have BB.com BLACK on and the font or colors seem a little off. anyone see the same?

**Sinan09400** · 12-09-2018, 09:20 PM

Why are you deleting google services?

Deleted ******** early this year. Never had meaningless apps like snapchat, tiktok etc. Rn Im only using Instagram, youtube, google (sometimes I really need google maps) and whatsapp

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by Sinan09400

Why are you deleting google services?

Deleted ******** early this year. Never had meaningless apps like snapchat, tiktok etc. Rn Im only using Instagram, youtube, google (sometimes I really need google maps) and whatsapp

1. Dont like the company 2. Protecting my data/Privacy 3. Dont need their services 4. Reducing clutter 5. Minimalism

**Sinan09400** · 12-09-2018, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by Bar182

Private Internet Access

Are VPNs even safe? How can I be sure they also arent tracking my activity and selling my data?

Most VPN are free and if a service is free usually the users are it's product

**Sinan09400** · 12-09-2018, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by Bar182

Ok its on the list then.

Goodbye misc 2019.

Would be nice if they had a feature to delete all your posts. Just cancelling the account without removing any data seems a bit half assed.

Deleted posts still show up in google searches. There was a post were a ******* posted my full name here few years back, asked a mod to delete it, she deleted but it was still on google. Had to contact google to remove it. They did eventually but it was just one post; you are going to have to do it for every single post of yours

**Bar182** · 12-09-2018, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Sinan09400

Are VPNs even safe? How can I be sure they also arent tracking my activity and selling my data?

Most VPN are free and if a service is free usually the users are it's product

PIA keeps no traffic logs and is paid service (you can also pay anonymously/semi anonymously with gift cards/crypto)

**LinuxJon** · 12-09-2018, 09:49 PM

If you’re gonna ditch your iPhone, what then? Android? That’s google.

I’d like to be off the map of google/Apple/Microsoft... but there ain’t a Linux phone and I need work programs.

**Bar182** · 12-10-2018, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by LinuxJon

If you’re gonna ditch your iPhone, what then? Android? That’s google.

I’d like to be off the map of google/Apple/Microsoft... but there ain’t a Linux phone and I need work programs.

Lightphone 2: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/light-phone-2

A lot of posts like "Well what about this! HUH?" Nothing is set in stone, if their is no viable alternative I will keep what I have for now. This isn't all or nothing.

In saying that I know I can be out of the Google Ecosystem without much issue so that is the first goal.

Here are some other interesting tools I am looking at to clean up a bit too:

https://www.deseat.me/
https://unroll.me/
https://haveibeenpwned.com/

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