[cryptbe]

If you want to keep using Google services, here are some Google Alternatives Alternatives:

1/ Google Search, YouTube, Maps: visit https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols to turn on auto-deletion or turn off search history, location history or YouTube watch history. This page also allows you to turn off ads personalization. There are many security and privacy controls on https://myaccount.google.com/, turn them on however you see fit.

2/ Chrome: visit chrome://settings/syncSetup to turn off Chromesync, disallow Chrome sign-in, disable automcomplete searches and URLs, etc. You can also change the default search engine to something else, but see point 1/ if you want to use Google Search. Use Incognito mode more often.

3/ Gmail, Photos, Calendar, Drive, Docs: "we don’t use information in apps where you primarily store personal content—such as Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Photos—for advertising purposes, period." [1] In other words, Gmail, YouTube or Search ads are not targeted or personalized using your emails, photos, events, docs, etc.

Disclosure: I'm a Google's security engineer, advocating for and contributing to some of the aforementioned security/privacy controls.

[1] https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/keeping-priva...

[the_lucifer]

For point 2/ if you are unwilling to switch to Firefox and want to keep using Chromium based browsers take a look at Ungoogled Chromium.

I switched from Firefox to Ungoogled Chromium after a long time because of atrocious UI/UX on macOS. However I am stuck with Google pushing Manifest v3

[mackrevinack]

is location history really turned off or do they keep profiling you but just dont show you? there is no way to know since its all closed source

[cryptbe]

It really is turned off. Companies like Google get huge fines when they break their promise -- even accidentally.

[rcMgD2BwE72F]

LOL no. Try using Google Maps logged out on an Android phone for more than a week. Google will find a way to reconnect you to the default Google account on the device.

An even better test:

- get an Android device (say, a OnePlus 6T)

- create some contacts on the phone, and add a few events in the default calendar

- open the Play Store (required to get many of the most popular apps)

- you're required to logged into a Google account

- log in and try to not have your contacts and calendar events uploaded to Google's servers.

That is not possible, because

1. you must be connected to the Internet in order to log into a Google account (obvious)

2. Google does not let you enable or disable the sync for a particular item before starting uploading everything

3. Google will enable the sync for all possible items (starting w/ contacts) in the background, and you cannot switch screens fast enough to prevent that.

This must have been the default for most Android devices for a decade now. They keep collecting billions contacts details without users' explicit consent, which is 100% illegal.

[swiley]

Smart phone OSes have the most pathological crap.

Things like this are why I tolerate all the bugs on the pinephone.

[Nextgrid]

> Companies like Google get huge fines when they break their promise -- even accidentally.

Source?

Facebook has used phone numbers given exclusively for 2FA purposes for targeted advertising and got away with merely a slap on the wrist considering their revenue.

Facebook also collected data for years from their trackers but only relatively recently started exposing that to users (with their "Off-Facebook activity" page), which means that for 2 years they were in breach of the GDPR by not allowing people access to their own data and incriminated themselves (by now providing that webpage which proves they've collected this data for years). They are yet to be investigated & fined for this.

GDPR and privacy regulation enforcement is still a complete joke.

[psanford]

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings