Leaving Google has actively improved my life (pseudosingleton.com)

Article summary

The author shares their experience of leaving Google services, including Gmail and search, and finding alternative options such as Proton and DuckDuckGo. They report improved digital hygiene and a more fulfilling experience of searching the internet. The author also mentions the challenges of replacing YouTube and other Google services. They argue that people stay with Google due to habit and dark patterns, rather than choice.

Main themes

• Leaving Google
• Digital hygiene
• Alternative search engines
• YouTube monopoly
• Big tech criticism
• Online privacy

What commenters say

• Some users have successfully replaced Google services with alternatives and report improved experiences.
• DuckDuckGo is not considered a suitable replacement for Google search by some users due to its limited indexing and poor results for specific types of queries.
• Specialized search engines, such as a recipe aggregator, could provide better results than general search engines like Google.
• Kagi's search results are sourced from third-party API providers, which may include Google results, but the company plans to exit this arrangement when direct access becomes available.
• Google's dominance is maintained through deals with other companies, such as Apple, and through its default status on many devices.
• Some users prefer to use site-specific search engines, such as scholar.google.com, rather than general search engines.
• The idea of a search engine for search engines, or a meta search engine, has been proposed as a potential solution to the limitations of current search engines.
• There are concerns about the potential for anti-trust suits against Google due to its dominance in the search engine market and its deals with other companies.