Commentary

It’s Time to Switch Away From Google

By Ben Stockton

Published June 12, 2024

It feels like Google controls the internet, but maybe it shouldn’t. I explain my own efforts to break my Google addiction and switch to alternatives here.

I’ve had a Google account since the days when getting a Gmail account required an invite. I’ve been using Gmail for 20 years, but I’ve used Google for even longer. It’s been my go-to for accessing the internet for over two decades now. I’ve always been a big Google fan, even when it became obvious that the Do no evil mantra wasn’t quite hitting the mark.

In recent years, though, Google has been a hard company to like. If it isn’t the hundreds of different products that it’s started or bought, and then unceremoniously shut down, it’s the attitude it’s had towards internet publishers. Google has built up a monopoly over our lives—and it’s time to switch away and break that monopoly, for good.

Do No Evil

As a disclaimer, I have a dog in this fight. Google has provided me, indirectly, with a source of income for years. The articles I write are mostly found in Google search results by users who need help with something.

Until recently, that is. Google is now waging a war on the internet. It has upended well-established search results to focus on old Reddit posts and AI-generated nonsense. By doing this, it is killing the very traffic it needs to fill those AI results, and the websites I write for rely on this traffic. The internet is and will be, poorer as a result.  

For all your answers, just trust Reddit

This isn’t a one-off, however. Google has built a monopoly over the internet. It has a web browser, Chrome, which a majority of users use, controlling how we access the internet as a result. Google’s search engine controls the flow of that data. It owns websites like YouTube, giving it control over the videos we see. 

Google also controls a big portion of the online advertisement market through Google Ads, controlling the ads that we see, wherever we go online. Our emails and our files are held on Google servers. Its AI is in our homes, powering our lights, recording our cameras, and telling us about the weather.

It isn’t the only tech powerhouse, but it’s one of the most powerful and efficient. Most of us, whether we like it or not, have to interact with a Google service at some point in the day—one way or another. No company should have this level of power or influence.

Consumer choice is harmed

That’s why I think it’s time to switch away, as best we can, from Google-owned services. To give you an example as to why, I’ll point to a single source: the Killed By Google website.

Killed By Google is a list of every single service that Google has launched or bought and then closed down or sold. It doesn’t matter how big a service it is, or how much money it’s spent—if it wants to get rid of a Google product, it’ll kill it off. 

Google Domains is one example that I have a personal experience of. I’ve held several domains over the years, from different registrars, but the easiest to use was Google. I could buy domains, and hold them in my Google account, and I knew I wouldn’t have any problems keeping track of them or managing them.

Until June 15, 2013, that is, when Google announced unexpectedly that it was selling off the domain business to Squarespace. According to the press release, that meant 10 million domains and millions of customers being forced over to a competitor without any prior choice or expectation.

At any point, a product you use could fall on the chopping block. To date, 295 Google products have been canned. It doesn’t matter how big it is, like Google Domains. It doesn’t matter how much is spent, because Stadia (Google’s 3-year foray into the cloud gaming market) cost billions of dollars.

Alternatives to Google

The problem with Google isn’t the lack of competitors. Almost every Google product out there has an alternative you can try. In some cases, it might force you into the arms of a similar competitor, but there are some scrappy up-and-coming alternatives out there you could try, too.

If you want to ditch Google, here are some of my recommendations.

• Search: I’d recommend DuckDuckGo over Google search. It’s a privacy-focused search engine without tracking features that avoids using any Google data.
• Web browser: Switch out Chrome for Firefox. It’s run by a not-for-profit (Mozilla) that believes strongly in an open internet for all.
• Email: Gmail is still one of the best email platforms out there, but Proton is a good alternative if you’re worried about privacy. However, Outlook might be the better option for most users, even if it is replacing one tech giant (Google) for another (Microsoft).
• Video: No YouTube? Few sites have the richness that Google’s video platform has, other than TikTok (which has its own problems). You could always try something like Vimeo if you want to upload your own files.
• Cloud storage: There are plenty of alternatives to Google Drive for your cloud storage needs, including Dropbox and iCloud. These all come with different features and storage capacities (including free storage options).
• Office apps: The best alternative to Google Docs (and assorted apps) is still Microsoft Office, but a free alternative is LibreOffice, which you’ll need to download to your PC or Mac. It’s open source and offers similar functionality, but the downside is that it doesn’t run in your browser.

These are just some of my own personal recommendations. If you decide you want to switch away from Google, start with one product and go from there—break the habit.

A clean break from Google (almost)

My own battle with breaking my Google addiction is ongoing.

I’ve switched from Chrome to Firefox, but I still watch YouTube. I’m using Google Drive and Google Docs less, and I’m actively choosing to avoid using Google search results. Not every Google product has an equal alternative, whether it’s in functionality or appearance, but I’m doing my bit to try and reduce the hold that Google has over my life.

Do you have your own recommendations to share? Let me know in the comments below.