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| | | The biggest lesson I learnt from this course is just how little control I have over my own life – my privacy, my autonomy, my freedom. I have realized that I am so deeply entrenched in this network environment created by companies such as Google and Facebook that my freedoms have been slowly but surely chipped away, leaving me exposed and easily manipulated. Google turned from a company releasing useful products for my use to one that has ensnared me, and the internet as a whole, into its money-making, data gathering machine. Indeed, Google is pervasive in our digital lives in a manner no other corporation in the world has been. It is embedded everywhere. Personally, my laptop’s main browser is Google Chrome. My primary email is Gmail. My phone’s operating system is Android. To me (and for a lot others), Google is synonymous for search, maps, email, browsers, operating systems. Google has been recognized as a word in the Oxford English Dictionary since 2006. What its global dominance means is that there are not many well-used alternatives, especially for the privacy minded. However, what this course taught me is that alternatives definitely do exist, if I am willing to look for it. | |
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< | Caveat
I have to admit – I am not a techie. My skills with a computer mostly extend to the Ctrl-Alt-Delete function and force-quitting applications. As such, one of the biggest challengers to my attempt to quite Google is the fact that most of the alternatives are not user friendly and seemed extremely daunting to me. Nevertheless, my first stage in regaining control over my privacy is to use alternatives that I can understand. | | | First Steps
Chrome:
Switching my default browser did not prove difficult. I already had Mozilla Firefox installed from the last technology project from the course, and realized that it could do everything that Chrome did for me – with the added advantage of protecting my privacy. | | | Switching to a different map provider was also easy – I already had alternatives such as CityMapper? downloaded onto my phone. I also promptly deleted the data Google Timeline had about my movements, and turned off my location history. However, what proved difficult was shutting down my use of Google Maps entirely. Because car services such as Lyft and Uber relied on Google Maps, I could not disable/ delete it entirely from my phone, as that prevented my use of such car services that I rely on to get around.
The Tricky Bits | |
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< | Attempting to switch out of Gmail proved to be difficult, as my Gmail has been my main email address. Looking for an alternative that could truly address my privacy concerns was tricky, as I did not want to merely switch from one tech giant to another, such as Yahoo Mail. To this end, an alternative for Gmail was to use ProtonMail? , an end-to-end encrypted email service founded in Switzerland, a country known for its strong privacy laws. However, the free version only gave me 500MB of storage space, a feature that would be insufficient if I were to consider this my main address. Even using the GPG Keychain would be limited in the long-run, seeing as it only has a 30 day free trial. This made me realize that Google’s email service could be free because it is actively monetizing our data. In order for an email alternative to be viable without monetizing its users’ data, most had to charge a fee. As a student, the thought of having to commit to a paid email account has me uneasy, even as it helps to ensure my privacy in my emails. | >
> | Attempting to switch out of Gmail proved to be difficult, as my Gmail has been my main email address. Looking for an alternative that could truly address my privacy concerns was tricky, as I did not want to merely switch from one tech giant to another, such as Yahoo Mail. To this end, an alternative for Gmail was to use ProtonMail? , an end-to-end encrypted email service founded in Switzerland, a country known for its strong privacy laws. I initially thought the limited storage space would be a disadvantage, however, having reflected on your comments, I have realized the dangers of storing all my mail on a third party’s mailserver. However, ProtonMail? does not require the recipient of my encrypted message to have an account and merely requires a password. This would not serve my secondary purpose of encouraging my recipients to also use encrypted messages. As such, I have started to look into free alternatives, such as Mailvelope, which requires the recipient to have a public encryption key. This would encourage my recipients to join me in the effort to take back our privacy. | | | The Biggest Challenge: My Phone | |
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< | Yet, despite all my little efforts above, my attempts at taking back my privacy and identity prove futile with my Samsung S8, equipped with Google apps. Researching for options to changing my operating system was technically difficult, as it required deeper technical knowledge and effort than just simply deleting applications. This is compounded by the fact that the smartphone industry has become a literal duopoly with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Even Mozilla’s Firefox OS is no longer maintained. To this end, I found the next best option of Lineage OS, which is a privacy minded, open source version of Android that can be installed without Google services or Apps. This would cement my break-up with Google, with a de-Googling of my Samsung S8. Unfortunately, Lineage OS does not have an official OS released for Samsung S8. While its community contributions have developed LineageOS for the S8, my lack of technical knowledge and confidence has prevented me from proceeding. Hopefully, by my second draft, I would have implemented the steps to replacing the Android OS with Lineage OS.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, with my main Google tools switched out/ disabled, I only feel a sense of liberation. My dependence on a single company for so many services is a form of enslavement, especially when my data and privacy is the currency. Taking back control of my data gives me great comfort and power, making the effort worthwhile.
A valuable and in some sense courageous attempt to understand both the possibilities and limits of your struggle to remove your data trail. A couple of technical comments: | >
> | Yet, despite all my little efforts above, my attempts at taking back my privacy and identity prove futile with my Samsung S8, equipped with Google apps. Researching for options to changing my operating system was technically difficult, as it required deeper technical knowledge and effort than just simply deleting applications. This is compounded by the fact that the smartphone industry has become a literal duopoly with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Even Mozilla’s Firefox OS is no longer maintained. To this end, I found the next best option of Lineage OS, which is a privacy minded, open source version of Android that can be installed without Google services or Apps. This would cement my break-up with Google, with a de-Googling of my Samsung S8. | | | | |
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< | First, storing all your mail on someone else's mailserver isn't wise. You don't need more than 500mb to store mail if you are removing all but current mail to your own storage. | >
> | However, as installing this OS is difficult, I have instead started to take small steps in de-Googling my phone, through the simple steps of disabling all Google-related apps on my phone. I have also deleted all other non-essential apps (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, etc.). This required a bit more getting used to, as I have grown used to opening them on a whim. I also found myself unable to delete Whatsapp (despite its own set of privacy concerns) due to my reliance on it to contact my family in Singapore. However, as a user of Telegram, which has the option of secret chats that delete messages within a certain timeframe, I am gradually moving my conversations over to this platform instead. | | | | |
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< | Second, having a simple phone that isn't your primary
computer is easy; finding a freedom-reinforcing smartphone
OS is hard. Do your computing on a laptop running free
software and make use of your phone for the purpose of
making and receiving telephone calls.
You learned in your first exercise that carrying and using
money is not inconvenient, as you had been led to suppose.
You learned in your second that there are alternatives to
the data-miners. Computing in a sustainable and
freedom-reinforcing way is no harder, I assure you. Your
sense of technical inadequacy is false: you have already
adapted easily and with intelligence to the challenges you
perceive. Ditching the smartphone is no harder, once the
fears of "inconvenience" instilled in you have been quieted.
You live in a university, where people who know everything
that is known reside. If you want to learn how to compute
in freedom, you can do so easily.
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> | Conclusion
At the end of the day, with my main Google tools switched out/ disabled, I only feel liberated. My dependence on a single company is a form of enslavement, especially when my data and privacy is the currency. Taking back control of my data has empowered me greatly – contrary to my previous belief that such a task would be daunting, I have realized that alternatives and solutions are available and reachable if one is willing to look for them. | | |
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