ai-free:~$ sudo rm -rf /surveillance/google
ai-free:~$ ./install_privacy.sh --complete

Your data is Google’s product. You are the inventory being sold.

Google tracks over 2 billion users across 8+ products, building psychological profiles worth $200+ billion annually. Every search, email, location, and video view feeds their surveillance apparatus. But escape is possible.

The Surveillance Web#

Google’s tracking ecosystem spans:

  • Search: 90% market share, logs every query
  • Gmail: Scans emails for advertising data
  • Chrome: Tracks browsing across all websites
  • Android: Location tracking every few minutes
  • YouTube: Watches what you watch, analyzes interests
  • Google Drive: Scans uploaded files for content
  • Maps: Tracks everywhere you go
  • Google Assistant: Always listening for wake words

Combined Impact: Complete behavioral profile used for advertising manipulation and sold to data brokers.

The Complete Degoogle Plan#

Phase 1: Essential Services (Week 1)#

Search Engine

  • Replace: Google Search → DuckDuckGo
  • Why: Zero tracking, no profile building
  • Setup: Set as default in all browsers
  • Advanced: Use Startpage for Google results without tracking

Email Service

  • Replace: Gmail → ProtonMail
  • Why: End-to-end encryption, Swiss privacy laws
  • Migration: Export Gmail data, forward emails during transition
  • Cost: Free tier available, $4/month for premium

Web Browser

  • Replace: Chrome → Firefox (hardened) or Brave
  • Why: Open source, privacy-focused
  • Setup: Install uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger
  • Advanced: Use Tor Browser for sensitive browsing

Phase 2: Mobile & Cloud (Week 2)#

Operating System

  • Replace: Android → GrapheneOS or CalyxOS
  • Why: Removes Google Play Services tracking
  • Alternative: iPhone with privacy settings (better than Android)
  • Easy Option: Use F-Droid for apps instead of Google Play

Cloud Storage

  • Replace: Google Drive → Nextcloud (self-hosted) or pCloud
  • Why: Your data stays on your servers
  • Migration: Download all Google Drive files
  • Cost: $20/month for hosted Nextcloud, $5/month pCloud

Maps & Navigation

  • Replace: Google Maps → OpenStreetMap apps
  • Recommended: OsmAnd (offline maps) or Maps.me
  • Why: No location tracking, works offline
  • Setup: Download area maps before traveling

Phase 3: Communication & Media (Week 3)#

Video Platform

  • Replace: YouTube → Odysee, Rumble, or Invidious
  • Why: No recommendation algorithm manipulation
  • Tip: Use Invidious instances to watch YouTube without tracking
  • Advanced: Self-host PeerTube instance

Document Editing

  • Replace: Google Docs → LibreOffice or Cryptpad
  • Why: No document scanning, works offline
  • Collaborative: Cryptpad for real-time collaboration
  • Local: LibreOffice for full-featured office suite

Authentication

  • Replace: Google Login → Bitwarden password manager
  • Why: Each service gets unique password
  • Security: Enable 2FA with Aegis Authenticator
  • Never: Use “Sign in with Google” anywhere

Phase 4: Advanced Privacy (Week 4)#

DNS Resolution

  • Replace: ISP DNS → Quad9 or Cloudflare
  • Why: Blocks malicious sites, faster resolution
  • Setup: Change router DNS to 9.9.9.9 or 1.1.1.1
  • Advanced: Run Pi-hole for network-wide ad blocking

VPN Service

  • Add: Mullvad VPN or ProtonVPN
  • Why: Hides browsing from ISP and Google
  • Cost: $5/month for Mullvad
  • Setup: Connect before any browsing

Search Hardening

  • Advanced: Use Searx self-hosted search
  • Why: Aggregates results without tracking
  • Setup: Host on VPS or use public instance
  • Backup: Keep DuckDuckGo as fallback

Migration Tools & Scripts#

Export Your Data

  1. Visit Google Takeout: takeout.google.com
  2. Select all services
  3. Choose export format (usually .zip)
  4. Download everything (may take days)

Browser Migration

# Firefox setup script
wget -O firefox-privacy.sh https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/raw/master/user.js
mv user.js ~/.mozilla/firefox/profile/user.js

Email Migration

  • Use ImportExportTools NG for Thunderbird
  • Forward Gmail to ProtonMail during transition
  • Update all accounts with new email address

Verification & Testing#

Check Your Privacy

  • Visit whatismyipaddress.com (should show VPN)
  • Search private browsing vs regular (should see different results)
  • Check panopticlick.eff.org (browser fingerprinting test)

Google Dependency Test

  • Block *.google.com in your router for 24 hours
  • Note what breaks - those are remaining dependencies
  • Find alternatives for each broken service

Cost Breakdown#

Monthly Costs:

  • ProtonMail: $4/month
  • Mullvad VPN: $5/month
  • Cloud storage: $5/month
  • Total: $14/month ($168/year)

One-Time Costs:

  • GrapheneOS phone: $300-600
  • Privacy setup time: 20-30 hours
  • Total: $300-600 + time investment

Return on Investment: Complete digital privacy and freedom from surveillance capitalism.

Common Pitfalls#

Don’t Do This:

  • Use Google services “just occasionally”
  • Keep Chrome “for work only”
  • Use Google Sign-in for convenience
  • Skip the VPN to save money

Critical Success Factors:

  • Commit to the full process
  • Change one service at a time
  • Update all logins immediately
  • Never go back to Google services

The Freedom Result#

After 30 days of degoogling:

  • Zero tracking across your digital life
  • No targeted advertising manipulation
  • Private communication and browsing
  • Control over your own data
  • Independence from surveillance capitalism

Your data belongs to you. Not to Google. Not to anyone else.

The resistance begins with reclaiming your digital sovereignty. Every person who escapes Google’s surveillance weakens their control over society.

Start today. Your future free self will thank you.

Need help with the degoogling process? Join our community of privacy advocates fighting surveillance capitalism together.