I tried to de-Google my life, but it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though.

It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

To test my reliance on Google and whether it can be shaken, I took a few days to see just how far I could de-Google my life, finding alternatives to the company’s wares where possible and jotting down a summary of my experience. As a spoiler, it’s far more difficult than I initially thought.

De-Googling is removing the company’s influence from one’s devices, but I believe there are various levels to this. Some users resort to finding alternatives to Google apps while continuing to use certain services. Others might take this slightly further, opting for self-hosted services. Others go even further, installing custom ROMs on their phones and entirely stripping Google Mobile Services and Play Services from their device. Whatever the method, the idea for many involves retaking control of their devices, digital lives, and information from big corporations. Primarily, many users explain that their reasons for deGoogling are rooted in privacy concerns.

I wasn’t able to de-Google to the degree that many committed users prefer, and by the end of my trial, I still had several Google products running in the background. I’ll talk about the reasons for this a little later. But, essentially, my main goal for this little project was never to turn my life upside down but rather to circumvent Google as much as realistically possible.

As a result, this is by no means an exhaustive guide on effectively deGoogling a smartphone or one’s digital life from top to bottom, but rather a commentary on how easy and realistic the process would be for a standard mobile phone owner. In short, it’s a study in how far I could go before the cons outweighed the pros. Honestly, considering how ingrained Google really is in my work and personal life, this was a decidedly steep challenge.

Naturally, as someone who works at Android Authority, Google is everywhere in my daily life. This presence manifests in innocuous ways, from our use of Gmail and Calendar for collaboration to our very use of Android and its myriad features for content. However, while I rely on these services, I can find alternatives to their primary apps. For the most part, this was my main goal going forward.

To start, I identified a few Google apps I’d need to replace, including Gmail, Calendar, Photos, and Google Maps. This was perhaps the easy part. I enjoy sniffing out better third-party apps, so switching out Gmail for Thunderbird wasn’t particularly challenging. For Calendar, I opted for Business Calendar 2. Maps was traded for Maps.Me. All of these alternatives are extremely polished, well-designed apps in their own right, and didn’t ruin my daily workflow to a disastrous degree. Yes, I missed several features Maps brings to light, and I sometimes pined for Gmail’s composition tricks, but I could learn to let go, albeit reluctantly.

Google Play Store is also a service I don’t lean too heavily on, which is a revelation that surprised me. This is perhaps because I’ve been using the Galaxy S24 FE for a few months now, so many of the apps I purchased are already installed on my device. If I were opting for a fresh start, I’d miss out on Buzzkill, Tasker, Meteogram Weather Widget, and other apps I’ve purchased and use daily but can no longer access. This would be a potentially game-breaking issue, especially considering the number of apps I’ve purchased that are only available via my Play Store account. Nevertheless, for Play Store duties, I leaned on Aurora Store during my test period. The likes of F-Droid and Obtanium continued their roles on my device.

Some services were far too woven into my daily life for me to give up without a fight. The best example is Android Auto. How could I possibly drop this uber-useful driver aid? On the first day, driving my partner to work and back home again, I felt lost without a Maps readout and Spotify controls on my dashboard screen. This was the one concession I simply couldn’t make. Dropping Auto is a case of a con outweighing a pro, rather than the other way around.

Then there were Google’s two major online services: Drive and Photos. The latter’s existence often slips my mind, until it reminds me of shots of sunsets I took six years ago. I can go days without remembering it’s even installed on my phone, Pixel or not. However, the job it does is so, so critical. Backing up my memories seamlessly to the cloud is something I couldn’t live without. Yes, I could consider self-hosted services like Plex Photos or Immich, but I don’t have the capacity at this point. Focus Go is a perfect replacement for simply viewing images on my phone, but it’s not a backup solution.

Drive, on the other hand, is a must-have in our household. My partner and I share a Google One family account, and that 200GB of storage holds essential items we both need. If I simply gave it up, she’d have to, too. Sure, thanks to Office, I don’t have an overwhelming need to access Docs or Sheets, but drive storage is of the utmost importance.

What about entertainment? On most days, a secondary smartphone on my desk sits quietly on a stand, streaming random critiques, podcasts, and documentary-style videos from YouTube. This process has become so seamless in my workflow that I often forget I’m even using the service.

Naturally, finding a YouTube alternative kicked up the biggest fuss for me. On the first day, I listened to downloaded audio podcasts stored on my phone. When this didn’t suffice, I opted for internet radio. Did I miss YouTube? Absolutely, but I could mostly give it up (until my partner got home from work and the smart TV flicked into life).

Interestingly, the other Google service I found myself missing after a day is Wear OS. While I have a Garmin watch kicking about somewhere, I’ve been wearing my Galaxy Watch 4 for several weeks, slowly creating a baseline of my overall health. I could rid my wrist of it, and with it Google’s services, but I’d have to repeat the process with the Garmin. That’s impractical, mainly since I rely heavily on my watch for body composition figures and sleep data.

Finally, I want to draw a thick permanent line under products I was never tempted to let go of. Find My Device is one. I absolutely couldn’t live without this service. Sure, it’s not something I use every day, but it’s one of those features I hope I never have to use. Switching it off, though, is just insane. There are alternatives on offer, even Samsung’s SmartThings Find being an option in my case, but Google’s offering brings me immense peace of mind. You wouldn’t drive without an insurance policy; I wouldn’t use an Android phone without Find My Device switched on.

Some Google apps and services were far easier to ditch than others. In many ways, I was more than happy to let some go. Rather fittingly, this includes pretty much all of Google’s AI features, namely Gemini, the myriad Pixel AI smarts, and other tech trickery like Circle to Search. For the duration of my test, I felt very little need to access any of these features, and if the AI bug did bite, I could fall back on ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Notably, the latter also served me well for news. I’ve previously detailed how I use it to craft my own daily digest using selective prompts, and it continues to work wonders in this capacity. As I’m not constantly talking to my devices like the devil on my shoulder, Gemini was among the easier products to skirt. Yes, I did accidentally call on Assistant on my Nest Mini while in the kitchen, but I quickly unplugged it. I never felt the need after this.

Sidelining NotebookLM, given its endless list of unique uses, left a chasm in my workflow. However, it isn’t a product I use daily. Over the longer term, I’d absolutely miss out on its excellent research partner features, but considering it lacks an Android app and is only easily accessible via a browser, I was able to skirt it without much thought.

Surprisingly, Google Search was remarkably easy to avoid. On Windows and Android, my web browsing workflow pivots around Mozilla Firefox, so quickly setting my default search provider to DuckDuckGo took less than a handful of seconds. It’s remarkable how good this search engine has become, too. There are several other options available. Microsoft Bing, Brave, and Ecosia are all viable, and easy enough to mark as primary options on Android, be it through a third-party browser like Firefox or their dedicated apps.

Chrome has never been at the forefront of my mobile browsing habits, making it incredibly easy to relegate, even though I believe this will be a Google app that many will hold on to with cold, dead hands. It simply isn’t the case for me. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of great Chromium browsers, like Vivaldi.

I found other Google-made apps and services incredibly easy to swat aside. Although I used a Galaxy S24 FE during this test, I could easily ditch Pixel Launcher, filling that void with something far more comprehensive and actually improving the experience on Pixel phones. I recently detailed my success running Microsoft Launcher as my default home environment on the Pixel 8.

Google widget alternatives are also easily replaced, although I did find it difficult to let go of my running recipe and grocery lists kept in Google Keep. However, as a Notion user, I migrates that content over to it instead.

Then there’s Gboard. I’ve really grown to like Google’s keyboard, but I have used well-built alternatives in the past. HeliBoard is one I found to be incredibly slick, especially if you don’t require GIF search and other AI additives. Changing the default keyboard does come with some workflow changes, which affect other actions down the line. Still, you could make massive strides to improve your privacy by using a keyboard that doesn’t constantly survey your inputs and learn your habits. If you’re resistant to completely de-Google your device, this would be a good place to start.

It took me ages to write this piece. It’s been sitting in my task list for a good few months now, but I’ve put it off mainly due to decision anxiety. See, I didn’t want to find an alternative to Gmail, Photos, Drive, or YouTube. Not using these services would wreck my workflow, and replacing a handful of other Google products actually did. But the question remains: Did I see any benefits from ridding my life of Google as far as possible?

In reality, not really. I value security and privacy, but only to the extent that it doesn’t impact my daily life. Google scanning my photos to enact some of its features isn’t a worry for me, nor is Gboard keeping tabs on my tips and taps. I’d take convenience over total control of my privacy. That’s a concession I made years ago.

That said, I don’t expect everyone on Earth to abide by this. I’m well aware that some value their privacy more than anything else, and that’s admirable. If this is your stance, you will find value in slipping your device from Google’s grasp. It’s even more realistic for those who own iPhones or Samsung devices, which offer their own suite of apps and services. Granted, you’ll have to pledge your allegiance to those companies, but at least they’re not Google, right?

For the most part, I’ve learned a few key takeaways. Some Google apps are entirely replaceable for me, with some third-party items often offering a better experience. The de-Google process helped me audit Google’s presence throughout my life, which I believe is an important thing to do occasionally. Finally, I realized that it’s okay to be reliant on some products, provided they add more value to your life than not. Ultimately, while I appreciate the de-Google movement’s vision, the process isn’t for me.

For de-Google beginners struggling to find the start line, I’d recommend you tackle this journey in phases:

1. Revisit the Google apps you use daily and uninstall those you don’t particularly need.
2. Find alternatives to the apps and services that you can afford to let go of.
3. More technical users should consider which services can be self-hosted.
4. Finally, if you’re looking to eliminate Google completely, consider installing a custom ROM devoid of any Google-adjacent services.

If you’re still overwhelmed, I’d recommend visiting the r/degoogle subreddit. It’s one of the best resources for tackling this project.

Like with anything in life, moderation is key. If you truly rely on a Google service, it’s probably not worth relinquishing.