Improve Your Privacy by Saying Goodbye to Google

It’s a fact that most of what we do online is tracked and analyzed, but did you know you can improve your privacy by switching the online services you use every day?

The fact is, every time you go online, you’re giving away a piece of your privacy and your personal information. And over time, it all adds up, especially if you’re a Google user.

Most people use Google, Microsoft and Meta services because they’re the dominant players. And sure, using Google Chrome for internet browsing, Gmail, Google search, and Google Calendar makes life convenient. We appreciate the free services they offer but they come at a price. They collect as much information about us as they can and as we allow.

Google isn’t alone. Other service providers and social media apps do the same thing. Meta (Facebook, Instagram) does, and X (formerly Twitter), and Amazon, too. Plus, text services and even cell phone providers often track messages and conversations, collecting, compiling, and monetizing the data.

These online services aren’t concerned about your privacy.

These are the everyday types of online services you use that openly collect your data:

Browsers
Email services
Search engines
Text/messaging app/service
Calendars

And they all do it, especially Google, with your permission, even if you aren’t fully aware that you agreed to it. Because, quite likely, you didn’t bother to read the privacy statement on the service provider’s website.

On her YouTube channel NBTV, Naomi Brockell talks about improving your privacy by taking six steps in a video titled “Privacy 101.” These steps involve switching the browser, search engine, text apps, and other services you use. It’s a great way to learn more about managing your digital life and improving your privacy.

You need to take back your privacy because you gave it away.

Nobody reads those privacy statements, so don’t feel bad. Like everyone else, you simply jumped in and started using the internet or sending texts without a thought about who might be collecting information about you and your usage.

Virtually every internet service you use, including social media, is compiling a profile of its users. Not only to learn our likes and dislikes and then serve up relevant content to us, but also to sell us, as a captive audience, to advertisers.

That’s where the real money and the big money Google, Microsoft, Meta and others.

We’ve given away our privacy, even if we didn’t know it.

It’s not as if online service providers are spying on you and others personally. Still, there are plenty of companies and entities that are collecting data on your digital habits. Why? To make money off us, of course. In short, it creates profiles of us and bombards us with ads based on our likes and interests.

It’s not so much that they’ve stolen our privacy or invaded it, but that we’ve allowed them access to our personal information voluntarily, if not inadvertently.

The good news is you can change that. Here’s how. It starts by using the internet and other digital services that DON’T collect personal data about you with the idea of monetizing it.

Improve your privacy by making a decision to change things up.

Sometimes, to get what you want, you simply have to make a change:

If you want better mileage, you switch to a car that offers it.
If you want gluten-free meals, you may need to switch restaurants.
And if you want to breathe clean air, you might need to move out of a big city.

In the same way, if you want to stop online services from building profiles from the data they collect and profiting from it, you can use platforms that make it a point not to collect, analyze, or utilize your data.

More than that, you’re never sure about this:

The companies that collect your personal data are selling it to marketers or data brokers.
Hackers won’t breach a company’s network and steal consumer data, including yours.

All the more reason to use services that protect your privacy.

Read the book, Privacy Crisis, by Chris Parker

Ever feel like your personal information is being exploited without your consent? Privacy Crisis is here to help you fight back. Written by Chris Parker, CEO of WhatIsMyIPAddress.com, Privacy Crisis can help you improve your privacy. It pulls back the curtain on how scammers, stalkers, greedy corporations, and political propagandists use your data against you, and shows precisely how to stop them – all without disconnecting from modern life or living like a hermit.

You can find Privacy Crisis on Amazon in paperback or Kindle Version.

You can also find more about privacy, scams, and staying safe online by visiting the Learning Center at WhatIsMyIPAddress.com. You’ll find links to articles, tools, and Easy Prey podcast transcripts and interviews.

Learning Center