In May of 2023, Google introduced “AI overviews” into their search engine. This followed years of decisions leading to worse search quality and the consummation of their mission to answer every query on Google instead of sending you to outside sites. This was upsetting but something I groaned about and then moved on.
Then, in January of 2026, Google introduced generative AI into their Gmail inboxes. For me, this was the last straw. I decided it was time to leave Google.
My email is now clean
I always thought I loved Gmail. Turns out I just had the habit of typing in “gmail.com” in my search bar. I honestly can’t tell you a single feature of Gmail that I miss.
I used to let the algorithms sort my emails, but I realized this actually sucks. This is a “feature” that Gmail touts, but when I stepped back for a second I realized it’s not something I ever wanted. I sort my emails and have filters, but I’ve never wanted an algorithm to my email for me.
I can't think of any other differentiating features in Gmail. Ads in my mail? Nostalgia?
The email service I decided to switch to is Proton. But ultimately there are tons of great non-Gmail services around, some other notable ones being Fastmail, Tuta, and Mailbox. But this isn’t an article about how to de-Google or what services you should use, and all of these services are better than Gmail.
Leaving Gmail also gave me the opportunity to start implementing better digital hygiene. I no longer give my primary email to fly-by-night sites, and I'm deliberate with what things I'm signing up for.
My inbox is so much cleaner now, and I patiently await the newsletters I’ve signed up for like a gleeful child waiting for the postman.
Searching the internet can be fun again
Similar to my habit to go to Gmail, I think the only reason I’ve been going to Google is out of habit. But Google sucks. There’s no reason to Google things anymore.
After giving them a fair shot, I think I can now honestly say that Brave and DuckDuckGo are better than Google for >90% of searches.
Leaving Google also makes finding stuff fun again. As far back as 2012, Google has tried to answer queries in a way to keep you on google, not other sites. And Google is not fun. The open web is fun.
By getting off Google and using a mix of search engines and independent sites, you are forced to make an initial conscious decision when you want to find something. You need to think not only “how do I find out this knowledge?” But “where can I find it?”
That’s a fun and fulfilling decision to make. You might still end up searching (on Brave or DuckDuckGo or Kagi or wherever, not Google), but you also may find yourself going directly to IMDB or Wikipedia or Reddit or your local news org or who knows where.
Taking Google out of things has brought me back to the yesteryears of “surfing the web” instead of just “Googling.”
It’s better.
My conscious is a tiny bit cleaner
I do my best to boycott bad things. And I fail pretty often. I still use Amazon on occasion and I can’t get off Spotify. I use Uber and DoorDash a lot more than I’d like. And I have too many Apple products/services.
Individual actions probably will not save the world, but big tech is bad, and Google is one of the worst. So it feels pretty good to have completely* cut out one of these bad companies. And it legitimately has made my life better.
Why isn’t everyone doing this?
I'm convinced the reasons people stay on Google are habit and dark patterns. Google’s services are actively worse than the alternatives, but people are forced to stay.
Google is not only the default on iOS, it’s also impossible to start a new search engine and be used on iOS. You are limited to: Google, Bing, Ecosia (which is just Bing), Yahoo (which is just Bing), and DuckDuckGo (which is also just Bing).
Google pays Apple $20 Billion a year for this sweetheart deal. That’s around an 8th of all of their profit. Similarly, Google is the default in Chrome (of course) which ~70% of people use.
So no one is really choosing to use Google Search. It’s being chosen for them.
Paying for the services you use
Google has taught us that internet services should be free. But they’re not really free. Google is one of the most profitable corporations in history. They are profiting off of you to an enormous degree.
The old adage of “if you’re not paying, you’re the product” is certainly true here. People should pay for the online services they use (I certainly do!), but I want to note that this is not an actual obstacle to getting off Google. All of the alternatives listed in this article offer free versions.
Google has convinced the world that a free product needs to be ripe with ads and privacy violations, but that’s a lie they’re peddling. Even if you can’t afford to pay for email or search or anything else, there’s still a better world out there without Google.
Social stigma
There’s a weird stigma around leaving mainstream tech.
But as someone who has switched from Google I can also say that most of that stigma was a façade. It turns out most people hate Google and are just looking for an excuse to quit. I’ve had so many conversations with people in every part of my life about how much they hate big tech.
*The woes of YouTube
I would be remiss to not mention that Google owns YouTube. My one exception to being off of Google’s products is YouTube. Unfortunately, YouTube has a virtual monopoly on online video, and at this time there truly are no real alternatives.
Unlike Google itself, YouTube operates as a platform and benefits from massive network effects. It’s impossible to quit the platform unless you want to quit the creators you watch as well.
Note:
There is hope here for the future. Several large YouTubers have started to create alternate platforms, like Curiosity Stream and Nebula and Floatplane. Spotify has started to compete on the platform level. And independent groups like Dropout have also dipped into business models closer to Streaming and News publishing.
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