When you use Google’s services, such as Search, Maps or Gmail, you share personal information about yourself with Google. “At Google, you are the product”. Google’s products are usually free because the company makes money from ads. When you use Google’s services, you agree that Google collects personal information about you and shows you ads. Some people worry about their privacy when it comes to the data they share with Google. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives to Google products.
Update: January 4, 2023
Google has managed to nestle into our daily lives to the point where they can track your every move online (and nowadays offline as well; through location features on your mobile and Google home in your living room, for example). With this, Google knows everything about you, even the things you have long since forgotten.
In addition, Google has a -at the very least- questionable privacy policy. For example, Google states that they “may use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works [….], communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any files stored on their servers.”
Google has been caught several times violating its users’ privacy and breaking promises.
And finally, it is not wise to put all your eggs in one basket.
More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of online privacy. Below are privacy-friendly Google alternatives. This list is updated regularly.
It may be that your favorite service is not listed. We only recommend services that we use ourselves.
Alternative to Google Search
When you use Google’s search engine, Google records your IP address, all your search terms, device information and often provides you with a unique identifier, which is stored in cookies.
Alternative to Gmail
Everything you do through Gmail is collected by Google – every email, attachment and image.
Alternative to Google Maps
Thanks to Google Maps, Google can track you not only online, but also when you are on the road. Fortunately, there are privacy-friendly alternatives that don’t.
Alternative to Google Translate
DuckDuckGo translate works with Microsoft to provide a translation feature. Translation jobs go through DuckDuckgo’s servers, so they remain completely anonymous.
DeepL bases its translations on neural network techniques. These make translations sound much more natural and human than most translation apps. The pro version does not save your translations.
Alternative to Google Drive
Google Drive is a convenient service that allows users to store files in the cloud. However, the cloud is not a magical place where unicorns protect your data. The cloud in this case is simply a hard drive on a server in a Google data center.
More and more people and organizations are opting for an in-house cloud solution because of security and privacy. Nextcloud is functionally similar to Google Drive and Dropbox. You can manage Nextcloud yourself, but you need some technical knowledge to do so. You can also choose to create an account with a Nextcloud provider such as thegood.cloud. There you are offered 2 Gb for free.
Cryptomator is not a cloud solution. It is an app that encrypts your files before they are uploaded to the cloud. That way you can still safely use a cloud service such as dropbox or Google Drive.
Alternative to Google Docs
Alternative to Google Forms
Alternative to YouTube
Finding a suitable alternative to YouTube is a challenge.
Invidious is a YouTube proxy that allows you to watch any YouTube video without logging in.
Alternative to Google Analytics
To track which content visitors like most, About Privacy uses Matomo instead of Google Analytics.
- Matomo (formerly Piwik)
Alternative to Google Recaptcha
For proper analysis, Google collects browser and user information and this includes:
- All cookies placed by Google on the user’s system in the past 6 months
- How many mouse clicks the user has made in the browser window (or tapped if on a touch device)
- User scrolling behavior
- The CSS of the web page
- The user’s system date and time
- The user’s IP address
- Whether the user is currently logged into their Google account
- The set language of the user’s browser
- All plug-ins installed in the user’s browser
- All JavaScript objects
- The speed at which the user completes the form
Alternative to Google Authenticator
Alternative to Google Blogger
Alternative to Google Images
The websites below are of interest to designers, bloggers and anyone looking for an image to find high-quality photos that you can and may use anywhere for free.
Alternative to Google Photos
All your photos, documents, notes and more – are private, secure, up-to-date and available on all your devices with Cryptee’s encrypted cloud. You can register even without an email address.
Cryptee offers privacy, anonymity and security.
Alternative to Google Android
Alternative to Google Play Store
Alternative to LMGTFY
lmgtfy.com (Let Me Google That For You) lets you google for someone else. So for example, instead of answering a question, you can be a smart person and answer it through Google! Of course, we recommend using let me DuckduckGo that for you.
