These are the questions we hear most from people leaving Google, answered briefly and checked against Google’s own pages, court and regulator decisions, and the providers’ sites. For the full plan in order, start with the step-by-step guide.
Getting Started
What Does Degoogling Mean?
Degoogling means replacing Google’s products with alternatives you choose, such as a different search engine and browser, a new email address, other homes for your files and photos, and sometimes a phone without Google’s software. People do it for privacy, to avoid Google’s AI features, to see fewer ads, or so that one locked account can’t take everything with it. Most people keep a few Google services, and that still counts. Our step-by-step guide puts it in order.
Is Degoogling Worth It?
The first steps are cheap enough that they usually are. Changing your search engine, browser and Google Account settings takes about an hour and costs nothing. Moving your email off Gmail takes longer and matters most, because your Gmail address is the key to most of your other accounts. Going further, to a new phone or self-hosted services, is optional, and partial degoogling still counts. See the guide.
Where Do I Start Degoogling?
Start with an inventory of the Google services and Google-linked accounts you actually use. Then do the quick wins (search engine, browser, tracking settings), move your passwords and 2FA codes into apps you control, and move email next. Leave the phone for last. Our free scan builds the inventory from files you download from Google yourself, in your browser, without uploading anything.
How Long Does It Take to Degoogle?
The quick wins take about an hour, plus 30 to 60 minutes each to move passwords and 2FA codes. Email takes a weekend of setup, then at least 12 months of forwarding while you update accounts as mail arrives. Photos take 2 to 4 hours of work, plus up to a week of transfer for big libraries. A complete exit can take a year or more, which is normal. The guide gives a time for every task.
How Much Does It Cost to Degoogle?
Most swaps are free, including Brave or Firefox, Brave Search or DuckDuckGo, CoMaps, NewPipe and FreeTube, Signal, Bitwarden and Ente Auth. Email is the first thing worth paying for, at about $4–5/month for Proton Mail Plus (Oct 2026). If you also need room for files and photos, Proton Unlimited is about $9.99/month billed yearly for mail plus 500 GB. A new phone is optional. Compare options in alternatives.
How Do I Find Out What Google Knows About Me?
Open myactivity.google.com to see the activity saved to your account, and myaccount.google.com/linkedapps to see which apps and sites are connected to it. On takeout.google.com, Google pre-selects every product that holds your data, which gives you a quick list. For the full picture, download a Takeout and read it with our scan, which works in your browser and uploads nothing.
Phones and Android
Can You Use Android Without a Google Account?
Yes. You can skip the Google account during setup or remove it later under Settings > Passwords & accounts (the name varies by phone). Without it, the Play Store can’t install or update apps, so use F-Droid, Obtainium or Aurora Store instead. Contacts stored only in the Google account disappear from the phone when you remove it, so export them first. Google Play services usually stays installed and still talks to Google. Once Google’s developer verification covers all apps, which Google plans worldwide for 2027, a stock phone needs a one-time “advanced flow” setup, with a 24-hour wait, to install apps from unverified developers. More in degoogled phones.
How Do I Remove Google From My Android Phone?
Install your replacement apps first, set the digital assistant to None in your default-apps settings, and disable the Google apps you’ve replaced. Chrome (once another browser is your default), Gmail, YouTube, Photos, Drive, Maps, the Google app and Gemini are usually safe to disable; leave Google Play services, Android System WebView and Google Play system updates on. Then remove the Google account. This takes 60 to 90 minutes and needs no root or new operating system. See degoogled phones.
Can You Degoogle an iPhone?
Yes, and it’s the easiest phone to degoogle, because iOS has no Google services built in. Change Safari’s search engine, remove your Gmail account from the Mail settings, delete the Google apps, and move your photos (Google offers a direct transfer to iCloud Photos). You’re trusting Apple instead, which fits people whose goal is less Google rather than maximum privacy. There’s no good third-party YouTube app on iOS, so watch signed out in the browser. More in degoogled phones.
What Is the Best Degoogled Phone?
For most people, a Google Pixel 8 or newer running GrapheneOS, except the Pixel 11 series, which GrapheneOS doesn’t support (October 2026). GrapheneOS runs only on Pixels, from the Pixel 6 through the Pixel 10 series, and it supports sandboxed Google Play for app compatibility. Skip the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, whose support ends in October 2026, and carrier-locked Pixels. If you’d rather not install anything, Murena sells phones with /e/OS preinstalled, such as the Fairphone 6 for about $650 (Oct 2026). Motorola phones with GrapheneOS are expected in 2027, so don’t wait for one if you need a phone now. Compare models and prices in best degoogled phones, and see every path in degoogled phones.
Do Banking Apps Work on GrapheneOS?
Most do, as long as you install sandboxed Google Play. Apps that require Google’s Play Integrity “device integrity” check refuse to run, and some apps break after an update. Check your bank on the PrivSec.dev compatibility list before you switch. GrapheneOS supports hardware attestation and publishes a guide asking app developers to allow it, so ask your bank. Keep web banking as a fallback. See degoogled phones.
Does Google Pay Work on GrapheneOS?
Plan on Google Wallet tap-to-pay not working on GrapheneOS, or on microG-based systems such as /e/OS, because it depends on Play Integrity checks those systems don’t pass. A contactless card works everywhere, and a watch wallet such as Garmin Pay is another option. Some European banks offer their own tap-to-pay apps. If paying with your phone is essential, an iPhone with Apple Pay or a cleaned-up stock Android phone is the safer choice. Our Google Wallet alternatives page covers payments, loyalty cards and boarding passes.
Does Android Auto Work on GrapheneOS?
Yes, officially. Install Android Auto from the GrapheneOS App Store; it needs sandboxed Google Play, and you grant its permissions under Settings > Apps > Sandboxed Google Play > Android Auto. Wired use needs much less access than wireless. Only apps installed from the Play Store show up in the car. On microG-based systems support is partial, so test before relying on it. Our GrapheneOS guide covers the setup.
Can You Get Notifications Without Google Play Services?
Partly. Many apps send notifications through Google’s push service, which lives in Play services. On GrapheneOS, sandboxed Google Play delivers them while running as an ordinary app with “absolutely no special access or privileges”; give it a battery-optimization exception. microG, used by /e/OS and CalyxOS, also handles push, still through Google’s servers. Apps that support UnifiedPush, such as Element, Tusky, DAVx⁵ and the Signal fork Molly, can deliver notifications with no Google involved. More in degoogled phones.
What Are F-Droid and Aurora Store?
F-Droid is an app store for free, open-source apps that it builds from their source code; its rewritten 2.0 app came out on 24 September 2026. Aurora Store is an open-source app that downloads Play Store apps without a Google account, though its anonymous logins sometimes stop working. Obtainium installs apps straight from their developers’ release pages. Google’s developer verification applies to stock Android phones, not to GrapheneOS or other custom systems. So far it checks only installs from Google Play and other participating stores in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and Google plans to cover all apps worldwide in 2027. See degoogled phones, and compare the stores in Google Play Store alternatives.
Email and Accounts
How Do I Switch From Gmail to Another Email Address?
Open the new mailbox first, then set Gmail to forward to it under See all settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Import your old mail with your new provider’s tool, such as Proton’s Easy Switch or Fastmail’s Gmail import. Then change the email address on your accounts, starting with your bank, government services and anything that recovers other accounts. Keep forwarding on for at least 12 months, so yearly senders turn up once. The full walkthrough is in move from Gmail, and we have step-by-step guides for Gmail to Proton Mail and Gmail to Tuta.
Can I Delete Gmail but Keep My Google Account?
Yes. At myaccount.google.com/deleteservices, choose Gmail and enter a non-Gmail address, which becomes your new Google sign-in. You keep your activity, Play purchases and access to services like YouTube and Drive, while Gmail deletes your emails and settings after 30 days. Your Gmail address can’t be used by anyone in the future. This is also how to get rid of Gmail but keep YouTube. See delete your Google account.
What Happens If I Delete My Google Account?
Your email, files, calendars, photos and other content are deleted, and your Google Play and YouTube purchases and subscriptions go with them. On Android you can no longer get or update Play apps, and contacts stored only in the account are lost. If you’re the primary owner of a YouTube channel, deleting the account deletes the channel too. Sites where you used Sign in with Google stop letting you in that way, and Google allows recovery only for a short time it doesn’t specify. Read delete your Google account first.
Will Google Delete My Account If I Stop Using It?
It may. Google’s policy says a personal account not used for 2 years can be deleted along with its content. Reading email, watching YouTube and using Sign in with Google all count as use, and accounts with a subscription, a digital purchase or a gift-card balance are treated as active. Abandoning an account is therefore not a reliable way to delete it, so delete it on purpose or set a plan at myaccount.google.com/inactive. More in delete your Google account.
How Do I Stop Using “Sign in With Google” on a Site?
First give the site another way in by changing its email to your new address and setting a password, or by using its “forgot password” link while Gmail still works. Then go to myaccount.google.com/linkedapps, filter Sign in with Google, choose the site and click See details > Stop using Sign in with Google > Confirm. Google says this doesn’t delete your data in the app. Some apps allow only one sign-in method, so ask them before you unlink. See replace Sign in with Google.
How Do I Move Google Authenticator to Another App?
Install the new app first; our default is Ente Auth, and Aegis is a good offline choice on Android. In Google Authenticator, open the menu and tap Transfer codes, then Export codes. It shows one or more QR codes, and you scan each one with the new app. Test every account before deleting anything, turn on the new app’s encrypted backup and keep each site’s recovery codes somewhere safe. Bank apps, Steam and Microsoft push approvals have to be set up again separately. See Google Authenticator alternatives, or follow our Google Authenticator to Aegis walkthrough on Android.
How Do I Export My Passwords From Google?
In Chrome on a computer, go to chrome://password-manager/settings, click Export passwords, then Download file. On Android, Chrome’s Google Password Manager settings have Export passwords & passkeys. The CSV file contains every password in plain text, so import it into your new password manager, such as Bitwarden, and delete it straight away. Passkeys aren’t in the CSV, so create new ones in the new manager. The guide explains why passwords come before email.
How Do I Move My Photos off Google Photos?
Export Google Photos with Takeout, download every part and unzip them all into one folder. Dates, locations and descriptions sit in separate JSON files, so import with a tool that reads them, such as Ente’s desktop app or immich-go for Immich; copying only the image files can scramble your timeline. iPhone users can use Google’s direct transfer to iCloud Photos, which keeps that information. Check photo counts per year before you delete anything from Google. See how to move off Google Photos step by step, with full walkthroughs for Ente Photos and Immich.
What Google Does With Your Data
Does Google Sell Your Data?
Google’s privacy policy doesn’t describe selling personal data. It says Google doesn’t share your personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside Google, and then lists exceptions. What Google sells is advertising, which brought in 73% of Alphabet’s 2025 revenue (about $295 billion), and your activity helps choose the ads you see unless you turn personalized ads off. Regulators have fined Google over consent for this, including €325 million from France’s CNIL in 2025 for ads inside Gmail and ad cookies set without valid consent. See turn off Google tracking.
Does Google Read Your Emails?
Google’s systems process your messages for Gmail’s “smart features”, such as inbox categories, Smart Compose, summary cards and Gemini features in Gmail, and these are on by default in many accounts. Google says it does not use Gmail content to train its Gemini AI model. You can switch smart features off under See all settings > General, which also turns off Gemini features in Gmail. Separately, France’s CNIL fined Google in 2025 for showing ads styled as emails in Gmail’s Promotions and Social tabs without consent. See turn off Google tracking.
Does Google Train AI on My Data?
It depends on the product. For the Gemini app, Google says it “uses your activity to provide, develop, and improve its services (including training generative AI models),” that human reviewers read a subset of chats, and that reviewed chats are kept for up to three years. If you turn Keep Activity off at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini, new chats are kept with your account for 72 hours. Google’s privacy policy also says it may use information that’s publicly available online to train its AI models. For Gmail, Google says it does not use your email content to train Gemini. See turn off Google tracking, and compare more private assistants in Gemini alternatives.
Does Google Listen to Your Conversations?
Google’s privacy policy says it “records your voice and audio plus a few seconds before the activation” when you use voice features, and that it may “analyze and listen to samples of saved user audio.” To limit this, untick Include voice and audio activity under Web & App Activity at myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols. On Android, also set the digital assistant to None in your default-apps settings, so pressing or long-pressing the power button no longer opens Google’s assistant. See turn off Google tracking. Nest speakers and displays also link your voice commands to your Google account, and our Google Home alternatives page covers a voice assistant that can run on your own hardware.
Does Google Track You in Incognito Mode?
Incognito mainly stops Chrome from saving your history on your own device. A class action argued that Google still collected data from Incognito browsing, and to settle it in 2024 Google agreed to delete billions of browsing records, rewrite its Incognito disclosures and let users block third-party cookies in Incognito for five years, without paying damages to the class. For less tracking in every window, use a browser that blocks trackers, such as Brave or Firefox with uBlock Origin. Compare browsers in Chrome alternatives.
Does Google Track Your Location When It’s Turned Off?
What used to be Location History is now called Timeline, is stored on your phone and is off by default. Other settings can still record where you are. Google’s help pages say location can be saved through Web & App Activity, and its privacy policy says it can work out your location from your IP address and from nearby Wi-Fi networks, cell towers and Bluetooth devices. In September 2026, Ireland’s data protection regulator fined Google €403 million over how it collected and kept users’ location data in 2018–2020. To limit this, turn off Timeline, Web & App Activity and, on Android, Google Location Accuracy; see turn off Google tracking.
Why Do People Say Google Is Bad for Privacy?
Mostly because of how Google makes money and what courts and regulators have found. More than 70% of Alphabet’s revenue comes from advertising, and Google’s privacy policy lists what it collects, from search terms and videos watched to location from GPS and your IP address. In 2025 a US jury ordered Google to pay $425 million for collecting app data from people who had switched off Web & App Activity, and in 2024 a US federal court ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in search; Google has appealed the search ruling and said it will appeal the verdict. Google points users to the controls in their account to review and limit what it keeps. Our guide starts with those controls.
How Do I Stop Google From Tracking Me?
Start in your Google Account. Turn off Web & App Activity, Timeline and YouTube history at myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols, set Personalized ads to Off at myadcenter.google.com, and turn off Gemini Keep Activity. Then switch your search engine and browser, and sign out of Chrome. On Android, delete the advertising ID and turn off Google Location Accuracy. Moving your email and logins off Google is what ends the link to your account for good. See turn off Google tracking.
Choosing Alternatives
What Is the Most Private Search Engine?
Our default is Brave Search, which runs its own index, needs no account and is free. DuckDuckGo is the easiest familiar switch, and Startpage gives you Google’s results without Google’s cookies. Kagi has no ads and is the community’s highest-rated engine, but it costs money ($5/month for 300 searches or $10/month for unlimited, Oct 2026). For maximum privacy, technical users self-host SearXNG. Compare them in Google Search alternatives.
Is DuckDuckGo Owned by Google?
No. DuckDuckGo is run by its own US company, Duck Duck Go, Inc. Its help pages say it sources its traditional links and images “largely” from Microsoft’s Bing. Typing a !g shortcut sends that one search to Google. Startpage is the private engine that shows Google’s results, fetched without Google’s cookies; it’s run by the Dutch company Surfboard Holding B.V., in which US ad-tech firm System1 took a stake in 2019. See DuckDuckGo vs Google Search and Google Search alternatives.
Is Firefox Funded by Google?
Largely, by most reports, through search deals. Mozilla reportedly earns most of its revenue from royalties paid by the search engines set as a default or option in Firefox, and Google is widely reported to be the biggest of them. In 2025 the judge in the US search case declined to ban this kind of default-search payment. Changing Firefox’s default engine under Settings > Search stops your searches going to Google; see Chrome alternatives.
Is Brave Safe to Use?
Brave is a mainstream browser built on Chromium, the same code as Chrome, with ad and tracker blocking built in, and Brave reports 128 million monthly users (Sept 2026). Because the blocking is part of the browser, it doesn’t depend on the extension rules that ended uBlock Origin in Chrome. Critics object to its crypto wallet, Rewards program and Leo AI assistant, all of which you can turn off, and some privacy communities don’t recommend it partly for those reasons. If that bothers you, use Firefox with uBlock Origin. See Brave vs Chrome and Chrome alternatives.
Is Proton Mail Really Private?
Proton is a Swiss company, majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation since 2024. Proton says it stores your mail with zero-access encryption, and messages between Proton users are end-to-end encrypted; mail you exchange with Gmail users still passes through Google on their side. In 2025 Proton’s CEO threatened to leave Switzerland over a proposed expansion of Swiss surveillance rules, and Proton announced investment outside the country. The free plan has 1 GB of storage, and Mail Plus costs about $4.99/month, or $3.99/month billed yearly (Oct 2026). We set it against Gmail in Proton Mail vs Gmail and against other providers in Gmail alternatives.
Is Tuta Better Than Proton?
It depends on what you need. Tuta encrypts more, including subject lines, has used post-quantum encryption since 2024, is based in Germany and costs less (Revolutionary is €3/month billed yearly). On the other hand, it has no IMAP, so you can only use Tuta’s own apps, importing old mail requires the Legend plan or higher, and free accounts are deleted after 6 months without a login. Proton makes the move from Gmail easier with Easy Switch and offers a larger suite. Both are covered in Gmail alternatives.
Is Apple Better Than Google for Privacy?
On the data a phone sends home, measurements favor Apple. A 2021 Trinity College Dublin study found that idle Android and iOS phones both contacted their maker about every 4.5 minutes, even after the user opted out of telemetry, and that the Android phone sent about 20 times more data; Google disputed that comparison. An iPhone also has no Google services at the system level, and Advanced Data Protection gives you end-to-end encrypted iCloud, although new UK users can’t turn it on. You are still relying on one large company and closed software. See degoogled phones.
Are There Google Alternatives Without AI?
Yes, and several let you switch AI off entirely. Vivaldi has refused to add AI to its browser, Firefox has a single switch that turns off its AI features, and Brave Search lets you turn off AI answers. On the Google side, turning off Gmail’s smart features and Gemini Keep Activity removes much of the AI that touches your data while you migrate. If you still want a chatbot, our Gemini alternatives page compares private ones. Browse by category in alternatives.
What Are European Alternatives to Google?
Several of our picks are European. Proton is Swiss; Tuta, Posteo and Filen are German; Vivaldi is Norwegian, and Organic Maps is run from Estonia. Ecosia (Germany) and Qwant (France) run a shared European search index that now answers most of Ecosia’s French traffic and started serving German results in July 2026, though elsewhere their results still come from Bing and Google. Deezer and Qobuz are French options for music, and Mistral Vibe (formerly Le Chat) is a French AI assistant. DeepL, from Germany, is our pick in Google Translate alternatives, and the EU’s Copernicus Browser leads our Google Earth alternatives. DNS4EU, an EU-backed resolver, is one of our Google DNS alternatives, and Kiwi.com and AZair, both Czech, are among our Google Flights alternatives. For businesses, Infomaniak kSuite (Switzerland) is one of our Google Workspace alternatives, and Hetzner (Germany) and OVHcloud (France) are among our Google Cloud alternatives. See alternatives.