In the age of ever-increasing internet usage, I think it’s more important than ever to know who is seeing the information we share (or don’t). Big tech companies such as Google and Facebook, to name a few, have been using the surveillance capitalism business model since almost day one. In short, this means instead of selling your services, they “give” them to you. In return, they collect data from you that they sell for profit. Creepy huh? So, is Facebook essential? No! (more about that later). What about Google? It’s hard to get away from them, but if you care enough, you can. Here are some ways to NOT USE GOOGLE. Google is the most used search engine in the world by far. They collect the data from your searches, sell the data for profit and improve their search engine. So, is there a viable alternative to Google Search? Yes! Duck Duck Go, a privacy-oriented company launched around 2008, is just that! A search engine that doesn’t sell YOUR data. Yes, you heard me right! They have options for windows, mac, android, and iOS. Duck Duck Go does not carry quite the convenience that Google does, but the benefits outweigh the inconveniences!
If you use Google Chrome on any device, try using FIREFOX instead. Firefox is a powerful browser that doesn’t sell YOUR data. You can install Duck Duck Go inside Firefox for the ultimate Google less browsing experience!
“Recent Update, Consider using Brave, a recent Browser option considered by most to be superior to Firefox.”
Moving on to the infamous Gmail. Google Stated in 2018 that it had about 1.5 billion users. And what would make you think they are not crawling your emails for data to sell? (after all, that’s their business) So why are you sacrificing privacy for something “free”? We have a solution for this as well. We recommend using your own private email option through a company like ours to make sure your email isn’t running through Google’s SpyGlass. This email can be personalized with your own custom domain name and doesn’t have to have @gmail at the end of the email address. This service costs a yearly fee however it’s worth it especially if you run a business, It’s almost a must. Contact us for any email and internet privacy questions!