Google is watching you. In fact, they even got sued for doing it while you were in incognito mode.
But little things like law suits aren't going to stop them from doing it again.
They make more than enough money by serving you eerily relevant ads to make up for any fines.
So if nothing's going to stop them, well, you should just give up and throw in the towel, right?
Of course not. In part one of this series on de-googling your life,
we showed you some options to loosen Google's iron grip,
some of which you could argue are even superior to Google's services.
And we're back again with de-googled options for password management,
cloud storage, maps, ad management, and YouTube.
That's right! Five whole ways that you can give Google the finger.
Or six fingers if you count our sponsor. One of the most convenient services Google offers that you might not even think about that you're
using is also one of the most dangerous.
The password manager that is built in to Chrome and Android.
I mean, it's great on the surface. You just log into your Google account and the passwords for other sites fill in automatically
everywhere you go. Super convenient. But what happens if somebody gets into your Google account?
Not only will all of your Google services be accessible because they all use that one login,
but all of the accounts stored inside it will be exposed to.
It's kind of like a $200 for the price of one special for account hijackers.
Now, I'd get if you still want to have a Google account. That's totally fine.
But you can lower your risk by using a non-Google password manager.
Of course, it feels these days like everybody has a password manager, so which one do you trust?
Well, the ultimate in privacy is going to be hosting your own on a computer that you control
using KeyPass or Bitwarden. Both of them have been around for a while, are open source, and work on pretty much anything.
KeyPass is single device only, but Bitwarden can even sync across multiple devices.
And if you want, it can sync to the cloud as well.
If you're doing that, you might also want to consider the competition.
For a mainstream choice, we like one password. Not only does it tick all of the boxes with support for every big operating system,
pass key support, two factor codes for secure login, and more,
it also has its own twist that even if one password were to suffer a major leak,
like what happened to LastPass in 2022, there wouldn't be any danger.
When you sign up, you're given a random secret code, and that code with your password
is needed to unlock your vault anytime you log in on a new device.
What that means is even if somebody got your login credentials,
and even if they had the file with your vault in it, they can't easily decrypt your data,
at least with today's computers. Their app is pretty good too.
Moving on, Proton, the Google But For Privacy company that we brought up in part one,
also offers a password manager that's gotten really good and really quickly.
It has support for making burner emails or aliases,
two factor support, pass key support, and it very recently gained the ability to lock your vault
with a different password from your account password. Meaning, even if you're logged into your Proton account,
your passwords are still safe if, say, a nosy family member decides to look through your computer.
Now, the fine details vary, so you're going to want to try a couple of them before you settle,
but the way that they work is pretty similar across the board.
You download the app or browser extension, create an account, and start storing your passwords.
With the appropriate permissions configured on your device, just like Google's password manager, they should automatically detect when you log in
to a new website or app and offer to store your credentials.
Most of them also offer to create random passwords for you,
so you don't even have to think about what to use. Once you've decided on one you like,
you're going to need to export your passwords from your old basic manager,
and I'm going to assume it's Google Passwords here. Open it up, click the settings gear, then click export.
You'll get a CSV file that you can then import to the password manager of your choice.
For one password, you would go to your account settings, then click your name in the top right, then import.
Click either CSV file or a different password manager,
choose the vault that you want to put your passwords into, then drop the CSV into the upload box and click continue.
You can pick and choose what to carry over if you want, and when you're done, you can apply your labels.
The process is pretty much the same for the other password managers out there,
and most of them are going to have a page like one passwords with the steps that you need to follow.
No matter what you go with to manage passwords though, a two-factor app that gives you login codes is a must.
It is much more secure than getting these codes via email or especially via SMS.
Now, most password managers these days have two-factor support built in,
which is convenient, but that convenience of having everything in one place
comes with the risk of having everything in one place,
and we would strongly recommend a separate app.
But again though, which one? Our main pick is Entei Auth.
Yeah, the same Entei as in part one. It works everywhere and can either be used in the cloud with end-to-end encryption
or on a single device without the need for an account.
Entei's UI is well thought out and easy to use, plus it even shows you the next code if the current one is about to expire
so you don't have to wait for it to roll over before you start typing.
You can even pin, tag, and search your sites, which makes it a lot easier to manage a big list compared to Google Authenticator.
They call it a labor of love on their GitHub page, and it really looks like one.
Authy is another okay choice with a pleasing look and feel,
but compared to Entei, it offers only basic search, which is fine for a lot of people,
but there are a couple of things to watch out for. Their desktop app is no longer supported as of March,
and your account login is tied to your phone number by default.
So if you change your number, you will need to make sure that you update it
or you can end up locked out of your account. The good news is that recovering your account only takes a few days.
If that happens. And there's not a major security implication to this
because if someone gets access to your phone number, they would also need your backup password in order to get your codes.
Now, if you want to use something other than those two options, that's probably fine.
Just make sure that it's encrypted and secure if it synchronizes across devices,
or that it never leaves your phone. Whatever you use, the way to add codes is pretty much the same.
Go to the site or app you want to secure, enable two-factor authentication,
then on your app, tap add and scan the QR code.
Enter the code the app gives you into the site, and you should be good to go.
Just please make sure you put your recovery codes somewhere safe,
and not in your password manager if you can avoid it.
If you can't scan the QR code, by the way, for some reason, most sites and apps will let you manually type a secret key instead.
Now migrating from Google Authenticator is a little tricky, but not too bad.
You can export your codes as QR codes by tapping the hamburger menu,
then transfer accounts, then export. Select the accounts you want to transfer,
and you'll get a series of QR codes. At this point, though, you will need another device with a camera
that is logged in with the authenticator that you want to use, and then you can use the import function.
In Entaeoth, you get thereby tapping the hamburger menu, then data, then import codes.
Choose Google Authenticator, then scan the codes.
One by one. Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, because Google expects you to only ever do this
if you're upgrading to a new device, but once it's done, it's done, and you're free!
Free to go anywhere you like! As long as you don't mind big Google following you around.
That's right, Google Maps is so dominant
that when Apple Maps came out in 2012, many people considered it literally unusable,
in spite of Apple's efforts, because of how poorly it compared
to Google's worldwide fleet of vehicles that maps out the roads and takes photos as they go.
Now, one popular alternative used to be Waze, but that has also been owned by Google since 2013.
Apple Maps, speaking of, finally launched a web app.
It went into beta, actually, the day that we wrote this, and, bang, or even MapQuest,
can stand in for Google Maps in a pinch. But in the spirit of de-Googling,
we kind of wanted to find something a little more open,
like OpenStreetMap, which makes maps from user submissions
and has support for front-ends that include some pretty advanced features.
Magic Earth, for example, is available on iOS and Android,
and on top of offering turn-by-turn navigation and crowdsourced traffic data,
it can also act as a smart dash cam with driver assistance to warn of things like
forward collision, stop-and-go traffic, lane departure, traffic signs, and more.
Now, you probably don't want to rely on those features for safety,
and we did encounter some odd behavior, even just in the basic search functionality,
but it's free for personal use, so I'd say it's at least worth giving it a try.
And the same goes for OSAMand. It has many of the features that Magic Earth does,
but also offers plugins to enhance its functions
beyond even Google Maps. The only problem is that what I would call
18643 52 Avenue becomes 52 Avenue 18643 Euro-style,
and I'm not allowed to just type in AVE.
It has to be Avenue. I mean, look, you can learn to live with it,
but I can also see why most North Americans don't bother.
One last option is to use a search engine like DuckDuckGo or Coggy, who we talked about in part one.
Both use Apple Maps, though Coggy offers other sources too,
and while neither has the features or tight integration Google does,
Coggy offers the option to start navigating via Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze,
so that you can, I don't know, use Coggy to search
and then just use Google to... Okay, maybe it's mostly only useful for trip planning
rather than day-to-day navigation. Now for a big one.
Google Drive is so common for cloud storage that for a long time,
we even used Google's lax storage limits to back up our entire petabyte server.
It's convenient, especially to quickly share files, and their privacy policy claims that they encrypt your data
and don't use it for advertising, so a secondary Google account just for Drive
could be an option if you don't mind some Google in your life.
You know, like a cheat day. We are de-Googling,
and that means exploring other options. There's the big ones, like Dropbox, iCloud Drive,
and OneDrive, who all also offer encrypted storage
and even extras like protected vaults that require a password to access.
But if your email is also with the company you're using for storage,
you need to be careful what you store there in case of a data breach.
One way that you can make sure that you're secure is to encrypt your files locally on your computer
using something like CryptoMater. Then you can sync those files to any cloud storage you like,
though you won't be able to easily share anything uploaded this way unless you also share your encryption key.
If you want something a little different, then there are other options like ProtonDrive.
We mentioned these guys earlier and in part one with their email service.
And while keeping all of our eggs in one basket is one of the reasons that we're skipping out on Google,
Proton offers the ability to use a secondary password
to unlock your data after logging in, again,
to prevent someone with access to your computer from digging through your stuff.
Proton's biggest problem, though, is that you can't purchase more storage
than they offer in their plans. And if you're not on a family plan,
that limits you to just 500 gigs, even at the ultimate tier.
Now, they do sometimes allow you to upgrade to their older visionary plan
that gives you multiple terabytes of storage, but you're forced to subscribe on an annual basis
for a pretty hefty sum. Still, if you're not backing up massive amounts of data,
ProtonDrive is very Google-like, but not run by Google.
Of course, it's not run by you either, is it? And if you've got the hardware to run it,
whether it's a spare or dedicated, that's where ownCloud and NextCloud come in.
Both of these will need you to forward ports on your router or install a remote network access app like Tailscale
in order to access or share your files away from home, but for your trouble,
you get way more control than you do with a cloud storage company.
Both of them are free to download open-source software with paid extras.
OwnCloud is tuned more for our professional setting with Teams, while NextCloud has a host of features
that might appeal more to home users, including a TrueNAS plugin that makes it easier
to set up on a network storage PC that you might already be running.
The last big drive alternative we'll talk about is the Swiss Post Services Trezorit.
It's favored by governments and NGOs for its strong privacy and security,
making it a great choice for the paranoid, and on top of that,
it's actually a pretty good service in its own right. It even provides a plugin
if you want to stick to using Gmail and has apps for every major OS,
even a Linux terminal app for your NAS. The files you upload and share are end-to-end encrypted,
and if you're extra paranoid, you can also require the person on the other end
to verify their email address before they're allowed to download it.
All of this comes at a cost, though, with the free version only providing
three gigabytes of total storage and the biggest package coming in at four terabytes
and costing significantly more than Google's options,
though I guess you get what you pay for. Now, speaking of paying for things,
I've made my position clear that the ads on ad-supported content are the price
and that blocking them is pretty much piracy,
but I've also made it clear many times that I'm not gonna tell you what you should do,
and the reality of it is a lot of you are gonna pirate,
so as your friendly neighborhood tech tips man, it's my responsibility to show you the right way to do it,
starting with DNS. We talked about DNS in part one
and several services offer the ability to add content filters to their responses.
These are great for apps that normally wouldn't be able to use Adblock
and they can even block ads in mobile apps.
Again, you can learn more about that in part one, which we'll link down below.
The problem with these services is that they limit the number of lookups
that you get per month, and after that, you've gotta pay.
That's where Pyhole comes in. Pyhole lets you run your own DNS filter at home
using whichever servers you like, not just those filtering ones,
and it's pretty straightforward to set up. We did a whole video on it a few years ago,
and I'm just gonna link that down below since it really hasn't changed much.
So once you've got it set up, just make sure you don't forget the step
to adjust your router settings, both so that your Pyhole has a reserved IP address
that doesn't change, and to make sure that that address is the DNS server
that your router points all the devices on your network to.
As for ad blocking on the web, if you're running Brave,
one of the browsers that we featured last time, the built-in shields feature is pretty decent,
and I would probably just stick with that since anything else is gonna make you stand out
like a sore thumb among Brave users, making you much easier to identify and track,
even if you're using a VPN. For everyone else,
you block origin seems to be by far the best option these days.
It offers a default filter that will block most ads on the internet,
and that allows you to manually allow content from ad delivery networks or domains
that you trust or want to support. You can use custom filters to fine-tune your experience,
just be aware that adding too many filters can actually slow down your browser rather than speed it up,
so try not to overdo it. Another cool function of Ublock Origin
is that it can handle JavaScript blocking, which can reduce your computer's chance
of getting infected with malware. Ublock Origin is available for desktop browsers
based on Chromium or Firefox that can accept extensions,
and it can be installed manually if you're not able to use their extension stores
for some reason or another. It should be noted though that by this time in 2025, manifest V3's requirements
are going to break it for browsers based on Chromium if nothing changes.
In that case then, there's Ublock Lite, which has the core feature of blocking ads
with filter lists, but doesn't offer the ability to choose, for example,
whether and when to enable JavaScript on a given site.
Desktop Safari users, meanwhile, basically just have access to the extensions
that are available in the app store, just like on mobile. So for them, I'd say AdGuard is a pretty good choice for both.
It can do a lot of the basic things that Ublock Lite does,
but with some extra customizations available. Just remember to enable it in the extension section
under Safari settings menu, and allow it to access all sites.
Now, since some schools and workplaces
have rules against installing ad blockers, you may not be able to do so.
The good news is you can get most of the way there by disabling JavaScript on your browser here.
Then, as you find sites that need it, you can allow them one by one like this.
It is an extra step, but doing this can even get you past some paywalls
and speed up your browser while also removing one of the common ways
that malware can get into your system, and one of the common ways that Google tracks you online.
Now for the bid one, the site that you are almost certainly using right now,
YouTube. One way out is to hope that your favorite creators
are using some alternative video hosting site,
subflow planers, woo! But let's be realistic,
most creators aren't, and even if they were, most of their viewers aren't going to follow them there.
So, what do you do?
Well, one option is to download videos using one of these tools and watch them offline.
You'd still have to browse YouTube to discover content though, which would give Google lots of juicy information
about your preferences. So, how about an app?
Like FreeTube, LibreTube, or Yati.
These apps hook into YouTube for realsies, get around the almighty algorithm,
do not display Google's ads or trackers, and if you import your subscriptions
by using Google Takeout, you might even get notified when there are new videos on your feed.
Now, importing from Google Takeout sounds hard, but it's actually pretty easy.
Just log into your Google account dashboard, go to data and privacy,
then scroll down to download your data and choose what you'd like to export.
In this case, you would deselect all, then check YouTube and YouTube music.
Click the all YouTube data included link and select only what you want to download.
For these apps, all we need are the history and subscriptions,
and history is actually optional. If you do want it,
just make sure you go to multiple formats and choose JSON for history.
Once you're satisfied, click Next, optionally choose to have this data exported periodically
or just once, then click Create Export.
Depending on the amount of data, it could take some time, but eventually you'll get an email with a download link.
You can then unzip it and import everything into your front end.
In FreeTube, you'll find it under Data Settings. For Android users, there's GreyJay and NewPipe.
They hook into popular streaming services, including YouTube,
with plug-in support that promises to add even more services in the future.
Everything shows up on your feed and they store your playback history,
subscriptions, and your playlists locally on your phone or tablet.
There's no iOS or desktop app for either, though, and according to the FAQ,
there isn't going to be one anytime soon. If that's a problem for you,
you can also just run your own YouTube using NVIDIAs,
which lets you fully customize the way that pages look if you know how.
You can even use those other apps with it. Now, like the Cirque search engine from part one,
public NVIDIA servers do exist, but using them means that you are trusting
that the people running them aren't just gonna track you like Google does,
or even insert malware. For that reason, it's best to use Tor
or a virtual private network, like our frequent sponsor PIA,
who we're gonna have linked down below, to hide your IP address
whenever you're connecting to servers that you don't own. Since the ones listed on the NVIDIA site
must have no analytics, that makes one fewer way
that you can be tracked online. However, these servers are not guaranteed
to be as reliable as YouTube's. I mean, say whatever you want about YouTube,
it rarely goes down. But what if there were another way?
Okay, this is funny. As it turns out, you don't need anything extra
or any weird workarounds to watch YouTube without ads.
And I'm not kidding when I say this is actually a weird trick.
Try this right now. Open up a private window or a browser that you don't use very much.
And then go to Bing. Copy the address of this video right now
and paste it into Bing. Then click on the thumbnail somewhere around here,
and what, what? Where's the ad?
You're not signed into Bing or YouTube. And assuming you used a random browser
that you don't usually use, you've got no ad block active.
So yeah, you need to put up with Bing's crummy interface,
but either Microsoft is paying Google to be able to show YouTube videos
on Bing without any ads, or maybe neither of them ever noticed
because no one uses Bing. Either way, I don't know.
Free YouTube premium, let's go Bing!
All right, that's not really a reasonable alternative to YouTube.
And like those alternative front-ends and those apps,
it's just YouTube with extra steps still. And if Google decides to get rid of them,
they will all disappear. But for now, we've at least given you some options
to enjoy your favorite creators without giving Google quite as much information.
Of course, we aren't done yet. And for part three, we'd like to hear from you guys.
What services do you recommend? What Google services do you want to stop using?
Let us know down below, while I let you know about our sponsor.
If you guys enjoyed this video, go check out part one of this series
for more on how you too can rid yourself of the Alphabet Company.
Anything sounds ominous when you say it like that.