Chapter 0: Preparations

First, confession time. These are all the ways I provide Google with my data, in exchange for an increasingly diminishing amount of convenience. Please forgive me for my sins.

1. Search 

I've actually already stopped using Google Search a while ago to avoid losing my mind (and the planet) over the "AI summary" nobody asked for. Thanks, Google.

2. Browser 

I mainly use Chrome, I've got paid plugins for tab management, I sync my profiles on multiple devices, I've got tons of passwords saved. I clearly need to access EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME.

3. Email 

I've had my Gmail account since 2006. Or rather, my Googlemail account because I registered in Germany where Gmail rebranded due to a trademark dispute. Those were the days.

4. Payments

For some reason my credit card details are stored in my Google account, and for some reason I have not yet removed them.

5. Videoconferencing

I have just switched my parents from Skype to Meet. I only have myself to blame for that but Meet is also integrated with my calendars and set up in far too many regular meetings.

6. Multi-factor Authentication

A bunch of logins, "secured" by Google Auth. Probably should be higher up the list but I bet this will be tedious and involve me trying to remember where and how I stored passkeys. And then deal with AI "customer service" chatbots. Couldn't think of a less human-centric system.

7. Calendar

I don't have a diary, my calendar is my living memory of what happened. I'm scared to count how many calendars I have set up, syncing between devices, forever reminding me of what I did, who I met, where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to do. And it's all tied to Gmail.

8. Maps

I miss Baidu Maps from when I lived in Shanghai where Google Maps was blocked. Although to be fair, Baidu's feature for "people traffic" is terrifying.
Maps might be my most used Google app. For directions, bus times, saving places for trips, looking up places I've been. This will be hard.

9. Drive 

Speaking of hard, there are 91GB of data in my GDrive. Even Google tells me that's too much (for their "basic" plan). Now I probably don't need all of it but how do I filter? Lots of documents are shared in numerous projects I'm involved in with fellow inmates / locked-in customers.

10. Photos

See 7., I don't have a diary nor a very good memory. I have a lot of photos and I do look at them on various devices.

11. Phone 

I have a Google Pixel. Because the camera is so good... This really is confession time.

12. Cloud

Just trying to find something that is harder to switch away from then my phone. Avoiding anything hosted on Google cloud definitely is.

I've ordered these "services" in assumed complexity for switching, from simple to hopefully not impossible. I'm probably wrong about this order. It doesn't matter, this needs to be done.

Please don't tell me I missed something.