How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon | Hacker News Reader

How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon

motherboard.vice.com

16 pointsLopRabbit11 comments

I use an iPad for most of my reading. I purchase often on Amazon because of the convenience. I use Windows on my gaming computer and a Mac for work. I Googled a French toast recipe to make my 4 year old French toast this morning.

I can’t imagine quitting all of these companies, although I don’t use Facebook since I don’t see the utility. I don’t think these specific companies that I do use are particularly nefarious or definitely not anymore than my insurance provider, local grocery stores company, car manufacturer (I own a ‘12 Elantra), mortgage servicer, etc.

Crapping on them or making them some kind of evil monsters appears to be the rage these days. I saw an article in the Washington Post about Amazon selling facial recognition to law enforcement, as if Amazon was literally part of some plot to strip Americans of their civil rights. On the other hand, companies like Lockheed Martin have billion dollar contracts with foreign governments who actively bomb civilians.

IMO it’s a combination of a bunch of fake or otherwise misplaced outrage but I digress.

I'd like to hear about other Hacker News readers experiences trying to quit the "Big 5"! What do you do if your spouse/friends/work aren't on board?

On my phone I just use a throwaway google account, mainly to access the play store for apps. I do have a VNC client (bVNC), very handy if I need something on the PC.

For the PC I try to avoid using anything by MS except the OS itself and the usual simple apps like Notepad, Paint. I do have a Google account but mainly for email; after the Gmail redesign I'm giving Eudora a try(!) love the quaint but effective UI.

Don't have Facebook, very rarely shop on Amazon, don't have any Apple stuff. I haven't starved yet... :¬)

BTW on HN I try and avoid the usual FAANG articles, and pay more attention to the stuff that falls into the cracks, for me that's where the gems lie.

(However HN can be too much of a good thing, so I try and only skim it for articles very first thing in the morning, then read a few of them throughout the day.)

Apple: It's easy not to directly use the Apple products. But my friend, colleagues, service providers use it. So although I'm not directly using the Apple products, my private information still captured by Apple. Do I have to boycott them too?

Microsoft: I can live without directly using Microsoft product. But do I have to refuse the websites and service hosted on Azure? Avoid people who use Microsoft products? Also, Microsoft made a lot of code contribution to Linux kernel. Do I have to boycott the Linux kernel too?

Google: Like how? Most of the network traffic goes through Google even if you don't use Google products and service directly. I have to boycott the Internet itself in order to quit the Google.

Facebook: The only company in the Big 5 I can practically avoid whether directly or indirectly.

Amazon: Again, I have to boycott all the service which relies on AWS. That's pretty impossible. First of all, If you are using LVFS(Linux Vendor Firmware Service), which most GNU/Linux distributions use, you're relies on AWS.

I've decided to quit as much as possible the big 5, given I can find common sense, functional alternatives.

Then I've also made the exception for work, which relies heavily on Google services (Gmail, cal, drive), and GitHub. As far as I'm concerned, that's their data (the company) not mine, so it's their choice and responsibility.

For personal life, family and friends, I've simply quit everything. I use Protonmail, wire chat and sms, nextcloud, bitbucket, duckduckgo and Linux mint. I've let everyone know that they can always reach me (email, sms) but if they want more convenient than they should move to a more secure than app (that also isn't run by the big 5). In most cases, everyone has followed, so I've even done a little good for the community.

I've supported the librem 5 as soon as it was Kickstarter and plan to move to it entirely when I receive it. I ran lineage OS with microg for a while, but that phone broke and my new one (Moto c plus, incredible hardware for the price btw) can't even have a custom ROM easily. So I'm running normal android, which is bad but temporary.

By quitting Amazon, Do I have to boycott the websites hosted on AWS?

If you are sane person who read all contracts you sign, you will never want to own a cellphone. At least, in my country(Japan), I can't find a cellphone and wireless network who honors my privacy. So naturally I don't owning a cellphone right now.

But my daily living relies heavily on people who get their job done by using their cellphone. So my boycotting of cellphone means nothing since most of my private activities such as shopping indirectly handled by these untrustworthy cellphone and its network.

If you really want to quit headline companies, You have to go living in a off-grid area, with self-contained life down to the farming or hunter-gathering, always hire a proxy person when you want modern civilized items because acquiring these items requires you to indirectly use Big 5.

Why don't you use apps that encrypt text and Skype or any other encrypted call apps instead?

I'm really stoked about the Librem 5 project[1], which if you're not aware, is a privacy-centric cell phone based on Linux. It obviously doesn't solve the carrier issue, but it at least gets you away from Google and Apple.

I actually rarely use my phone for calls or texts, so I'm considering getting an independent VoIP service that offers a phone number and just use data for everything. That way I only need a data contract and everything can go over a VPN, with the added convenience that I can get it to work on my computer as well.

However, I have little room to talk since I'm all in with a big data collection company (I use Google Fi), but that's mostly because I figure Google already has my data anyway, and figured I might as well save some money vs my old plan if I'm going to be spied on anyway.

I'm moving away from Google slowly, so as soon as that phone proves viable, I'll consider switching my service and getting that phone.

[1] - https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/

go to china for few weeks. you'll be cured. no vpn will persuade u. <3

Yeah, but you didn't quite Narcissism, since you're writing this.

Yea at this point I should quit Vice..

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