Anyways, there's absolutely no such thing as "I can't stop paying for this". Just do a chargeback on your card. It's not a real problem.
Some bits are harder than others.
Most of my important email was migrated to a Protonmail account. With the exception with a couple of things tied to government services that don't have a path of changing your email, which sucks.
Android: Next time I switch devices I am going for GrapheneOS. Technically still an Android, sandboxed Google services and all, but a step in a better direction.
Android Auto/Waze: There's no competition here, sadly.
YouTube: Another thing that is very difficult to replace beyond just reducing my YouTube usage. I can use stuff as Newpipe or self host Invidious, but technically it is still YouTube.
Email: The most important component here is owning your domain. Then you can switch between providers. I'm using iCloud now because I can have email addresses for the whole family for very cheap and it integrates well with my Apple devices.
Search: Kagi.
Maps: I still use Google maps. The alternatives are just not as good here in Denmark.
Phone: iOS. I really want to try GrapheneOS but our government uses a national ID app which only works on official Android and iOS builds. It's very annoying to function without that app.
YouTube: Still use it as well, but with ad and sponsor blocks on computer and mobile. I have an Apple developer account and sign my own sideloaded YouTube apps.
Cloud storage: I switched to iCloud, but I keep a full local copy of everything in case I lose access to my account. I also built a home NAS and keep the movies on that. Basically anything which I don't mind losing so much.
Docs: I use Office applications primarily now instead of Google Docs.
I recently acquired my own domain, and perhaps that is a good idea, especially considering I can set it up on Proton too.
For Maps I tried HERE and TomTom, but they simply are not good enough where I live (in Europe, ironically). HERE doesn't know that some streets exist on my town, TomTom is missing a lot of addresses which makes things very cumbersome super quickly.
Phone: Apple is not an option. I despise Apple products, and I don't think they are any better than Google.
Cloud storage: I've switched to self hosting + tailscale here. It has been working actually pretty well.
Docs: I use Libre Office. Google Docs is shit.
I think the safest bet is to pre-renew the domains you really want to keep for as far out as you can (most registries allow you to renew a domain for up to 10 years). That way, if there is some major change to cost structures, you have a decade to either weather the storm or come up with a migration strategy.
This isn't the cop-out you think it is. Plenty of profit-making businesses have great customer service. Google's crap service is entirely on itself.
Simply because I cannot login and cancel my account?
side note, these are things I feel should be: 1. Illegal: "noreply@" addresses. My inbox is not a dumping ground and email is two way, not one way. 2. Required: phone numbers on you website, easily found, that are picked up by humans.
In America, the authorization to charge a card lies with the card itself. You call the bank and revoke the authorization. Done. This solves the problem of requiring every single company needing to hire some untold number of people to sit around at phones and hopefully agree to stop taking your money?? Or whatever weird setup your country has.
It also doesn’t matter if it’s normal or okay or whatever. You’re dealing with a business - it’s effectively an inanimate object. You don’t live in a vacuum, so you can complain that it isn’t a friendlier company, or you can find a solution. I’ve found one for you, at least that works in the US.
The article is partly about a _misuse_ of AI, and partly about just how bad the system around accounts and appeals is in general.