Hi privacy community. I genuinely want to hear from both people who are very private and those who didn’t go to such an extent.
I started my journy since high school and replaced a lot of stuff since then.
Ditched most of Google’s app . Only 2~3 apps on my phone require google play store(Banking/School’s app/ Train ticket).
Switched to Protonmail + Email alias, and manage my passwords with Bitwarden.
Got off social media and made sure I removed all data that can be found about me in quick Google searches.
Switched to Linux for desktop.
But
I can’t get rid of gmail because I still need those apps, and some professors heavily relies on google services.
Windows ain’t getting off my laptop because I need to make sure document format and software compatibility don’t become reasons I fail a class.
I feel like the obstacle I hit isn’t just convenience anymore, it’s my life and the situations I’m in.
I wish to hear what kind of dicisions / realizations / mindsets you guys had in your journy.
Thanks in advance.
Could dual boot your laptop or run windows in a VM as someone suggested. Onlyoffice was what finally solved the office compatibility problem for me during school. O365 is online anyways and works on Linux…
Replaced gboard with a FOSS keyboard without internet access on your phone? I use and like AnySoftKeyboard.
Are you on stock android or a privacy friendly ROM? That’d be #1 on my list. I use grapheneos on a pixel 8 and would recommend. Whether you have google apps on your phone or not they have access to everything you do on stock android 🤷♂️
Either way I think its important to recognize how much you’ve already done, and not stress about what you can’t change yet. You’re already more private than 99% of the general population and you aren’t in school forever. I was in the same boat with a windows partition on my laptop for a couple windows only programs for school (online test invigilation can be a bitch for compatibility, windows in a VM generally doesn’t work I found), but school ends and that partition is gone now.
TL;DR You’re doing good, don’t stress if you have to keep some stuff around for school, give onlyoffice a shot, look into privacy friendly ROMs for your phone.
I know some folks who have problems running onlyoffice- apparently LibreOffice is the fork/spiritual successor to it. Haven’t used it a lot but so far it’s run decently.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I will give more office alternatives a shot, and see Windows more as a “tool” that I don’t prefer, rather than something to banish.
And yeah, Google sees all on stock android. I definitely will make Pixel+ custom ROMs my top choice when I next switch phones.
