Scorched Web

Why escape from the Goolag? If you wouldn’t let a stranger listen to all your phone calls, read all your mail, and spy on your photos… then you should not be using Google, Facebook or Amazon.

Would you allow random strangers to view all your photos? All the photos of your children?

Can I read all your documents? Your bank statements? Would you be OK sending me your entire itinerary for your next family holiday including the credit card numbers you used to reserve the hotel? That’s what Google does

The bottom line is that the entire business models of these companies is to give you enough treats in the form of “free” email, calendar, shipping, etc to entice you to turn over your most private matters to them so that they can take your information and sell it to advertisers. That is the challenge, it is impossible for the companies to reform because that is their entire model.

Worse, if you use Gmail then google owns all of your communications and they can terminate your access to your email at any point, for any reason they wish, with no ability to appeal. Does this sounds scary? It should, see this: https://gizmodo.com/journalist-nearly-banned-from-youtube-and-gmail-for-pos-1815314182

As an individual the only answer is to realize the bargain these companies offer and reject their low ball price for your privacy and use alternative services that are honest about their business model.