Ask HN: How do you get by without an account with any "Big Tech" Company?

7 点作者 bcye超过 1 年前

If you are not registered with any big tech company (apple, google, amazon, meta, netflix, spotify, etc.), what is your setup/how does your digital life look like? What do you use alternatively, and if you don't use a smartphone, what do you replace it with?I'm curious as it seems to me that, it is quite unavoidable to have an account with at least one of these companies:- If you use a smartphone you're pretty much bound to have a Google/Apple account or at least share data with them (if you use LineageOS/GrapheneOS you'll still propably use google services for push notifications etc.)- media consumption (especially discovery and mobile use) seems very impractical without the subscription based services

4 条评论

DamonHD超过 1 年前

On my Android phone I have never signed into the Google app store, nor told Google my ID, and things work fine. I did this for better privacy and security. (I sideloaded exactly one app: Signal.)FWIW I occasionally play media content such as from YT, SoundCloud.

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an_aparallel超过 1 年前

i live in Australia, if this makes any difference to you.My digital life is simple - i am into tech...but not tech companies ideas of tech. I dont subcribe to any services.No facebook, linkedin, google of any sort, X, tiktok, whatsapp and so onPhone - use grapheneOS - no apps installed. Only APK's for basic things like audio recorder, note taking. Google maps on separate graphene profile - with throw away email address (this part is the only one that sucks...i have garbage back sense of direction and the OSS options dont work) Close profile as soon as trip is over.Banking - use a laptop - i dont know when or why it became acceptable to bank on phones.Friends - this sucks - but you need friends who understand the decision you're making - many/most dont, and will not understand your reasoning or think you're insane.*Media - self host, and build personal media library. Support bandcamp/owned and drm free media, physical media, no streaming of any sort (spotify, netflix and so on)It's definitely not unavoidable - you have to choose what you value more - privacy, and choice - or "fitting in"/"convenience". none of the above is easy, it sucks, it makes you question your sanity...it might not be possible in the blink of an eye-lid.

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ActorNightly超过 1 年前

I have an older One Plus One running Kali Nethunter. Completely free of anything Google. I have used it overseas, using wifi+signal for communication, offline maps, with iptables rules restricting a good number of 3d party apps from accessing the internet (have to test each one beforehand to make sure it can work). For the rest of the stuff, ad-hoc browser usage is sufficient.

p1esk超过 1 年前

I’m registered with, and have been happily using for many years, all of the companies you mentioned (and a dozen more). I want them to know a lot about me so hopefully they show me relevant ads (I buy a lot of stuff) or provide better service. My digital life is great. Please tell me why should I change it?