
While Google did change their stance after user outrage over having to pay up or lose their data, that didn’t mean that everything that was once free has been returned to being free. But you should also consider the level of security offered, if this is your reason for leaving Google behind. This goes hand-in-hand with owning your own data, and self-hosted options also give you the greatest level of privacy. You might also be looking for more privacy. You can use a web or cloud server and still own your data (though be sure to make backups!).


But you don’t have to run a server out of your basement. If you want to own your own data, there’s no better way than self-hosted data storage options. That’s bad enough for any personal data you may have stored in the cloud and even worse if you purchased any media or other data through Google’s store. That was highlighted recently when Google first announced it was closing the free version of Google Workspaces without giving users an option to migrate to the (free) consumer-grade services. One aspect of Google’s monopolistic tendencies are that when you use Google’s data storage and collaborative tools, you don’t really own your data. If that’s the case, you’ll probably be happy with any of Google’s many competitors for the Google applications that you use, but depending on the exact principle you’re upholding by leaving Google, you might want to consider some of the other reasons for leaving Google below. Now, disenchanted with the search giant’s effective monopoly, you’ve made the decision to break free as a matter of principle. Maybe you started using Google back in the early days, when “Do no evil,” was not just a slogan, but a mandate, and the search giant had not yet turned to monetizing every last bit of data they could squeeze out of you. Why move away from Google?īut first, let’s talk about why you might want to move away from Google in the first place. And even if you’re satisfied with Google, it’s still worth checking out the options and knowing how to move away from Google if you have to.

The good news is, there are alternatives out there. Not only that, but recently Google announced it would close free Google Workspace legacy accounts, pulling the rug out from under many of their software suite’s earliest adopters. Under a rotating set of names (Google Apps for Work, GSuite, and Google Workspace) Google has developed over the years a robust suite of applications, including Gmail, Google Docs, and more.īut since then, Google’s ad revenue model has received more scrutiny, its dominance of the search engine market has attracted scrutiny, and its at times draconian or non-existent customer service has caused frustration. When Google launched “Google Apps for Domains” in 2006, it was an exciting development from the not-yet hegemonic search engine.
