this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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[–] [email protected] 110 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (12 children)

Google just canceled the pixel pass service and it was the last straw for me. I had already moved email to proton but now Ive completed the calendar shift, search to ddg, and drive to something else. My Google speakers barely understand anything anymore and I'm just sick of investing in an eco system that may or may not be there in a year.

All that is off topic to the article which is nostalgic about Google reader and search without ads, but the topic is part of a larger problem. I used to feel that using Google was a project of humans categorizing information, building something amazing and now it feels like I'm shopping at Walmart when i use their products. The type of feeling I can only describe as "I need this thing now so I'm here, let's get in and out as quick as possible before I spend more money or become annoyed with the environment".

This isn't to just shit on Google, but the point is I used to feel as I was a part of something bigger, humans creating a way to access the world's information accurately and easily and now it's much more complicated and that feeling is gone.

Maybe it's all in my head.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Yeah. I hate how stuck in I am in the google system. I've been migrating away too and ensuring whatever system I use next doesn't tie me in or make it a pain to leave.

I'm struggling with a google photos alternative though. I'm currently just ignoring the problem and periodically using google takeout to make sure I have a local copy of all the photos.

The issue I have is my GF and parents are on my family account. So I use about 50GB of google photos and they use about 100GB combined. And I pay for the 200GB tier.

We're all stuck now and you just need to pay indefinitely.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It might not solve all your needs, or your use case specifically, but I've got myself a Synology NAS and that has been a solid alternative to Google Photos for me.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hey, sorry to hijack the thread, but I just got myself a Synology NAS and have been taking some time to learn more about it before moving real data onto it. Are you using those Synology apps (like Synology Photos) for all this? Which provider (if any) are you using for offsite backups?

I've grown wary of any cloud service that requires a custom login, even if they offer awesome features now, because of the potential they will get enshittified in the future. But I assume that Synology has already made their money off of me when I bought the box....

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I'm using the apps: both Drive and Photos, at least. Works very well for me. For backup, I do a physical backup daily to an attached external hard drive, and weekly to a remote cloud option

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I've been considering switching to a Synology NAS - how do you feel the security holds up for that?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I second this, we have had a Synology NAS for over 10 years (i degoogled a long time ago) and have had virtually no problems. I did need to transition to the new "Photos" app which was a bit annoying when we upgraded (after 7 years), but I know that none of our kids baby pics, our wedding pics, our life in general is being scrapped or stored on a server with a terms of service agreement that we basically have no control over.

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