DeGoogle Yourself

IIRC Google shows different names and borders depending on the location you're accessing it from. They just follow whatever the local government thinks is right.

Something adjacent to degoogling: I am concerned that Microsoft would collaborate with the Trump Regime. I never used Linux before, but I am now downloading Ubuntu. It feels like that I should do a dual-boot setup and get ready to abandon Windows if I hear about MS HQ in Washington having a DOGE presence.

Here's hoping that Europe and the Blue States are watching Microsoft for anything weird.

Just checked. You can even select it, but cannot report an error at that location. But you can leave reviews, so…

Can someone explain the 4D chess going on here? AFAIK this was just tweet diplomacy, the US hasn't passed anything about this. So why would google want to handle all the complaints and backlash they'll take for this?

I just did literally the only thing I CAN do, which is rate it 1 star and call out their spinelessness. I'm sure this token, irrelevant act will be ignored at best or manually removed at worst. But until they drag me off to the gulag I'm absolutely not going to shut up and play along.

Fuck Trump, Musk, their MAGA cult, and anyone who enables or colludes with them or fails to fight back.

To be fair:

I'm American and my phone is set up in the US with region being the US.

I guess I can live with calling it "Gulf of America" if we also rename "Gulf of California" to "Gulf of Mexico"

I'm trying to, but Proton made me throw up in my mouth a little.

Now I have the option to do everything I was doing, but poorly AND spread across 3 vendors.

Hahaha I thought Google was benevolently collecting my personal data for my own good. I consented right? /s

Organic Maps is still keeping it real for me

I'd really love for someone to come up with a phone OS that I could use on my cell phone. Mine runs on Android and I want to dump all things Google! I read that they have an exclusive deal with reddit where ALL data on reddit would be made available to them for training their AI algorithms. I went on perplexity.ai to check for this and here's the response I received to my query: The deal between Reddit and Google to share data for AI training and search purposes will likely have significant impacts on Reddit user privacy:

1. Increased data sharing: Google will have exclusive access to Reddit's Data API, allowing them to collect real-time, structured content from the platform13. This means more user-generated content and activity data will be shared with a third party.
2. Enhanced user profiling: Google will use this data to improve its AI models and search capabilities, potentially leading to more accurate user profiling across Google's services36.
3. Potential for more personalized advertising: With access to Reddit's data, Google may be able to create more detailed user profiles, potentially leading to more targeted advertising both on and off Reddit26.
4. Reduced anonymity: While Reddit has traditionally allowed for relative anonymity, this data sharing could make it easier to connect Reddit activity with other online identities13.
5. Increased scrutiny of user content: As Reddit seeks to maintain its value for AI training, there may be stricter moderation and potential removal of certain types of content or communities4.
6. Changes to user agreements: Reddit may update its privacy policy and user agreement to reflect this new data sharing arrangement, potentially granting themselves broader rights to use and share user data6. It's important to note that while Reddit claims it does not sell personal information to third parties, this deal represents a significant change in how user data is shared and utilized23. Users concerned about privacy may need to be more cautious about the information they share on the platform and may want to review their privacy settings regularly. P.S.: Ignore the weird numbers as those are reference links. I copy-pasted this stuff.