So far, I’m only using cost-free alternatives:
Gmail -> web.de
Android/Google Play -> LineageOS/FDroid
Google Search -> DDG/Qwant/Ecosia
Google Maps -> Openstreetmap/Organic Maps
Windows/Office -> Linux/LibreOffice
Netflix -> 🏴☠️streaming sites
Spotify -> internet radio/digitizing CDs bought directly from the band at concerts
The only service I haven’t replaced is YouTube (AdBlocked without account), which I use a lot, also for music. And I don’t see an alternative for it either.
A VPN is the quickest, easiest way for me to avoid having my data sucked up by my ISP and Google. I’m using Thunderbird for email instead of Google. I use DuckDuckGo for searches, and it allows you to block search results on a per-site basis. I mostly use that feature to block AI-generated search result sites.
a VPN does not prevent the fingerprinting google does.
Also I heard a bunch of them got some sketchy Israel connections…