The average tech person has been switching away from Google products, and this filters down to their social networks, and then their networks, and so on. It's a big deal when the tech people decide to switch.
For me, it was Chrome making me log-in to my account. Now I use Firefox, DDG, ublock, privacy badger, etc. I think society writ large will begin to take privacy more seriously in the coming years.
Edit FYI: If you want google results, add '!g' to the end of a DDG query and it will route to google. I use it sometimes, but not that often given that DDG is usually good.
> The average tech person has been switching away from Google products
I would like to see something to back that up. HN is not "the average tech person" and even here I have the feeling there are a few people who decided to die on the anti Google hill but it's nowhere near the foregone conclusion you state. A few problems: Firefox wiped the extensions store clean less than a year ago and the long tail didn't, couldn't recover yet. If you are any sort of consultant, Google Docs invitations are par for the course. I might be missing something but Google Mail is still the only mail application with labels instead of folders. A simple and cheap Gsuite subscription gives you infinite storage.
Yep, Docs is going to be a tough nut to crack. I use DDG for search, but Docs [/Sheets, etc] is hard to get away from in business. [Sorta like Office was 20 years ago, I guess]
Not sure if the average tech person is switching (from what I see in my environment) or if it's the vocal minority on HN. I'm happy for their success although the number is still not very significant
If it helps offset the echo chamber, I’ve been much happier with Google search than DDG (after setting it as my provider for a year). I’ve got no plans to move away from Google services, because I don’t think they actually pose some huge moral or privacy threat.
I've been exactly where you are until very recently... It might be a general cynicism towards the world at large recently, but I've found myself finally honestly considering that Google might do some actual evil, and if they really wanted to it could get ugly... Removing "don't do evil" from their company motto may have been a self-fulfilling prophecy?
For me, it was Chrome making me log-in to my account. Now I use Firefox, DDG, ublock, privacy badger, etc. I think society writ large will begin to take privacy more seriously in the coming years.
Edit FYI: If you want google results, add '!g' to the end of a DDG query and it will route to google. I use it sometimes, but not that often given that DDG is usually good.