Google is everywhere

Google seems to show up everywhere.

They are on my cell phone too.

I get messages to log in using Google.

Can I eliminate that?

Not if your phone is an android, android is Google. If you would buy an Apple I phone I don't think that happens as Apple is a competitor of Google, but I have never had an I phone so don't know for sure.

This forum you can use Google but you can also set up the login with your email to sign in, which is what I use.

I do agree with you Google is everywhere, but as much as possible I shut it down. I shut off all telemetry on my web browsers plus use the 'Don't track me Google addons' and ' Opt-out for Analytics' plus 'Privacy Badger'. It stops targeted ads, but often limits or prohibits using certain websites.

On an Android phone you can shut down GPS tracking and shut off permission on
Google apps, but again it can limit the functions of your phone. I basically only use my 'smart phone' for calls and text so don't mind that.

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Well only other option would be to buy a "dumb phone" that we all used before those touch screens - they do still exist and are somewhat popular with people who decide to "detox" from internet and social media - and the battery lasts so much more since there are less apps running in the background and you don't have an incentive to use it as much

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Thanks for the good ideas.

Not that long ago(less than 2 yrs ago), I had a 4G phone that cost me $30/month. I wanted the faster speed and got a 5G phone. It was probably a mistake.

I also had a landline with internet.

I was told that one of the 2 lines could be cut, and you would still have service.

The 40 volts D.C. came in handy too.

Having their own power came in handy when a hurricane knocked out cell towers.

I helped my mother get a generator. It was loud but better than losing all our refrigerated items.

If you're using Firefox you can add the Google Container add-on.By no means a solution to getting rid of Google but as it's name implies it does isolate some of your web activity from Google.

Search it in add-ons.

There are some android alternatives. I have an old Pixel 3a that runs Ubuntu Touch actually. It was how I got into linux in the first place. UT is free, you just have to be able to essentially root your phone and then install it. One of my side gigs is buying the old pixel phones, installing UT on them and reselling them. Not a lot of money, but keeps me busy.

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I don't think it is just "Google" related, unless "StackOverflow" is part of the Google empire (it appears to be standalone). This is a snapshot of such a login prompt on StackOverflow. Extremely annoying because it pops up on EVERY page until you login. :frowning:

StackOverflow__GoogleLogin

... and, more intriguing, is that it is not even the email address I used to register/login for StackOverflow!

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You're probably signed in to Google somewhere else in your browser -- either actively or in the (fairly) recent past. I get those annoying popups on Stack Exchange sites too. I have to imagine Stack Exchange embeds a Google script or frame into each of their Web pages, and the popup is a side effect of that. (EDIT: I just checked using Firefox's Inspector tool, and indeed it is an embedded frame linking to Google.) Yes, you'd think Cross-Site Scripting mitigations in Web browsers would prevent this; however, I looked into Cross-Origin/Cross-Site Scripting some years ago and concluded that it's got a lot of loopholes, so many that I'm not sure what use it is.

Firefox users can add this to their ~/.mozilla/firefox/[XXXXXXXX].default/chrome/userContent.css file:

#credential_picker_container > iframe
{
  display: none;
}

NOTE: On Ubuntu, where Firefox is a Snap package, the path is ~/snap/firefox/common/.mozilla/firefox/[XXXXXXXX].default/chrome/userContent.css.

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It sounds good but is beyond my technical ability and I am unwilling to ruin an expensive cell phone. I will have to wait until a major carrier offers something.

Well, UT does not work on all phones. The Pixel 3a is a few years old and you can pick them up for under $70. UT is not that robust as far as apps are concerned, but if you are looking for a phone without tracking and google, UT is pretty good for that. It's basically a phone with a browser and a camera.

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You could offer to sell @jymm one of those phones of yours... :slight_smile:

Ha! Don't want to pimp my stuff in this forum. Just here to learn and help when I can. Not sure it would be appropriate.

But if I can do it, so can anyone. the UT site has an easy to use tool to load it.

Can phone apps (e.g. MagicJack or else) run on UT ?

W

No. Sorry.

Here is their app store. It's pretty limited.

Again, UT is just an alternative for folks who want a phone with some browser capabilities that does not track you. If you are a heavy phone user, UT would be more of a toy. I use it as my business phone, but I still have an Android... as much as I don't want one, but I refuse to be one of the iSheeple. :rofl: