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A Kind-Of Comprehensive Guide to Divorcing Yourself From Big Tech

8 min readMar 31, 2025
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I love the book Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell. Mostly because I read it in high school and it made me feel smart and rebellious. But I also love it because it’s increasingly prescient. How could a book written in 1949 be so eerily descriptive of how the would would look three-quarters of a century later.

Of course, George Orwell wasn’t entirely accurate. There isn’t one Big Brother — we now about six or seven.

Google. Amazon. Meta. Apple. Elon Musk.

These technology brands have their noses all up in our business. For a while, that seemed fine. They provided great products and all they wanted to do was harmlessly collect our data. Now — we’ve officially crossed a line into full-blown surveillance capitalism.

Why This Matters

Too many people shrug their shoulders at this. They say: “I don’t have anything to hide, so why should I care?” I understand because I used to share that same attitude. But I can’t unsee the things I’ve seen.

Ignorance is no longer bliss — it’s dangerous. Tech companies have far more information about us than we realize. Even if they don’t intend to do manipulative or malicious things with that data, there are others who might. And data leaks are far too common for us to be comfortable.

For example, Amazon has your purchase history, financial details, home address, and recordings of our conversations over Alexa. That means, they could sell or leak any or all of that to government agencies, foreign countries, or hackers. When multiple tech companies have that private information about each of us, it’s no longer a matter of if, but when.

Can I Do Anything About It?

We can’t completely escape this. You’d have to live off-the-grid in a cabin somewhere to completely avoid contact with these ubiquitous Big Brothers. But there is a middle ground between deranged conspiracy theorist and apathetic patsy. This is a spectrum between convenience and privacy — and you must figure out where you land.

You can absolutely make some decisions about which products or tools from these companies you choose to avoid, and which you can’t live without. Even reviewing this list below helps you audit just how deeply you are embedded with some of these big companies. We’ve allowed them into our lives, and we can do the difficult work of evicting them where it makes sense.

I’ve been slowly compiling a list of how to divorce yourself from each of these big companies with some alternative solutions that are more privacy-friendly and security-focused. There’s no perfect solution, and there’s still much that I (and we) don’t know. I’m not perfect either, but I’m sincerely trying to protect myself.

Terms to Watch For

These are generally the green flags to look out for when choosing a new platform. You still have to do your research, but these are some decent targets to aim for.

  • Open sourced
  • End-to-end encrypted
  • GDPR compliant
  • Privacy-focused
  • Community-led
  • Nonprofit

De-Google

Google is by far the biggest of the Big Brothers. I used to love Google because of the usefulness of their services and quirkiness of their culture. (See: don’t “Don’t Be Evil”)

Then became everything they stood against. They went from helpful to harmful, slick to scary. Even as long as this list is, it’s by no means exhaustive. And it would be much longer if it wasn’t for the large number of products and projects Google has killed off over the years (RIP Google Reader).

I’m still trying to find a viable alternative for Google Maps. OsmAnd looks promising, but it comes no where close to the depth. Not to mention the lack of Street View or Google Earth. I’m even a Level 8 Local Guide, so I’ve personally contributed a good deal to this platform.

This conversation will continue to get interesting now that Google has lost their anti-trust case. Because Google is by far the most visible part of this, it’s the main focal point of this movement, even inspiring a DeGoogle subreddit.

De-Amazon

Like Google, Amazon has become ubiquitous — both online and offline. Like Google, I didn’t mind that for years. I love books, and I love reading on the Kindle. Jeff Bezos seemed harmless enough, until he wasn’t.

Not only does Amazon pollute our world, they also treat their workers pretty poorly. They resist unions. They collect our data. There are plenty of valid reasons to boycott Amazon — or at least depend on them a little less.

This doesn’t address a few of Amazon’s biggest offerings: Amazon Prime, Prime Video, and Amazon gift cards.

Amazon Prime offers access to free shipping, video streaming, and even some free Kindle books. Unless you want to get onboard with another big company like Walmart, there’s no real alternative.

There are plenty of other streaming services (like Netflix), but Prime has some (forgettable) original content. If you’re looking for video rentals, most of the other options are also owned by Big Tech (including Google & Apple). How about trying Redbox or renting from your local library?

As for Amazon gift cards — which have become nearly a universal currency — might I suggest actual currency?

De-Meta

Facebook stopped being cool years ago, well before they changed their parent company name to Meta — something equally as vapid as Google’s Alphabet. Then there was their Cambridge Analytical scandal. And giving up on content moderation. Oh, and that small genocide in Myanmar.

Despite Facebook and Instagram’s stranglehold on the social media landscape, Meta doesn’t have the same wide-ranging influence as Google or Amazon. Still, it’s high-time to part ways with Zuckerberg-owned properties.

Although these are the most well-known Meta properties, here’s a list of everything Meta owns.

De-Musk

Do I need to explain the problems with Elon Musk — the world’s richest child? His fortune is vast and his influence is deep. His views are also problematic, and the only way we can exert influence on a billionaire like Musk is to stop affiliating yourself with companies he owns.

It’s worth considering the same thing with another foreign billionaire, Peter Thiel — who is less well-known, but perhaps even more influential than Musk.

De-Microsoft

Microsoft is one of the original Big Tech companies — a generation after IBM and HP, but before many of these “newer” tech giants. They were slapped with an anti-trust lawsuit in 1998, but effectively ignored it long enough to make it go away. Bill Gates has done some good in his time (despite his personal issues) and Microsoft feels more hapless than harmless. But it’s still a brand worth reckoning with.

Microsoft has been around for a while and has collected several other subsidiaries. Similar to Apple (the other original pirate of Silicon Valley), I’m less concerned about Microsoft when it comes to privacy and security.

De-Auttomatic

I’ll forgive you if you missed the 2024 news about Automatic founder, Matt Mullenweg’s, public feud with web host WP Engine. But for those of us who work in digital marketing, it was (and still is) a big deal. And since WordPress runs about 40% of the internet, it’s a big deal to you, too.

I haven’t completely lost hope on WordPress — primarily because they’re open-sourced and partially protected against tech bro’s temper tantrums (even from their own founder). All my websites are still on WordPress and I use some of their other products, but I’m doing my research in case things continue to devolve.

De-Apple?

Of all the companies listed here, I have the least problem with Apple. They’re genuinely privacy focused, and are the least ad heavy. Their attention to quality is still high. Apple’s biggest issue is how much money they charge for their products. And how closed their ecosystem is to everyone else. They’re the opposite of open sourced, but they’re also unique enough that it’s hard to find replacements for their tech.

What About…

These are some other tools and platforms I’m not sure about yet. There’s still so much to learn and fix. Even just identifying these areas and asking questions is a helpful place to start.

  • Which web hosts and servers? eg. Bluehost & Flywheel
  • Which AI tools? eg. ChatGPT & Claude
  • Podcast app? eg. Apple podcasts & Pocket Casts
  • Internet service provider? eg. Comcast & Charter
  • Wireless routers and modems?
  • Cell phone carrier network? eg. AT&T & Verizon
  • Cloud design tools? eg. Adobe & Canva

Thoughts on Creating This List

This is a helpful tool for checking alternative options for technology. And how to be a more ethical consumer. I’ve also found other lists like this of vetted privacy tools.

Even just reviewing these lists to be reminded of how much of our lives are controlled by just a few businesses. Like an actual divorce, it’s messy and you can’t separately completely. In this metaphorical ended marriage, we also have kids, own a home, and started a business with Big Tech. We’re inevitably going to see them around and occasionally be forced to interact with them.

I’ll do my best to update this list as I find more new tools or things change — as technology has a habit of doing.

I’ve also seen plenty of graphics like this around the internet lately. These are helpful and even inspired me to write this list.

Press enter or click to view image in full size
Press enter or click to view image in full size

Thoughts on Me

I’m not perfect in this. Creating this resource was for me first (and hopefully is helpful to others). I’m still in the process of transitioning away from Big Tech. So I still use plenty of the Google or Amazon products listed here. This is a process for all of us, and there’s no judgement. You have to choose what works best for you — just do your best to be conscious in your choices.

Big Tech
Privacy
Software
Technology
Data Protection

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Robert Carnes
Robert Carnes

Written by Robert Carnes

281 followers
243 following

Communicator. Innovator. Storyteller. Author of several books, including The Story Cycle.

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