My DeGoogling Progress (so far)

Long time Google user ... I had Gmail when it was in beta (and didn't even work that well !). Recently made the switch. A work in progress but moving along ...

Easiest : replacing Google Maps with Maps.me (not great, but a "quick win"), switching Chrome to Firefox, Google to DuckDuckTo (not great either, but you learn to query differently to get good results), Authenticator to Authy.

Medium : moving from Google Photos to private NextCloud server installed at home on a Raspberry Pi (still in progress ... server is up and running but moving the photos will take a while !). If you're curious, there's a ton of instructions on this sub as well as on PiMyLifeUp. I used a combination of that, and a $2 eBook I found somewhere else (and when a command from one didn't work, I'd rely on the other). I won't post the eBook because people will think I wrote it and am trying to make sales ... (Note : I'm not super technical but was able to follow along. It's just a recipe, but instead of a cast iron skillet it's Terminal on your Mac.)

Hard : Gmail to ProtonMail. I had a lot of email accounts. A lot. Deleted most of them, kept a few for silly reasons (e.g. my Spotify is irreversibly tied to a Gmail that I use for nothing else and I can't change it), and keep my "main" Gmail for things that I haven't switched over yet (like the odd email from a family member or website that you use once a year). I have them in parallel and only use Gmail on my laptop (I check it once or twice a week). This is the hardest because you have to have them open in parallel as you're making the switch. One by one. Email by email. Newsletter by newsletter. I have the paid version of ProtonMail and it has some flaws but overall it's quite good. It's also nice having super short email addresses (@pm.me). Easier to type for login prompts. All those 0.5 second prompts add up !

Still need : good translation app for iOS, good Google Voice alternative (this will be even harder than Gmail ... I gave one of my Google Voice numbers to so many people for privacy and I use the other only for 2FA since it's not susceptible to SIM porting).

Won't leave : YouTube. Can't really. Once I log out of my Gmail and don't check it weekly, I'll make a throwaway just for YouTube (so I can subscribe / save stuff).

Best of luck if you're on the same mission.