I Just Deleted My Gmail, and Every Other Google Service.

Here’s how I un-Googled my life.

In 2012, Google cemented a bright future for itself. Chrome — their flagship web browser — was starting to become everyone’s go-to in the browser market. Then Google launched their social media service: Google+. You might remember it. It was harder to use (remember “circles”) and just made absolutely no sense.

The funny thing about the now-defunct social media platform is the failure itself. Google+ symbolized everything Google is, and always has been: a terrifying internet conglomerate with no sense of branding, marketing, or relationship with users. Google+ ultimately failed, the Nexus and Pixel still lay in the shadow of products with incredible potential, if not for its classroom success, Chromebook wouldn’t see the success it has otherwise had. Google has made billions profiting off of selling ads via consumers themselves. Any hardware they’ve attempted to sell has failed.

The Hardware

Good news on Google hardware is often overcast by several different issues. For the Pixel 5, Google has given it one of the best smartphone cameras, rivaling the iPhone 12 Pro and others, but there’s a reason it hasn’t been able to compete with other flagships. The Google Pixel Slate was Google’s attempt at “merging” tablets…