this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2024

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DeGoogle Yourself

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What service do you use [USA] (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I, switched from Google FI because of lack of customer support and services that were getting less and less. I went to T-Mobile. Good service, much the same as Google fi is a first party mvno. Anyway I use a private dns. NextDns. T-Mobile had no clue what a dns was and the super had to Google it. They SEVERELY THROTTLE if you use next dns.

I HATE THAT. What do you use as privacy conscious individuals?

edit: not that! What

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Visible has worked well for me recently - it's wholly owned by VZW as I recall, and exclusively uses their network. In most areas, VZW is objectively the best coverage of any carrier.

$30/mo and I have yet to see throttling, even with heavy use. It "just works".

Yes, I'm effectively handing that data to VZW, but I have no illusions that any MVNO I chose would behave any differently. One way or another, they're all reselling the same 3 carriers, who by definition must have some base level of access to your data.

VPNs go a long way towards mitigating that, but using a carrier is likely to leak some level of data. While I have a great deal of respect for RMS, my own life doesn't really fit within his internet usage model and I'm forced to make choices. (Sacrifices, really, but informed ones.)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Couldn't you just use a VPN? Hiding your IP address also increases your privacy. Mullvad VPN is one of the best, most private and trustworthy VPNs, and it's just 5 bucks a month. You don't even need an email address to sign up, and you can pay anonymously with crypto.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Sounds like that's the way I'll have to go. Unfortunate, I hate increased layers of complexity, but I think that's the move.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

Controld. Just set the free one in your systems private DNS section.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I disable all data and still have issues with T-Mobile garbage. Metro was better for me but I got forced into a family plan with these scumbags as a provider. T is constantly trying to gain WiFi access without consent. My whitelist drops them every few minutes even with 5g and data off. They are like the nonconsensual anal of service providers IMO.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like you're using one of their phones with their applications or something on it. I don't have their application on my device and run lineage and I don't get that stuff.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Graphene, with no google, no extra garbage either. You're likely getting the same thing too. It's why I mentioned the issue. Not many people actually monitor their logs, and fewer whitelist their network.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

Right, it's like the commentor above asking why I would use a private dns. Check the logs. I posted a screenshot above. A private dns is a great tool.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I use Tailscale on TMobile that connects to my home network as an exitnode, which allows me to use the DNS configured in my home router.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

That sounds ideal, but I don't currently have the resources to set up a home network. :⁠-⁠\

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (2 children)

On Google Fi now. What support did you find lacking? What services got "less and less"?

What's "mvno"? Why do you use a private DNS provider?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

A mvno is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, thus MVNO. They don't own the network, they lease it.

I use a private dns for privacy. I don't like my data and metrics being shared without my consent. It also blocks ads. Win win

edit: they had some sort of billing issue with me where my bill was consistently 40-50+ bucks over what it should be. So it would be correct one month then the next it would be like 200 bucks and back and forth. When I called, the garbage support had zero clue, and now that I have cancelled, they say they owe me 40 bucks. When I went to pay my bill, it was always 2 payments. Why? I called, again no clue. They did away with Google pass, well you want to know what they also did away with? The insurance on my phone and didn't tell me. So with i needed it, I was not insured. Cool. Hard pass for me.

Edit: here's an example of why a private dns is useful:

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Good reason to leave any service provider. Fortunately, I haven't had any issues so far.

As for DNS, I do run pi-hole which has been great over the years at blocking a lot of the telemetry on my network. I would by no means consider my network "private" though.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Ooo a pihole! That's on the list.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of Google, but Fi has never treated me wrong. My bill was cut down to a third of what my Verizon bill was when I joined 7 years ago, and I don't think I've had any increases in that time. Their support is shit, I'll admit that. My card was stolen and I told them how I'd been a customer for (at the time) 5 years, never missed a payment, and that when my new card came I'd pay the past due amount happily - and they threatened to suspend my service.

That being said, all carriers are terrible, it's a lesser of multiple evils game.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Mint Mobile, though that's more as a wallet conscious individual. I VPN back home for DNS while I'm out.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

That might be what I'll have to do.