The Great App Migration of 2025
Aloha Reader,
Today, I invite you to be part of a tech moment I am dubbing "The Great App Migration of 2025". :) On a very basic level this means standing up for our privacy rights and letting BIG Companies know they do NOT deserve the right to spy and use our information, by voting with our participation/non-participation.
Google is the #1 culprit in sharing our collective information with governmental agencies. As a verified legal "Spoogler" (spouse of a Googler... gross, ugh! Can't wait til that legal agreement is nulled.) who has been well-informed on the streets by many credible sources, you can trust me. Or not and go about sipping your quad-espresso Sbux frappuccinos pretending everything is OK in America and the rest of the world.
As adults, we all have choices. I made my choice to not compromise myself, my principles and ignore social problems in this country for decades. The more I knew/found out, the more I acted. While corrupt, greedy people like to paint me crazy and try to make my simple requests both complex and hard to challenge me, it truly is that simple: the more BS I know/find out, the more I act in accordance with my guiding principles and inner light. I was pushed to the brink, rebuilt myself multiple times and I'll utilize my internet platforms to tell it like it is until I don't. Period.
On a practical level, how does this app/tech migration work? This involves moving your information and daily usage from certain apps and product suites to new ones. As a practical person, I recognize you may need to temporarily keep Gmail email addresses for communication and to log in to certain apps (Google loves that! They work with companies to let the consumer easily bypass security, but it's another way they track your purchasing and other activities.) Going forward, create a new email to keep life moving slowly, such as Proton Mail (recommended to me by Kaley Huber last September - she's such a gem!) I've held on to several Gmail addresses for months now, hoping for resolution by now, but we're here now, so let's make the most of it.
For a very simple example of tech migration for apps, yesterday I deleted YouTube from my phone and downloaded an 'ol fav Calm to swap for ocean sounds in the background, which at this point, is the only remaining reason I would use YouTube. In one sense, it was hard to ditch Youtube since it had been a go-to for years, however, there are many alternatives to YouTube content! Click here for 12 options. (Oh, on a personal note…. YouTube co-founder, womanizer Steve Chen swung by my office to say hi when I worked in Palo Alto.. After he left, my boss, Ronald Gong, asked me if I knew any women for Steve, I shook my head no and cracked a polite half-smile. Are you grossed out reader? Yeah, for years I worked alongside these men… or better referred to as: trash males. At this point, I laugh at them - they have become nothing but book material to me at this point.)
Before I share with my personal app migration list, something to point out is that many popular apps are owned by Google, Inc. and you wouldn't even know it. For years, lawyers, who made millions, as part of Google’s IPO, have created many legal entity layers (LLCs) to cover up ownership. These a-holes call it “legal protective” layers, I call it what it is: BS. Google, in their attempts of worldwide takeover, has purchased many companies, such as Waze, because they could offer founders ludicrous amounts of money (you can thank their marketing revenue/Big Pharma for a large part in that!) It's all such a corrupt marketing pyramid scheme with these companies and organizations, isn't it? Maybe as part of a monopoly break-up, these companies can reestablish independence from Google? I think that's fair. Here is the backstory on Waze.
Here is a list of apps I have both already banned from my personal use and migrating from quickly:
- Doordash
- Uber
- Lyft
- X/Twitter
- Nest
- Google Maps
Here is a list of apps I am downloading/utilizing more each day:
- Pandora
- Spotify
- Mixcloud
- SoundCloud
- Kracken
- Go Pulse
- BrainyQuote
- Calm
- Flickr
- Headspace
While privacy is now an overall myth in this country/world, COLLECTIVELY, WE DO NOT HAVE GIVE AWAY OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SO EASILY to these beyond criminals.
App migration is a nonviolent and classy way to stand together. It's a way of feeling empowered at an increasingly uncertain time in history. Depending on your personal capabilities, network, knowledge and overall lifestyle will determine how quickly we make our collective stance. Let me remind you, though, this is not an "easy 5k" training plan in terms of seriousness and action, but rather a feisty "get off ur a&$ and run the 10" race. If you truly care about the welfare of the world and our good citizens, the time to act is now.
For those of who are worried about what you'll do without Facebook? Well, if you really want a list of ideas from me, it'll cost you at this point. Feel free to purchase an item off my wishlist (link in my bio) alongside your request. Thanks in advance.
In this article, I chose to specifically focus on apps, as many of us are walking around with smartphones with dozens of them (it’s impossible to buy a T-mobile Android-based phone without an excessive # of pre-loaded apps), and the irony is, unless you know how to properly utilize your smartphone (meaning regulate usage and use it as a tool, rather than using it as your second-brain), you're better off with no apps and swapping your smart phone for a flip phone. The smart phone is making people dumber on many levels - turning off their actual thinking processes. Funnily, 17 years ago, when I purchased my first smartphone (iPhone), an Ernst & Young LLP co-worker, named Marissa, mentioned how she could already tell smart phones were making people dumb. At the time, I thought that it was a mean comment, but, wow, she was right... smart phones are collectively decreasing human intelligence, on a wide-scale level. Ah, Marissa Sawyer, another smart pretty, underestimated blonde, like myself.
Admittedly, it's nearly impossible to trace ownership of apps these days, but my overall point is MOVE away from monopolies like Google, Inc. and reminder this key point: if you are not paying for the product/app, YOU are the product being sold.
We are at point of time in history where tech can (and has) been used for good or can be continued to be used for evil. Please comment below with your thoughts.
With Appreciation,
Heidi
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