I’m curious because I see a ton of Google hate on here daily. It’s certainly not all unwarranted, and I do agree with some of the privacy concerns.
That being said I do very much enjoy their products. Gmail, Photos, Chrome, Gemini, Home, Assistant, YouTube, Pixel phones, etc… I’ve tried out many of the alternatives but always come back to their ecosystem.
Curious as to how many of you here on the fedi use Google products without the common associated angst from the FOSS community.
My stance is neutral, leaning towards negative. I think Google is still full of talented engineers who passionately want to build the best tech, but the higher ups are screwing up as seen everywhere else too. Their basis for all this data collection seems acceptable (personalization) but they’re blind to the fact that this information can quickly fall into the wrong hands, like a hacker or bad government.
I still use a Google Pixel with the stock software because of the little things other ROMs don’t provide, as well as Maps, Drive, Wallet, YT and Home. For everything else I use alternatives, albeit it’s not because of a super strong dislike towards Google itself but because I want to support the competition.