Well That Escalated Quickly
My quest for data freedom quickly went from exploring open-source or privacy-focused Google alternatives to a new full-blown homelab hobby. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you. Regardless of your non-existent aspirations to be a homelabber, you can still migrate your documents, emails, calendars away from the Google ecosystem without self-hosting anything. This post recounts my process for leaving Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar and moving those services over to Proton.
Proton is Fundamentally Different
Proton Mail is my Gmail alternative of choice. I researched several privacy-focused solutions like Tutanota and Mailfence, but ultimately chose Proton for it’s easy to use interface and polished features. When compared to Gmail, Proton is comparably designed and, most importantly, doesn’t track the way you interact with your email for advertising purposes. Its end-to-end encrypted email gives you an inbox free from ads, trackers, spying, and data harvesting.
From proton.me…
Proton was started in 2014 by scientists who met at CERN and shared a vision of an internet that defends freedom and puts people first.
Our transparency, open-source software, and rigorous encryption have earned Proton millions of users around the world — and the recommendation of the United Nations.
Tech companies like Google or Apple define privacy as “nobody can exploit your data, except for us.” We believe nobody should exploit your data, period.
Our technology and business are based upon this fundamentally stronger definition of privacy, backed also by Swiss privacy laws.
Moving Google Gmail, Contacts, and Calendars to Proton
Moving my Google emails, contacts, and calendar events was dead simple with proton.me/easyswitch. This works for Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.
It was shockingly easy to move all of this over with just a few clicks as shown above. For regular Gmail users, that’s all there is to it!
For custom domain users (like firstname@customdomain.com), you’ll need to follow these steps to change your DNS records and redirect your emails to Proton Mail. If you’ve ever set up email with a custom domain, this is also a straight forward process.
Moving from Google Drive to Alternatives
I originally planned to self-host Nextcloud as a Google Workplace replacement. Eventually, I grew tired of fiddling with Nextcloud and opted for this Syncthing+LibreOffice combo solution. No self-hosting involved. LibreOffice is a surprisingly robust office suite that is 100% free. It has everything I need for docs, spreadsheets, and simple diagramming.
The first step in leaving Google Drive was to audit all the folders and files I was storing there. Since I’ve been using Drive for nearly 20 years, there was a LOT of stuff that I didn’t need at all or that I didn’t need anywhere-access to a la Google Docs or Sheets. That was a lengthy process to go through, but, much like spring cleaning one’s house, it was very satisfying to have cleaned my digital house.
The second step was to download the folders and files from Drive to my computer that I deemed worthy of archiving. Most of these files were archived on an external SSD since I don’t need regular access to them. When I boiled down what I regularly updated in Drive, there were 3 or 4 documents/sheets that I use consistently. These are now maintained locally on my main computer using LibreOffice. I have Syncthing keep them synced between all my computers.
At this point in the journey, my Drive, email, contacts, and calendars were all detached from Google Workspace!
NOTE: Proton offers a Drive-like feature called Proton Drive (so original). Proton Drive provides cloud storage for files, photos, and documents. At this time, it only offers Docs in Proton Drive for end-to-end encrypted collaborative documents. This seems like a nice feature, but I’m being more cautious these days about how many eggs I put into one basket. Proton is moving to an all-in-one model with products for mail, calendar, VPN, file storage, authenticator, and video conferences. As long as Proton maintains its privacy focus and doesn’t turn evil, these sound nice. But I’m not jumping in with both feet at this time.
Revisiting the Why One Should DeGoogle
I won’t bore you with all the details, but check out the end of this article:
Why should I stop using Google products and find alternatives?
Google operates under a surveillance capitalism model, where your data is collected, analyzed, and monetized through targeted advertising. By using Google products like Gmail, Search, and YouTube, you trade your privacy for “free” services. Switching to alternatives protects your personal information and reduces reliance on Big Tech.
And read these articles, too.
- https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/google-must-pay-425-million-class-action-over-privacy-jury-rules-2025-09-03
- https://www.makeuseof.com/see-and-delete-your-google-data
- https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/google-says-reports-of-massive-gmail-data-breach-are-entirely-false
- https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-protecting-privacy-is-a-losing-game-today-and-how-to-change-the-game
Post-migration Reflections
My friend Jacob and I have an ongoing text convo about DeGoogling and decoupling our lives from tech in general. When I was in this part of the process of moving away from Google, he asked me, “What problems have you run into that are particularly annoying?”
My initial ambitions were WAY TOO BIG. Trying to find a one-to-one replacement for Google Docs/Sheets is a tall order. I thought I needed the available-anywhere collaborative docs/sheets functionality so I proceeded to self-host Nextcloud which meant getting into homelabbing. Not everyone is gonna do that much computer nerdery to DeGoogle.
Also, it’s annoying how prolific Google services were/are in all aspects of my life. I advocated using Google Cloud services for years for collaboration and available-anywhere office files. And the confidence of having those files in the cloud meant not having other worry about one of my hard drives crashing and me losing all of my stuff. When you self-host, you have to figure all of that stuff out.
I still have a long way to go.
I have a few docs and forms in Google Drive, but have removed most of it.
I use YouTube quite a bit, and there isn’t a solid alternative to that since YT basically has the market cornered on video content.
Friends and family still use Gmail and Google Calendar. I figured out how to subscribe to other people’s Google Calendars and share my Proton calendar with them. It’s a bit clunky, but works well enough. Hey fam, please move all your stuff to Proton! Thanks!
Where to Begin?
There are baby steps you can take to ease out of this surveillance capitalism system in which we find ourselves:
- MAIL + CALENDAR: Migrate from gmail.com or gmail.com-powered custom email to Proton Mail as described above.
- OFFICE SUITE: If you need to replicate available-everywhere office suite functionality, use LibreOffice + Syncthing.
- WEB BROWSER: Stop using Google Chrome. I have used the Brave Browser for several years. It works almost exactly like Chrome, just better.
- SEARCH ENGINE: Stop using Google.com as your search engine. I use and recommend search.brave.com.
- PASSWORD MANAGER: Stop storing passwords in your web browser. Use Bitwarden for a password manager. The free version works for most people, and the paid version is only $10 per year!