Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by aftbit on Saturday August 22, 2020 @06:33PM (#24247813)

Google Voice is the hardest service for me to replace. I don't see any alternatives on this list. I appreciate that they let me seamlessly send and receive calls and texts from my Android phone or my desktop. I have a hard requirement that my phone should be optional for all parts of my communication workflow.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by xnaas on Saturday August 22, 2020 @07:12PM (#24248043)

You got me curious (I don't use Google Voice, but my dad has for a very long time) and I started to search around. It looks like all the alternatives are either expensive or shitty. :/

Edit: The universally accepted "best" seems to be Grasshopper[1] which is $29/mo or $26/mo billed annually ($312/yr).

[1] https://signup.grasshopper.com/plans

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by Zak on Sunday August 23, 2020 @12:44AM (#24249575)

Google Voice also works if you have internet access, but not mobile network connectivity, and it works while overseas to provide a fully-functional US phone number (you do have to use a standard paid US mobile number to set it up, but do not need to retain it afterward).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by efreak on Sunday August 23, 2020 @01:23AM (#24249726)

> you do have to use a standard paid US mobile number to set it up, but do not need to retain it afterward

If someone else registers Google voice with that number, you're going to have a hard time. It'll be removed from your account, and you can't use Google voice without a US phone number.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by beagle3 on Sunday August 23, 2020 @09:00AM (#24251595)

Don't know if it is still the case, but for $25 one time fee (much less than one month of average phone bill) you could port your number into Google Voice, and keep it forever, at least until Google shutters Google Voice (which they likely won't, because it's such an incredible spying device).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by Zak on Sunday August 23, 2020 @02:38PM (#24254172)

You can set up Google Voice, then remove the number. You can continue to use it indefinitely without another phone number attached.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by twicetwice on Saturday August 22, 2020 @06:57PM (#24247946)

Same. I could probably de-Google pretty quickly—my primary email is on my own domain now—were it not for Google Voice, which I rely on daily. And since I have to rely on it, might as well use the rest of Google's services, since they're so damn convenient.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Degoogle: Cutting Google out of your life by miguelrochefort on Sunday August 23, 2020 @02:06PM (#24253882)

That's an easy one. Just use a VoIP service like https://VoIP.ms.

[ Parent | on HN ]