Google from its inception had inspired exceptionally strong loyalty through solving technical problems (web search) well. I'd adopted and was proselytizing as of 1999.

Over the years that situation ... changed.

With Google no longer serving technical needs well (across multiple dimensions), and disabling voice (killing YouTube downvotes being only one of many examples), the remaining option is exit. And so I've exited virtually all Google products and services.

(The vibe of "my mind is going, Dave, I can feel it" as I deleted my GMail contacts one at a time was ... morbidly fascinating. I've retained that account, as a last-ditch contact. I check it every few months, perhaps.)

Google can't seem to distinguish between "short term retention" vs. "long-term reputational harm". Though they're hardly the only one --- see Reddit and Facebook as other examples.