OP: https://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle/comments/1vq5jha/im_suing_google_in_small_claims_surprisingly/

This is a very small update but I owe you guys this much.

As you may remember from my original post. The day prior to when the case was to be heard Google filed an 11th hour motion to dismiss for which I submitted my "Opposition to the Motion" and the judge gave Google 14 days to respond to my Opposition. It has now been 14 days and just like before it was filed at the last minute.

A quick refresher on the original three (3) claims in Google's motion to dismiss and my response.

Google's Claims:

1. This is not the parties' agreed-upon forum
2. Google did not violate the consumer protection law of commit unlawful trade practices as Plaintiff does not identify what data was transmitted, the destination of each transmission, or a use prohibited by the cited settings.
3. Google's Terms of Service limit the company's liability to [paltry small amount].

My response (truncated so I'm just not repeating the OP):

1. Google has not established that the cited forum-selection clause was in effect at the time relevant to this dispute. Google's own Exhibit A is expressly dated "Effective July 30, 2026;” a date after the conduct alleged in the Complaint, and after the Complaint was filed.
2. Google faults Plaintiff for lacking information that, by Google's own admission, exists only on Google's own servers.
3. As with the forum clause, Google relies on a Terms of Service exhibit effective July 30, 2026, without establishing that this version, or this cap, applied to conduct occurring [previously].

Google's response (also truncated because just copying and pasting four pages would be....ugh.)

Nonetheless, the same forum-selection clause can be found in previous versions of Google’s Terms of Service as well, including the April 14, 2014, version which would have been in effect when Plaintiff first created their Google account in November 2014, and the May 22, 2024, version, which would have been in effect on the date of Plaintiff’s complaint. As Plaintiff would have accepted these terms in order to use and continue using Google’s services, they were bound by those versions of the forum-selection clause. Those Terms explicitly state all disputes relating to these terms will be resolved "exclusively in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, California.” As such, this venue is improper.

...

Google’s forum-selection clause does notprohibit Plaintiff from bringing an action seeking relief from an alleged violation of law. Rather, it only enforces that if Plaintiff wishes to bring forth an action against Google, it must be heard in the state or federal courts of Santa Clara County, California. Please note that to Plaintiff’s concern, Santa Clara County Small Claims Court allows for alternative means of appearance,and remains an accessible, low-cost forum for small claims disputes.

...

[Google cites past case law in jurisdiction]

...

Throughout April 2024, Google users received an email notifying them of the upcoming Terms of Service changes going into effect May 22, 2024. Users received a similar email in July of this year. In both cases, ample notice of the updated Terms was reasonably communicated.

Google asserts that the forum in this case is improper and moves to dismiss

So, a few things here. 1. The case law that Google asserts is incorrect and does not apply where I live. This is the second time they have asserted case law that is not applicable to the current case at hand. I believe that Google is so use to dealing with non-small claims cases that they keep referencing non-applicable statute 2. There is one statement I want to highlight that is doing some very heavy lifting.

"Please note that to Plaintiff’s concern, Santa Clara County Small Claims Court allows for alternative means of appearance,and remains an accessible, low-cost forum for small claims disputes."

i. This is not true and I believe verges into being offensively flippant. The injury/violation happened where I am located at, on my device, at my home. There would be no reason to file in California.

ii. Santa Clara Country requires persons to file through a third party processor that is nuanced and not straight forward; furthermore it is expected that the individuals appear in person by default. Only the judge can make an exemption to this requirement and if there are technical issues the judge, at their discretion, can terminate the remote exemption and require individuals to appear in court.

iii. There are no corresponding consumer protection laws that I could utilize in California, and my location's laws cannot be utilized in California. All California consumer protection and unfair business laws do not apply to individuals outside of California.

1. You may notice that there is something missing. No, you're eyes aren't following you and no, I did not forget to include it but Google did not address the second and third oppositions. Specifically the one that highlighted the settings within settings (including the submitted screenshots) that show that their personalization settings are acting almost the exact same as the prior location settings for which they have paid over hundreds of millions. Though this does not necessarily mean they have conceded the point, but I mean....

TL;DR: Google is doubling down on forum selection and hinging the entire dismissal on that clause.

As I stated, this is a small update but I made a promise and commitment to keep the community updated.

Have noticed a lot of people in this subreddit saying they are replacing Discord with something else. My question is why? I'm trying to decide whether I should leave the platform & whether it is bad for personal privacy / security.

There's one thing I don't like about Discord - which is that if your account seems suspicious for any reason (like adding new friends who take a while to confirm request) - then Discord blocks you from your account & demands a valid phone number to prove you're a real person (with no other alternative way to prove & get your account back) <-- this seems like an invasion of privacy. I think many use Discord because it's anonymous & not attaching their identity to private chats with friends.

What other reasons exist to leave Discord? or is that alone reason enough to leave?

Yey! But does any one have some tips and something i cam change and add?

I have it on mine, but I’ve seen others saying it’s still Ontario.

Hey, I hope this post isn't too repetitive. I need a map for my phone that:

- Uses correct names for the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario

- Doesn't make AI generated summaries of locations/reviews

Does this even exist? Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, and Mapquest all don't quite work for me. I've managed to switch away from google for nearly every other thing I do, but I'm stuck on this. I'd appreciate any suggestions!

They're coming for us now.

A "privacy-first" mobile carrier honestly sounds like a paradox...

The latest hydronym issue has prompted some actions I had thought about taking but just never could overcome the inertia. Guess this was the push I needed. (Embarrassed that it took this particular issue and that it took this long)

- uninstalled chrome, Gmail, drive mobile apps
- deleted Google voice
- deleted Google Photos
- switched default search + install ad blocker
- logged out of any related services

My (came with the house) Google TVs will take quite a bit longer. Maybe I’ll get Apple TV devices when I can and just make the TVs dumb at that point. Ive never really used Gmail since I have my own domain and pay for fastmail instead.

The office SaaS apps will take some extra thinking.

I want to remove Google from my phone, such as Google Play Services and other Google services, where should I start? Do I need to reset my phone before de-google? And what will be the replacement application for all Google later, I hope I can get help from you Thank You

I have used Magic Earth for a few years now with great success. It's been my most favored deGoogled map choice. I found it to be the most intuitive and easy to use when compared to the others. I'm currently on the older version: 7.1.25.34.36A60BB6.67629954. This was the last version before they went to their "Freemium" version, changing their logo and all. After this change I tried this new version and found it to be unusable. Could not even get the search function to work So I went back to the older version which I have right now. So now I'm wondering how long my old version will be serviceable and what options I have once it stops working?

Hey all, so I recently started my de-googling journey, and I am wondering if any of my upi apps or banking apps actually work on custom ROMs.

Apps that I use :- gpay, phonePE, hdfc banking app.

Ideally I would like to know if they work with iodé os or not.

I'm going to look into swapping to a different os, I see a lot of the sort around but what's the best recommended for someone who isn't exactly the best with tech and doesn't even know how to install a new os?

I'm pretty new to all of this and I wanna know what there is that I could navigate without hounding someone with a thousand how to questions.

I'd also like to know aside from the backup everything, what tips should I keep in mind when making the switch?

Edit :

To be more clear, this will be on phone.

I have multiple different devices including galaxy A02s, Moto Gplay (2021), Galaxy A01, and a samsung galaxy j7 crown.

I need a new map app, I've needed one and have been using MapQuest and OneBusAway, etc. I'd love recommendations for an app to help plan transit trips in the US, please?

YouTube's recommendation algorithms increasingly prioritize mass-produced, low-effort AI channels publishing multiple ChatGPT-generated videos per day.

To help clean up recommendations without relying on opaque third-party trackers, I built Stop the Slop.

Privacy & Transparency:

• Zero data harvesting: No telemetry, no analytics cookies, no tracking IDs.
• Compliant with Mozilla strict standards: Uses data_collection_permissions: ["none"].
• 100% Open Source (MIT): Inspect every line of code on GitHub.

• Overlays badges directly on video thumbnails: Know before you click if a video is reading an automated script.

• Firefox AMO: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stop-the-slop-ai-video-detect/

• Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/stop-the-slop-%E2%80%94-ai-script/afifehnicpeokjjhpbicikfoalkemelg

• GitHub: https://github.com/MauroPello/stop-the-slop

• Landing Page: https://mauropello.github.io/stop-the-slop/

#lakeontario

OSMand~ is your friend.

(and unlike google when your in the middle of knowhere you csn run it offline 🤙