How To Use Google Services Without A Gmail Address.

Use Google Without Gmail

“One an account is all you need,” says Google, “one free account gets you into everything Google”. You may infer from this Lord of the Rings-style mantra that Google is referring to a Gmail account, which will tie you into its privacy-guzzling ecosystem for all eternity. However, it’s perfectly possible to use most Google tools without Gmail- and not just Search, YouTube, Maps and other public open sites, but those that require signing in, such as Drive, Docs and Photos.

How To Stick With Your Current Email Address.

To register for a Gmail-free Google experience-

Go to its Sign Up Without Gmail page and enter your name (or pseudonym, if you like) and email address which can be a fake one from a temporary service, provided Google allows it and it lets you receive Google’s confirmation email.

Create a Google Account Without Gmail

Be sure not to click the ‘I would like a new Gmail address’ option- if you do, choose ‘I prefer to use my current email address’ to switch back.

You’ll also, need to enter your date of birth and gender (again, these can be fake), and provide your mobile number so Google can send you a verification code (this is harder to fake!).

Delete Google Account

The chances are that you already have a Google account with an associated Gmail address, but if you feel like starting afresh, you can either delete it at myaccount.google.com/deleteaccount or just ditch your Gmail account at myaccount.google.com/deleteservices.

Using Android Without a Gmail Account.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s possible to use an Android phone or tablet without a Gmail address, to stop Google spying on your mobile activities. However, this will prevent you from accessing the Google Play Store and Android’s backup and syncing tools.

When you set up your device, tap Skip when you’re prompted to sign in to Gmail, then Skip again to confirm that you want to use Android without a Google account. 

A couple of screens later, you’ll be asked to opt into some extra Google services, but you can decline these and tap Agree to continue. 

Built-in Google apps including Maps, Chrome, and YouTube will still work, as will the Contacts app, but be prepared for constant nags to sign into Google! 

Also read:

HowTo Use Google Search Without Being Tracked.

HowTo Find Out What Google Knows About You.

How To Watch YouTube Without Being Watched.

YouTube lets you find and view virtually any video you can think of, for free-but as with any Google service, this convenience and choice comes at a price and the more data you contribute towards Google’s profile of you- even if many clips you play aren’t representative of your interests. 

This profile determines the type of ads you see on YouTube, which keeps the service free (unless you pay for an ad-free YouTube Premium subscription) but is more intrusive than you may realize. 

A tool called Customer Match lets companies upload their customer databases to Google and have them matched to YouTube users, so they can target those most likely to buy.

Delete the Watch History of Google.

There are several steps you can take to stop your YouTube viewing habits from being exploited. First, delete your ‘watch history’ by clicking the History link in YouTube’s left-hand menu and choosing ‘Clear all watch history’. 

Stop YouTube storing what you watch in the future by selecting ‘Pause watch history’. Next, click Settings, choose ‘History and privacy’ and ensure all the options, including ‘Keep all my liked video private’ are ticked.

Finally, you can escape those pesky advertisers by turning off ‘Ad personalization’, which means you’ll still see ads but not relevant ones.

How To watch YouTube videos without Ads.

If you love spending time on YouTube but don’t trust Google with your data, there is an alternative way to watch that lets you access all the same content, but without the privacy worries- and no, we don’t mean signing out for Google account. And here you can watch all videos ads free which you usually get between the YouTube videos.

It’s called FreeTube and is an open-source YouTube desktop player (hosted on GitHub) that’s been “built with privacy in mind”.

Available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, FreeTube lets you watch, search and even download YouTube videos, without setting through ads and without Google tracking you using cookies and JavaScript.

You can even subscribe to YouTube channels without signing into an account, while your ‘watch history’ is stored locally and privately, rather than being analyzed and targeted by Google and its partners.

One the catch is that YouTube can still see your IP address when you ‘request videos. However, FreeTube’s developer suggests that this can be concealed by using a VPN or Tor.     

How To Monitor your time on different Social Media.

If  you find yourself endlessly scrolling through your Facebook and Instagram feeds for several hours every day, then check out the social network’ new dashboards, which serve as a regular reminder of how much the time you’re wasting.

They show you how many hours you’ve spent on Instagram or Facebook over the past week, along with your daily average, allowing you to take action by cutting the number of notifications you receive. Crucially, they also let you set a reminder that prompt you to stop browsing after a set of time.

Access the time monitoring dashboard On Facebook and Instagram.

In Facebook- Access your dashboard on Facebook by selecting the Menu button and choosing Settings & Privacy, ‘Your time on Facebook’.

In Instagram- Simply tap the menu icon in the top-right corner of your profile and select Your Activity.

Just be aware that the times are shown only relate to the device on which the app is running, so estimates won’t be accurate if you keep switching between desktop and mobile.

How To Pin Websites To The Desktop.

We all visit a lot of different websites daily but from all that list there is only a few website which we visit regularly. 

So instead of searching for the website on a browser, again and again, you can create a short cut icon of the website to your desktop.

Pin the website to the desktop.

I am using Chrome browser for explaining this process, you can try the same from other browsers also.

Step 01: First, open the browser which you want to pin and click on three-dot in the upper right corner.

Step 02: Click on More Tools and then click on Create shortcut.

Now you can see a short icon of the website created on the desktop.

Chrome also lets you drag the padlock icon situated to the left of a URL and drop it on the desktop to create a shortcut.

How To Hide Folders Names on iPhone and iPad.

I love using folders on my iPhone, placing all my TV apps together or tidying away my social-media apps, but the folder names make the screen feel very busy.

One solution for this problem is that you can create folders in the dock that don’t have names, but for all others, the method is not the same.

Hide Folder Names on iPhone and iPad.

Step 01: First, open a black text message or email and type [ ] (note the space between the brackets).

Step02: Next, press and hold the space between the brackets and select to copy it.

Step 03: Now, go back to your folders on the Home screen and press and hold one until they start to shake –usually. You do this to move icons around the screen.

Step 04: Open the folder you want to rename, use the X to clear its current name and double-tap in the space.

Step 05: Select Paste when the option appears and the iPhone will add the space you copied earlier into the field.

Step 06: Tap Done and you now have a folder with no name. 

This method can work on the iPad. You just have to follow the same steps discussed above in this post.  

How To Close Windows Laptop Lid Without going to Sleep Mode.

Closing the lid of your Windows laptop will send it into Sleep mode. If you are using you laptop as a second screen than don’t want to use it for that time then also you have to leave your laptop open and running to avoid your laptop going to sleep mode.

After exploring some Windows 10 settings, I found a setting in the Control Panel that let you close the lid without sending the laptop to sleep.

You have to adjust your power settings to close the laptop lid and still keep it on.

Step 01: Right-click the battery icon in the System Tray and select Power Option.

Step 02: Inside Power Option- on the left, ‘Choose what closing the lid does’ and you will find Power and sleep buttons and lid settings.

Step 03: Under, When I close the lid:, set it to ‘Do nothing’ from the drop-down menu and click on Save.

Now you can close your Windows laptop lid without moving your laptop to sleep. 

Note: But one-thing to remember that from now, you have to use commands on the Start Menu to put your laptop to sleep or shut, once you’ve made this change.   

How To Download Any Audio You Hear on Any Website.

Streaming is designed to be ephemeral, which means that music and other audio you play in your browser is supposed to stay there. But as anyone who used to tape radio shows will tell you, there’s nothing like having your own copies of cool stuff you hear, which makes chrome Audio Capture an invaluable tool. 

This nifty extension lets you record any audio that’s playing in the current browser tab, and save it to your computer in MP3 or WAV format.

Following Steps To Download Any Audio You Hear on Any  Website.

Step 01

To start recording, you first have to install a chrome extension named-Chrome AudioCapture.

Step 02

After installing the extension, choose the website, radio streams, podcasts, sound from online videos or web-based voice calls which you want to record.  

Step 03

To record the sound of that website, click on the  extension and then click on Start Capture. Or, you can use the keyboard shortcut for the same-

• Ctrl + Shift + S to start capture on the current tab.
• Ctrl + Shift + X to stop capture on current tab.

This keyboard shortcut may not work if the same shortcut is using by another installed extension.

Note- The maximum capture time is officially 20 minutes “due to Chrome memory constraints”, but you can exceed this limit if you don’t mind sacrificing sound quality.

Warning- Remember that any audio you ‘rip’ must only be kept for your personal use, to avoid infringing copyright.

Step 04

After capture is finished, a new tab will be opened automatically for you to name and save the file. Please do not close the tab before saving the file.

You can cancel or download at any time, record multiple tabs simultaneously and mute tabs that are being captured to avoid audio spoilers.

How To Watch Videos As a Group on Facebook.

We’ve grown used to watching, sharing and commenting on videos on Facebook, but despite the interaction, it’s largely a solo experience. Facebook is hoping to change that with Watch Party, a feature that allows members of groups on the social network to view videos together at the same time.

Watch Party works by getting one or more hosts to start and control a stream of live or recorded videos, inviting others to watch and comment.

Facebook says it could be useful for Q&As about  hobbies, tutorials, and group-based activities such as exercising. And even though it can’t be used outside of groups or Pages right now, Facebook believes it will eventually bring friends and family together for shared experiences.

Note- But to use the feature you must own one group.

Following Steps To Use Watch Party Option of Facebook.

Step 1: If you run a group, you’ll now see the Watch Party option in the status update box.

Step 2: Select it, click Add Video and find content that you want to ‘Add to Queue’.

Step 3: Once you’re ready, Click Done, write a status and invite people to join.

The profile pictures of those watching will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: When the stream has finished, the videos watched during the Party will be saved in a post, with the comments and reactions stripped away.

So by following this steps, you can watch videos live with all your group members and enjoy the party.