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Gmail has come back online, after a days-long outage that was initially pinned on the country’s Great Firewall.
The email service, the world’s biggest, went offline on December 26th but seems to be working again.
Users on Chinese social media said that the site was back, and a Google spokesman told the Financial Times that the company had “checked and everything is working on our end”.
Access has been steadily climbing this morning, according to Google’s Transparency Report , which shows data on access to services. The information is still being finalised for usage this recently, but has been at almost zero in the days since the outage was reported.
Show all 10 1 /10Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant Removing custom adverts Google creates custom adverts on websites based on what you have previously searched, but if you want to modify what personal information Google saves about you, you can view your ad settings. This specifies data about a user, such as their age and gender. The search engine even stores information on your 'interests' based on a user's "activity on websites". If you want to block Google from using your personal data to create custom ads, you can opt out of both "interest-based ads" on Google, as well as on the web. You can also block certain advertiser campaigns, although this does not apply to YouTube as well as Google.
Click here to change your settings.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant Removing web history When you create a Google account, Google Web history is automatically turned on. This stores information on details such as pages visited, Google searches, results from searches (even inside Google+, Gmail and Google Calendar), adverts you have previously responded to and your IP address. However, it is also possible to delete your previous Google web history and turn off your Web history being saved in the future.
Click here to check your history.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant Removing Google+ Users are now automatically given a Google+ account once they sign up to a Gmail account. If you want to remove your Google+ account all together, users can deactivate their profile by going into Account Settings and finding the link at the very bottom for “Deactivate Google+”.
Click here to see your Google+ account settings.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant DuckDuckGo If you really want to stop depending on Google then you're going to need to find a different search engine.
DuckDuckGo is a great alternative for the privacy conscious, boasting that they do not store any personal data at all. The search engine even runs the website Don't Track Us, which outlines the main privacy flaws of Google. To hammer home their point they tell users. “Remember your searches? Google also saves them. Your saved searches can be legally requested, and then come back to bite you.”
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/" target="_blank">Bing Maps</a> After search, maps are probably Google's most dominant product. Microsoft’s Bing Maps has a number of similar features to Google Maps, including including all the expected route planners, aerial view, etc. Although it's not yet available as a standalone map for mobile (unless you've got a Windows Phone) it does get folder into the Bing app. Unfortunately it's not a great experience - better stick to the web.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="http://www.mapquest.com/" target="_blank">Map Quest</a> Another alternative is MapQuest, which is owned by AOL. The service is fairly ancient by internet standards but a recently released app has some impressive features including voice navigation, live traffic updates, automatic traffic re-routing and even suggests the best petrol prices in a certain area.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="https://skydrive.live.com" target="_blank">Office web apps</a> For those who want an alternative to Google Docs, the company's free web-based productivity suite, then Office web apps, from Microsoft is probably your best bet. Although the free apps have limited functionality compared to the paying softarwe, you can still modify documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly from its web interface. And just like Google Docs, multiple users can collaborate on a document all at once.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="https://www.libreoffice.org/" target="_blank">Libre Office</a> And if you're not particularly in need of web-based editing but don't want to pay for Office or use Google Docs then Libre Office is a great open-source alternative. Everything will, of course, feel a little unfamiliar at first but the functionality is all there. The software package even has an equation editor that allows users to display mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation – making them much easier to understand.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="https://www.hotmail.com" target="_blank">Hotmail/Outlook</a> Hotmail is a solid alternative to Google’s email suite. Now that Hotmail is integrated with Skydrive, users can send files up to 10GB in size. Another benefit is the “one click filter” setting which lets users filter emails i.e. social update emails from Facebook, as well as emails from regular contacts that users would want to separate from the main inbox.
Getting rid of Google: Privacy options and alternative services for the internet giant <a href="https://shortmail.com" target="_blank">Shortmail</a> Shortmail is a unique email platform – all emails are limited to 500 characters, attachments are not allowed, and there is no folder structure. However, the service claims that there is no junk email – a benefit that many will enjoy. Shortmail is also available as an iOS app.
Internet groups initially blamed the Great Firewall, the Chinese government’s internet blockages that keep out sites that the government wants banning. But state media said yesterday that Google could be to blame, and that the outage could have been caused by technical problems.
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