I wish to cancel all Google except for Gmail. Seems impossible. Any
help?
In this excerpt from
Answercast #10, I explore the relationship among services offered by
different providers (including Google, MSN, etc.); I look at the possibility of
using just a few those services and a way (perhaps) to avoid getting the whole
package.
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Can I just have Gmail?
Not really.
What most people don't realize is that when you sign up for a service like
Gmail (the same is true for Hotmail), what you're actually establishing is a
Google account. One of the services that is available through Google is
Gmail.
There is really no concept of a Google account that does not have access to
all the other things that are associated with Google. You may not use them. They may not even be enabled per se, but certainly most of the common ones
are there whether you use them or not; apparently whether you want them or
not!
Multiple features in one account
The same is very true for Hotmail. I see this all the time with people who
confuse the fact that their Hotmail email account is also the same as their
Windows Live Messenger, Instant Messaging account. They try to close one while
continuing to use the other. It doesn't work that way. They are the same
account; those are just two features in that same account.
So the short answer to your question is, "No." I believe you're right; I believe it is impossible.
Limit your Google Services
The only thing you might consider doing (if you're trying to leave some
existing stuff behind) is to completely close your Google account, and then
open a new Google account that only uses email. You'll have access to all that
other stuff, but you won't have the baggage of whatever you happened to have
used it for in the past.
If you have a Google account you use for gmail, and your gmail is open, and you view something on YouTube at the same time, Google will associate what you view on YouTube with your Google account. The only way to preserve your privacy is to use a different browser (e.g. safari for YouTube and IE for gmail) or to sign out of gmail before you click on the YouTube link; I’m not even sure the latter will work.
Companies have been snopping into our computers for a long time … Google’s telling you they are … I separted myself as far as I could from Google’s reach … delete all Google relationships!
One of the things people don’t think about when they sign up for the gmail or hotmail accounts is that there is no free ride. The google system is what pays for the “free” email. If you don’t like it, I suppose you could always pay for a private account.
This is another reason why it is so hazardous to log in to your Google related account(s) on a friends’ or library… any unsecure PC. You leave traces behind & BLAMMO people you don’t want to, have access to all your Google Related accounts. This applies to the many different scenarios out there, Facebook is the worst.