this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2025
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DeGoogle Yourself

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What are dumb reasons that Google will ban you for? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Bea@lemmy.ca to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/51878816

If we want to argue that Degoogling isn't just about privacy, but about protecting your digital life from being shut down at the whim of a tech giant with no real appeal process, what are some examples showing why we shouldn’t ignore the risk of Google banning users, locking them out of countless accounts, and deleting photos, emails, and records that often lack backups?

Some examples that I personally know of:

  • Being mass reported in YouTube comments for expressing a controversial opinion
  • Filing a copyright claim, only for a creator to appeal it, and failing to provide ownership proof within 48 hours
  • Having your Google account hacked and used for fake ads or Play purchases, then being told the charges are “legitimate,” and facing a ban if you dispute them
  • Having your $1000 Google store purchase lost in transit, then being told that you're not getting a refund and if you try to chargeback, you'll be banned.
  • Failing to provide a picture of a credit card for a Google store order flagged for fraud within 72 hours.
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[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago

I copied this from my post in the Degoogle Canada community

Examples of Google shutting down accounts on a whim:

https://www.timesnownews.com/viral/dad-took-photos-of-his-son-for-the-doctor-google-flagged-him-as-a-criminal-article-93725588

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-users-locked-out-after-years-2020-10

This one may be justified, even the owner of the account isn’t sure https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-09-19/google-closed-my-account-over-sexual-content-but-theyre-not-telling-me-what-it-is-and-ive-lost-everything.html

The play store is unsafe - https://thehackernews.com/2022/07/over-dozen-android-apps-on-google-play.html?m=1