I'm just going to go down the list of what I've done to make my Google Account a little better. Disclaimer: I have heard Google asking for ID but this has never happened to me. What may work for me may not work for you. Name: Unless you need this for professional work then don't put your real name. Also tutanota and protonmail emails have become more common (especially in Technology fields) so they should be considered "professional." Birthday: Also not your real one, but still easy to remember in case Google ever asks for verification this way. Gender: Doesn't really matter. Enable 2FA (less privacy and more security). Instead of google authenticator, use Aegis for Android or Raivo for iOS. Data and Privacy In history settings, clear and pause all three settings (web activity, location activity, and Youtube History). Turn off ad personalization (clear history if possible). Turn off personal results in search (in case you really need to Google something and Brave Search, Startpage, DDG, Searx, Metager, Kagi, etc. doesn't work somehow and Google does. I'm assuming you can do Google Fit privacy settings if you need to. Turn off location sharing. Limit the number of third party apps that want access to your account. Security Turn off enhanced safe browsing, just in case And yeah that should be pretty substantial. More on reddit.com

Yes Google gives you a lot of control over your account IF you go digging around. By default though, Google hoovers up every little tiny piece of information they can get. Since most users simply stick with default settings, that's where the issue is. I will say that it's not entirely Googles fault though. It's half the users fault for their own ignorance of how the service they use works. The other half is Googles fault for taking advantage of the majority of users ignorance. More on reddit.com

I would NEVER understand why would privacy - savvy people use chrome, or gmail for that mattet. You’re handing over everything. More on reddit.com

Of course. Ignore the one-size-fits-all model people love here. Obviously using Gmail won’t be as private as an encrypted service, but depending on your threat model, those services can offer only a marginal benefit. Here’s how to optimize: Go in your Google account settings and turn off all the privacy/data collection options. Google no longer scans email content for ads, and it doesn’t allow advertisers to send targeted ads using data from Gmail. However, those other options are how they monetize your data. Use a third party app, like Apple Mail or Thunderbird and login go Gmail from there. Google apps collect a ridiculous amount of data, so using a non-Google app separates you from that while still letting you use the service. These apps can also block trackers that are embedded in messages. If you ever sign into Gmail from a browser, avoid doing so in a browser you use for other purposes. Or sign out and delete cookies before and after using Gmail. Use iCloud private relay or a vpn when signed into Google via the Web. The cookies and identifiers will track you across apps and devices. If you can get away with it, use ProtonMail and log into Gmail from there. The catch is you can’t send messages, but you can read them. I’d recommend this overall because email is not private, by design. Good luck! More on reddit.com