Why YSK: A Google account is not the same as a Gmail account, and you don't need to create a new Gmail email account to have a Google account.

I've spoken to many different people who equate a Google account to a Gmail account. This is not the case. Unfortunately, this leads to many new Gmail accounts being created, solely because they think that they need to have a Gmail in order to access other Google services.

Here's the gist:

A Google account gives you access to Google services like Sheets, Docs, Calendar, Drive, Photos, Gmail, YouTube, etc.

A Gmail account is an email service account with Google. When you create a Gmail, you also create a Google account by default.

However, the reverse is not true. If you create a Google account (with a non-Gmail email address), it does not automatically give you a Gmail account.

If you already have an email account with another provider, you can use that as your Google account.

For example: Let's say your email is [email protected]. Rather than creating [email protected], you can opt to create a Google account with [email protected] and avoid creating an account for Gmail.

Unfortunately, Google tries to get you to create a Gmail account during the process of creating a Google account. (see image).

It's important to differentiate this and prevent people from registering new Gmail accounts unnecessarily.

No need to remove the URL tracking parameters manually. 🥳

Why YSK: Trackers don't do good for anyone except the platform, and they're not necessary to view the content in the URL.

It's courteous to not subject the recipient (most likely your friends and family) to this tracking. You're already sending them to the platform, which is tracking them in other ways. But you can help reduce that tracking by removing everything after the ampersand in the URL. Here are some examples.

Twitter example

URL: https://x.com/CookieSlayers/status/1623712884902567937?s=20

The s=20 is a Twitter-specific parameter to show that the tweet was copied from the web app. s=46 is iOS, and I can't remember what Android's code is. This is a relatively clean link, but there are some links that'll concatenate unique identifiers, like: https://x.com/CookieSlayers/status/1623712884902567937?s=20&t=Fn47fnSDJUD74bd9.

In this case, you'll notice there's also a &t= parameter, which is a unique identifier to the person who shared it.

The only part of the URL you need is https://x.com/CookieSlayers/status/1623712884902567937.

Instagram example:

URL: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzP877du2EB/?igshid=MzRlODCFWFlZA==

The only part of the URL you need is https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzP877du2EB.

TikTok example

URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@inthepaintcrew/video/7301348328602717482?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7302915057791436331

You'll notice TikTok's is a lot more readable in terms of what the URL contains.

The is_from_webapp parameter is self-explanatory, as is the sender_device, and then there's the identifier that's unique to you. In this case, 7302915057791436331.

The only part of the URL you need is https://www.tiktok.com/@inthepaintcrew/video/7301348328602717482.

The best route^1^ would be to use privacy-respecting frontends, but if you don't, simply deleting everything after the ampersand goes a long way.

^1^The best route would actually be to not use/reward platforms that are literally destroying humanity, but we're not there yet, so... in the meantime, let's just try to decrease the tracking and stop subjecting our friends and family to it as much as possible.

What is this product, and what does it do?

Reddit Account Manager allows you to keep track of all of your accounts, subreddit subscriptions, and bookmarks—all in one place.

How does this product help me?

Reddit Account Manager acts as a database repository for your Reddit accounts, so that if and when you decide to delete your Reddit account, you have your accounts, subscriptions, and bookmarks all in one place. With Reddit Account Manager, you'll:

• Know exactly when you created every account
• Know how much post/comment karma each account has
• Know when it's time to delete an account
• Have all your subscriptions mapped out and ready to go for the next account you create
• Save all your bookmarks, even if your accounts are long gone
• Know when an account is active, deleted, or not created yet

Why did you build this product?

Despite many Redditors' desires to delete their account and start a new one, many refrain from doing so for multiple reasons. Reasons include (but are not limited to):

• Losing track of the subreddits they're subscribed to
• Losing bookmarks
• Lack of data export functionality from Reddit
• Time and effort in switching (and ditching) accounts

Why have multiple Reddit accounts, and why would I want to delete them periodically?

All of your Reddit activity is public. Over time, you become increasingly identifiable. By having multiple Reddit accounts designated to specific subreddits/interests, and deleting them after some time, you:

• Maintain pseudo-anonymity
• Subscribe to different subreddits across different accounts
• Keep a low profile and mix up data

Which platform do I need to use Reddit Account Manager?

You can use it out-of-the-box with any the following:

• Airtable
• Baserow
• Notion
• Coda
• ClickUp

Can I use this to store or migrate my Reddit data now that Reddit has killed third-party apps?

Absolutely, yep. You can (and should) use it however it works best for you.

Why did you make it free?

We all deserve privacy and to not be tracked all over the web. I knew this could bring value to every single Reddit user who wants to delete their account, start a new one, or simply keep track of everything you want to, so that if you ever do want to destroy your account, you'll be able to without worrying about losing track of it all.

And given Reddit's recent controversial decisions, Reddit Account Manager serves as a great tool to export your data and take it with you wherever you go next.

Felt this belonged here.