Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gmail Launches Add-ons

blog.google

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 238 posts

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#71

Post by guelo »

Gmail on Android is such a shitty locked-down experience. Want to create an appointment from an email? Nope. Want to set a reminder about an email? Nope. Want to link to an email from a notes or other app? Nope.

OK, well now maybe. If you become a "business partner" with them and shove your product into whatever grand strategery they're cooking up this quarter.

It's sad to think how Android was envisioned as this open system where apps freely communicate with each other but Google has been working overtime to kill that vision. Google in general just hates open these days.

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#73

Post by robotresearcher »

eridius wrote: post #66
mseebach wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll have to scan it for search. And spam, as sibling comment mentions. And, really, to store and display it at all, depending on your definition of 'scan'.

"Scan" means they take the data out of the "email" silo and use it for purposes other than providing email services to the user (such as using it for advertising). Searching is not "scanning". Nor is any other normal behavior of providing email services. So the question at this point is does Google keep your email data silo'd or do they use it for other purposes?

> Searching is not "scanning"

Pray, how does it work, then?

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#74

Post by bharath28 »

eridius wrote: post #66
mseebach wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll have to scan it for search. And spam, as sibling comment mentions. And, really, to store and display it at all, depending on your definition of 'scan'.

"Scan" means they take the data out of the "email" silo and use it for purposes other than providing email services to the user (such as using it for advertising). Searching is not "scanning". Nor is any other normal behavior of providing email services. So the question at this point is does Google keep your email data silo'd or do they use it for other purposes?

Clearly Google Now/Home uses gmail data to be relevant.

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#75

Post by AgentME »

falcolas wrote: post #10

Not much info in this particular message, but I wonder if this could be used with GPG to send and receive encrypted emails. I'm sure browser sandboxing would be an issue (hard to keep a key private when it's uploaded to another server and used in a browser window)... but still, the possibility would be pretty awesome.

The Gmail Add-ons are executed by Gmail and are within Gmail-controlled webpages. Nothing in the add-on is private from Gmail/Google. If you want end-to-end GPG-encryption where the plaintext and keys aren't accessible to Google, then you want to use a browser extension (such as Google's End-to-End extension or ones built off of it: https://github.com/google/end-to-end).

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#77

Post by oliwarner »

halfteatree wrote: post #65
oliwarner wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opt in isn't enough to stop it becoming a toilet. Years of Britney Spears Naked Screensavers and malware "removers" have taught us that users are idiots. You can net a bazillion users with one "unlimited space" add-on. Obviously, there's some vetting but that doesn't always work. These add-ons could run on Google's servers and only have connectivity to your inbox and session. Instead, this appears to allow companies…

> users are idiots Please, for the last time, stop using this rhetoric. How would you like to be called an idiot? As a developer and a user, I'm deeply offended by this condescending attitude. I really don't know what people like -- apparently opt-out is bad, so now we're using opt-in. Still, "opt-in" is bad because it's becoming a toilet? How do you expect _any_ platform to work? Self-host everything?

I said exactly how it should work. These add-ons should exist and operate within Google/gmail and nowhere else. They shouldn't be able to send your data anywhere else. Instantly curtails the unwashed from having their identities stolen.

As for the rhetoric, I'm sorry you feel picked upon. I was speaking generally, not directly at you... but if that still doesn't reflect your experience of the idiots bumping their way around your product, lucky you. Seriously. Even in B2B apps with supposed experts, we get some alarmingly silly feedback.

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#78

Post by late2part »

guelo wrote: post #71

Gmail on Android is such a shitty locked-down experience. Want to create an appointment from an email? Nope. Want to set a reminder about an email? Nope. Want to link to an email from a notes or other app? Nope. OK, well now maybe. If you become a "business partner" with them and shove your product into whatever grand strategery they're cooking up this quarter. It's sad to think how Android was envisioned as this ope…

Just Like Java (TM)? Google is the new Sun Microsystems?

Re: Gmail Launches Add-ons

#80

Post by eridius »

bharath28 wrote: post #74
eridius wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Scan" means they take the data out of the "email" silo and use it for purposes other than providing email services to the user (such as using it for advertising). Searching is not "scanning". Nor is any other normal behavior of providing email services. So the question at this point is does Google keep your email data silo'd or do they use it for other purposes?

Clearly Google Now/Home uses gmail data to be relevant.

Ok, better question: Is Google using your email data for anything not explicitly authorized by and for the benefit of the user?
Post reply on HN