Google to developers: We take down your extension because we can

Post by dannyw » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 9:18 AM UTC

seangrogg wrote: post #14

Boulth wrote: post #2

It's interesting to observe current landscape of app delivery, previously it was just binaries or sources on developer's site now it's shifting to centralized model in the name of protecting users from malicious actors. I wonder if there is a way to have a cookie (developers don't need to worry about random behavior of your centralized owner) and eat it too (fight malware).

In this case the centralized owner is the Chrome Web Store; you're leasing space in their list of offerings at their terms, for better or worse. It's worth noting that the Chrome Web Store is just an easy (and highly visible, of course) way of installing extensions but not the only one; developer mode and self-installing is totally possible (though admittedly higher friction). Protecting users from malicious actors s…

Post by greggman » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 9:41 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #77

nixpulvis wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't that an extension was removed. There will always be erroneous attempts at making things safer for users when playing the game of content moderator. The problem is that Google is impossible to talk to, and makes no effort to help when things go wrong. As a current user of gmail this worries me.

This petrifies me. Google provides an incredibly easy way for me to capture all data that I care about. Getting photos and videos of my kids growing up and keeping them for years is trivial with Google. And in one little error it can all disappear with no recourse. I continue to struggle today to find a silver bullet solution for someone like me who just wants to hurl money somewhere and say, "use this money to guara…

Post by subsubsub » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 9:54 AM UTC

Post by some_account » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 10:06 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #77

nixpulvis wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't that an extension was removed. There will always be erroneous attempts at making things safer for users when playing the game of content moderator. The problem is that Google is impossible to talk to, and makes no effort to help when things go wrong. As a current user of gmail this worries me.

This petrifies me. Google provides an incredibly easy way for me to capture all data that I care about. Getting photos and videos of my kids growing up and keeping them for years is trivial with Google. And in one little error it can all disappear with no recourse. I continue to struggle today to find a silver bullet solution for someone like me who just wants to hurl money somewhere and say, "use this money to guara…

Post by yAnonymous » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 10:43 AM UTC

eksemplar wrote: post #110

Waterluvian wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This petrifies me. Google provides an incredibly easy way for me to capture all data that I care about. Getting photos and videos of my kids growing up and keeping them for years is trivial with Google. And in one little error it can all disappear with no recourse. I continue to struggle today to find a silver bullet solution for someone like me who just wants to hurl money somewhere and say, "use this money to guara…

Getting locked out of gmail is no joke. I have an old account that’s been forwarding to me for years, but when I recently changed my phone I lost my two factor. Despite being able to supply google with the creation date (they ask), the fact that my name/birthday is the same on both accounts, I’ve attached the same visa to both google accounts, I’ve logged on to them from the same ips, and the fact that it’s forwardin…