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Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

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Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#652
post #601

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox doesn't even have default zoom (last I checked).

Do you mean Firefox doesn't have a way to return the zoom level to its default? (It has two; you can do ctrl-0 or you can click on the zoom-level indicator in the URL bar.) Or do you mean you can't tell it to default to a zoom level that isn't 100%? (That seems to be true.) I confess that's never a thing it's occurred to me to want; it feels like if I wanted every website's text to look larger or smaller, I'd probabl…

This has been a sticking point for me too when trying to transition to FF from Chrome. My main monitor is a 4k 24-inch, and at that pixel density, the Windows HiDPI scaling isn't always enough to get the text the correct size for comfortable viewing. For text-heavy sites like HN, Reddit, and Wikipedia, being able to set a default 125% zoom in the browser is very nice, while still being able to keep the default zoom for sites like Youtube where video player size is more important than text size.

Considering the cost to implement would probably be pretty low, I think it is a fair complaint against the browser. Still, privacy concerns may supersede convenience in this particular case, and I think I might try again to switch.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#653
post #565

Another confirmation that engineers and product developers are no longer in control at Google. Engineering and product first is how Google won the game initially, very easy to forget that when the money rolls in massively and the power structures move away from those driving forces. Microsoft already went through this engineering/product growth to bizdev/marketing control to stagnation and is already in the return to…

I assume this is the engineering at work. "Okay, users are confused by how they're logged into Google but not Chrome, or Chrome but not Google - let's make them one and the same". "Okay, but once you're logged into Chrome now, every post we check to see if we have the Google cookies to keep that sync... so that means when you clear the cookies the Google ones will automagically reappear" "Ugh, let's just notify the u…

Yet, it coincidentally has the properties to keep your ad tracking identity in tact, so Google can serve you ads based on your online profile. What a wonderful side effect. I'm sure they had no idea that would be the case, just pure luck.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#654

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the alternative to Android though? Apple has its own well-documented issues, as well as a rather large price-tag. I just use my phone for maps and some chat services, don't need a very fancy phone. Even the iPhone 7 is listed at £449, which is already £150 more than I paid for my Sony Xperia. I wish stuff like HP WebOS or Meego was still alive, but as far as I know, Apple and Google are the only serious player…

There are no perfect alternatives, just imperfect ones. Apple has their own issues, but they've claimed that their business is selling you a device and software and media to run on it, and making their money from that as opposed to reselling your data. Everything they've been doing lately supports that stance, and they've already recognized it as a differentiation, hence the way they have been up-playing the privacy…

Google does make a ton of money from ads and tracking, but how do they not "sell software and media" too? They sell apps and media in the same manner that Apple does.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#655
post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume this is the engineering at work. "Okay, users are confused by how they're logged into Google but not Chrome, or Chrome but not Google - let's make them one and the same". "Okay, but once you're logged into Chrome now, every post we check to see if we have the Google cookies to keep that sync... so that means when you clear the cookies the Google ones will automagically reappear" "Ugh, let's just notify the u…

Don't they have anybody from the legal department to oversee the decisions of developers? A wrong decision could cost them millions in fines in these days.

Are these fines actually ever collected/paid?

I remember the five billion dollar fine sourced out of GDPR, but is that ever actually initiated or part of an ongoing power play?

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#656
post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LineageOS, and other custom Android distributions without Google services.

Doesn't LineageOS still use Google Play Services?

Google Play Services and other nonfree Google software can be installed on top of LineageOS, but LineageOS does not include them in its installation. I've used Lineage extensively with F-Droid as my apps source.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#657
post #637

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it remained logged in across private tabs. If you mean "Incognito mode", then that's always happened. You need to close all tabs. Exactly the same for FireFox's private browsing.

I don't use Chrome/Firefox but this surprises me, as well. The presence of a private browser window (anywhere) will prevent it from deleting cookies when you close this private browser window? That seems completely counterintuitive to me. When else, in any application, does the mere existence of an open, empty window completely change the behavior of a different window? Safari's private tabs are each completely indep…

> The presence of a private browser window (anywhere) will prevent it from deleting cookies when you close this private browser window?

Yes. This is not new behavior. And yes, it frustrates people that assume each window is a separate incognito instance. It's not, and hasn't ever been.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#658
post #315

Why are we assuming maliciousness? My best guess that Chrome works this way would be due to combining the sign-in cookies with the general cookies of the browser (e.g. 1 cookie store instead of 2). So when you log in to Google, you log in to Chrome - and vice versa. For non-technical users this is a convenience feature, though for many it does come with privacy concerns. Judging by the comments re cookie clearing, th…

It doesn't have to be malicious for it to harm privacy, help them track users for advertising and to be anti-competitive.

The implementation details around cookie recreation don't matter if users are still being tracked. Especially bad if this lets them track you on third party sites that contain Google Plus buttons or advertising iframes.

By ensuring users always remain logged in to the browser they gain a strong advantage over other companies that track users. Users attempting to remove tracking cookies shouldn't find Google ones permanently bundled with the browser.

The intent was likely to aid convenience and avoid users being unexpectedly logged out, but combined with Google automatically logging users into the browser this is a sign that the Chrome team is paying less attention to user privacy than they used to.

Perhaps users who regularly clear all cookies will start using guest accounts instead. Myself I'm more concerned about the general trend of unexpected behavior.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#659

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are no perfect alternatives, just imperfect ones. Apple has their own issues, but they've claimed that their business is selling you a device and software and media to run on it, and making their money from that as opposed to reselling your data. Everything they've been doing lately supports that stance, and they've already recognized it as a differentiation, hence the way they have been up-playing the privacy…

Google does make a ton of money from ads and tracking, but how do they not "sell software and media" too? They sell apps and media in the same manner that Apple does.

Abusing users isn't OK just because they've found additional ways to extract money from users.

Disclaimer: I was a Google fanboy until a few years ago and I disliked but trusted Google until a couple of weeks ago. Now I don't know what to do but at least I've finally got around to switching my search habits.

Re: Chrome 69 will keep Google Cookies when you tell it to delete all cookies

#660
post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All participants are equally complicit, but some are more equally complicit than others :-) p.s. I know the market seems to like Apple’s perspective on privacy, but unless we can examine an altrnate universe where iPhones aren’t selling like hotcakes, it’s tough to know whether the market values the eithics involved, or just thinks it’s a fine strategy. If the latter, the market doesnkt really value their values, but…

We can examine an alternate universe where iPhones aren’t selling like hotcakes actually. > With only seven million iPhones sold in China during the second quarter of 2018, Apple's market share in the country dropped by 12.5 percent year on year to 6.7 percent, according to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) Apple have some very particular values in China though, storing iCloud data and encryption k…

Hasn't Apple basically abandoned the low price phone market in the same period though?
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