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Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

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Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#81

Post by WalterSear »

digitaLandscape wrote: post #26

There was a lot of uproar about this internally but nothing changed. They told us that this was the only "practical" option. The company has rotted.

In a recent interaction with the Pixel support personel via the built-in chat, I was unabashedly lied to three times in a row, including direct contradictions of the previous support persons instructions.

When the support person didn't have a handy solution, they just started making up reasons why my issue wasn't supported, going so far as to tell me I was required to purchase non-existent, google-branded hardware in order to accomplish what the previous support person had already walked me through.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#82

Post by lovich »

Buge wrote: post #73
avh02 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorite part has been them pretending they no longer store your address, but when search results on the web places a pin they somehow manage to suggest it's an "x minute drive" from home... Which is it Google? Do you have the address saved or not? You forget where my address is only when it's inconvenient and coercive?

Are you sharing your location? Maybe nothing is stored, but your current location is used for searches you make.

I've had the same results when I've explicitly not shared location.

I will also use Google maps to find the route to some restaurant, turn off the GPS because I don't like being tracked and it's no too far, then head to the restaurant within 10-60 minutes of when I checked the GPS. If I have wifi on I will invariably get asked to rate the restaurant within 5 minutes of arriving there, regardless of how much time has passed since I checked the route.

I currently use a Pixel phone, but based on the experiences I've had, I will be switching to an iPhone in the hope that I get tracked less. After switching to Firefox and ddg as my daily drivers, I just need to get off of Gmail and I will be google free

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#83

Post by angled »

murukesh_s wrote: post #76

Looks like google has hit a gold mine with some algorithm to better sell ads or is under pressure from competitors (Facebook) to gather more data than they have currently. Their lack of presence in social media will hurt them in the long term. In Facebook you upload pictures, you like stuff, you spend more time on someone's profile, you hover more on an ad even if you don't click all these while you are logged in. Go…

Between WhatsApp / Facebook Messenger, Facebook Marketplace, and Amazon wishlists, who uses free email to describe what they want to buy or are interested in?

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#84

Post by steve19 »

hellbanner wrote: post #62
digitaLandscape wrote: post #26

There was a lot of uproar about this internally but nothing changed. They told us that this was the only "practical" option. The company has rotted.

Their UX continues to g et worse. Google Voice on iOS has had 10-20 second lag (no joke) on older versions of iOS (used to be jus fine!) for 1-2 years now. One previous version of GV in particular froze for 10 seconds on your first key press, now I can't rely on it to open properly, or send messages. It seems intentionally sabotaged. I heard employees quit when G merged the YT with "real name" accounts. Personally I'…

I know I am flogging a dead horse here, but the constant retiring of Google apps makes me reluctant to adopt anything beyond Gmail and Youtube. I am a heavy Google Keep user, but I worry I am going to be kicked off that eventually.

> And stop changing your UI. It

The Youtube UI just gets worse and worse. I can only imagine what it must be like for non-Youtube Red subscribers. The add playlist button now defaults to your last playlist, which for me 75% of the time is not the playlist I want. Then I have to wait a few seconds for a popup, click a button, then unselect the last playlist and tick a new playlist. Just to add a f'ing video to a playlist.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#85

Post by glogla »

maxxxxx wrote: post #18

In a way stuff like this and the recent news that they don't delete their own cookies from Chrome when deleting all cookies could be good news. It seems to become clearer and clearer that Google is getting desperate to squeeze more and more data out of people in order to sell that data. Hope they will lose their good guy image because now they are just another big greedy company like all others. Nothing wrong with th…

They have a (near) monopoly on web search, web ads, web videos, personal email, web browser and mobile os.

They never were the good guy, but I guess they decided to finally stop pretending.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#86

Post by partiallypro »

system2 wrote: post #24
citrablue wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they want your data in exchange for access to the service they provide? I get it, it's frustrating as hell, but I can understand their perspective.

Yes, a simple take it or leave it situation. There are alternatives. I don't get people getting mad because a private corp is doing something with their own software.

What choices? And I mean ones that people would actually use or know about? Apple Maps is basically it, and it's only one one platform. Bing Maps...maybe? But Google has an effective monopoly on consumer based maps.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#87

Post by user111233 »

tdb7893 wrote: post #10
ENGNR wrote: post #4

I can’t even ask my phone to set an alarm anymore without giving it my entire web and app history. Google is vulnerable here as they’re creating a very real need for basic alternatives

I think the main barrier is that people are generally unwilling to pay for these products now so it's hard to fund things with anything besides ads. If someone finds other ways to fund it I could see it but for now even with them vulnerable it would be hard to compete with them if you also were funded via ads.

People are paying $1000+ for Pixel phones. I think that should cover the cost of an alarm app.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#88

Post by kough »

steve19 wrote: post #84
hellbanner wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their UX continues to g et worse. Google Voice on iOS has had 10-20 second lag (no joke) on older versions of iOS (used to be jus fine!) for 1-2 years now. One previous version of GV in particular froze for 10 seconds on your first key press, now I can't rely on it to open properly, or send messages. It seems intentionally sabotaged. I heard employees quit when G merged the YT with "real name" accounts. Personally I'…

I know I am flogging a dead horse here, but the constant retiring of Google apps makes me reluctant to adopt anything beyond Gmail and Youtube. I am a heavy Google Keep user, but I worry I am going to be kicked off that eventually. > And stop changing your UI. It The Youtube UI just gets worse and worse. I can only imagine what it must be like for non-Youtube Red subscribers. The add playlist button now defaults to y…

Im surprised you manage to be a heavy Keep user — i had a few thousand notes, and then they rolled out some update that meant they would all be re-downloaded every time i opened the web client, which made it unusable for me. Switched to apple notes because why not and havent had any problems since.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#89

Post by jkaplowitz »

steve19 wrote: post #84
hellbanner wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their UX continues to g et worse. Google Voice on iOS has had 10-20 second lag (no joke) on older versions of iOS (used to be jus fine!) for 1-2 years now. One previous version of GV in particular froze for 10 seconds on your first key press, now I can't rely on it to open properly, or send messages. It seems intentionally sabotaged. I heard employees quit when G merged the YT with "real name" accounts. Personally I'…

I know I am flogging a dead horse here, but the constant retiring of Google apps makes me reluctant to adopt anything beyond Gmail and Youtube. I am a heavy Google Keep user, but I worry I am going to be kicked off that eventually. > And stop changing your UI. It The Youtube UI just gets worse and worse. I can only imagine what it must be like for non-Youtube Red subscribers. The add playlist button now defaults to y…

Google Keep is at least now a core G Suite service covered by their terms of service, SLA, etc for G Suite customers. It also just got integrated into the new Gmail UX. So that's unlikely to vanish too quickly.

Re: Google Maps won't let you save home address without allowing all Google tracking

#90

Post by mbudde »

brewdad wrote: post #59
pavanred wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been using OsmAnd~ [0] lately and have been pretty happy with it as an alternative. Uses open street maps, works offline, pretty good and configurable app. [0] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/

The big issue preventing me from using something like OsmAnd is my need for real-time traffic. Generally, I can figure out where a place is with only the address since the N-S streets in my city are numbered and the first digits of an address on a cross-street corresponds to the numbered Avenues. Traffic, OTOH, can easily vary by 30 minutes on a 15 mile trip day to day even without any crashes along the route. Is the…

Maps.me, which also uses OpenStreetMap data, can show live traffic info. Not sure where they get the data from or whether it's accurate.
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