A few years ago I made a comment about how funny it was that I would immediately delete all the Apple default apps and replace with Google apps (gmail, maps, etc). Now I'm back on the flipside and only use Apple Maps, Mail, etc. Unless Apple really F's up, they are going to win the privacy game and see a lot more usage of their native apps and services.
New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
241–250 of 463 posts
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#242This dark pattern seems to be spreading. Amazon recently pushed out an update to their (beta last I knew) web app that allows you to use their smile.amazon.com charity donation through the app. But in order to turn that on, you have to turn on all the notifications the app has, including their rather constant pushes of "deals I may be interested in". They're holding you hostage to their notifications because "it's fo…
Computer Science does not have the same heightened degree of Ethical Concern that exists in other sciences. E.g. genetic manipulation of human embryos is highly scrutinized, and action is taken when behavior that would corrupt future generations of humans is identified. Not so with CS. CS Ethics is muted, often conflated with Corporate Ethics whose "Greed is good" line seems to have won out above other ethical mantra…
This is about corporate ethics. Just because these corporations happen to make use of computers doesn't make this a computer science issue.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same goes for trying to turn on Voice Match (and the voice activated OK, Google), a feature that's supposed to take a snapshot of your voice and activate the assistant, like "Hey, Siri!". They will force you to activate: 1. web/activity history, 2. saving all your voice requests to the Google and they push you to activate Location History. While Voice Match learning the sound of your voice sounds like a completely lo…
>While Voice Match learning the sound of your voice sounds like a completely local task But voice rec is not local. The reason it asks to store your voice is because they need to send it to their backend for recognition.
But voice rec is not local
Voice rec was local until about ten years ago. You could even buy software dictation products that installed from CDROM and didn't need a network connection.
I shouldn't need a network connection to do anything voice on my own device. It should only reach out to the network for things it doesn't have local knowledge of.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reddit too, they cripple their mobile website to force you into their mobile app and hence your data.
Oh man, tell me about it. I lurk on Reddit from time to time from my smartphone and the experience nowadays is terrible. I have like half a dozen elements disabled using u-block to make it somewhat bearable. From the pulsating button at the top of every page to the multiple dialogs taking turn to harass you into installing the app... On top of that I've noticed that the website keeps getting slower and slower to load…
>The state of the web in 2019 is frankly shameful. Those are tactics that you should expect from shady websites, not some of the biggest players in the field.
Because of ad networks, every site is now a shady website.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is IBM included in metaphorical Silicon Valley? What about Expedia? Or Concur? Seems very arbitrary. Is metaphorical Silicon Valley only applicable to negative actions of tech companies or does it apply to all big tech companies? I searched for “metaphorical Silicon Valley” and didn’t see anything relevant. Also how did you get into this beta and where is the actual option? Is it under notifications? I’d prefer to us…
IBM is especially confusing because they actually have offices in SV.
As do Amazon and Microsoft. For that matter, "Detroit" (as a metonym for the auto industry) also have offices in Silicon Valley - Ford Greenfield Research is near Stanford, GM Advanced Technology in Sunnyvale, and GM Cruise Automation in SF.
When it comes to multinationals, physical location matters little - Google employs thousands of people in NYC and Boston and has offices all over the world.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#246They constantly berate you to deactivate no tracking preferences on google maps. When you're aware of this fact you start seeing it everywhere, not just on google. For example, on Pinterest they will berate you to sign up using highlighted buttons on land, and the x button is out of the way on the top right corner. This end result is due to product managers/devs looking at conversion rates and optimizing for whatever…
The result of this A/B testing amounts to a dark patterns. A/B testing a user choice by manipulating him/her like that seems like a no-no.
And sometimes A/B Testing is humorous.
Like when online publishers like Ars and TechCrunch A/B test headlines and pictures and I end up with a photo of singer Taylor Swift accompanying an article about Apple's iOS programming language Swift.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was definitely for their benefit of their workers rather than the greater society, and on the whole doesn't seem much different than the larger Silicon Valley companies of today. Take Facebook for example. They have a large utopian-esque campus for the benefits of their workers. In this campus they have bikes for getting around, free bars and restaurants (and an ice cream shop), an on campus doctor, bicycle repa…
> and in fact have somehow managed to convince CBP and USCIS to visit their campus to conduct Global Entry and Visa interviews instead of the workers having to travel to an office. Not to detract from your point, but this is a common service for employers above a certain size-- not some shady negotiation. My last few (not even close to FAANG) employers have all offered this perk.
I'm not trying to suggest it's shady, but it's clearly an employee perk that is not available to society at large. It's another effort by the company to make an "exclusive" community that benefits their employees and as a result helps retain talent for as long as possible. None of it is a philanthropic effort as originally suggested.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#248They constantly berate you to deactivate no tracking preferences on google maps. When you're aware of this fact you start seeing it everywhere, not just on google. For example, on Pinterest they will berate you to sign up using highlighted buttons on land, and the x button is out of the way on the top right corner. This end result is due to product managers/devs looking at conversion rates and optimizing for whatever…
These are the basic forces of commerce. Or any interaction. Amazon, target, even my loca coffee shops are not aligned with what’s best for me. They’re aligned with what’s best for them, with an eye towards maximizing overlap.
But where they want the customer to do something the customer wouldn’t, that happens everywhere. It’s not limited to tech.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#249Remember when Big Bad Ol' Microsoft bundled their Web browser with the OS, and that was beyond the pale?
That was so quaint.
Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is IBM included in metaphorical Silicon Valley? What about Expedia? Or Concur? Seems very arbitrary. Is metaphorical Silicon Valley only applicable to negative actions of tech companies or does it apply to all big tech companies? I searched for “metaphorical Silicon Valley” and didn’t see anything relevant. Also how did you get into this beta and where is the actual option? Is it under notifications? I’d prefer to us…
I would define a Silicon Valley company as a venture funded startup that leverages tech and has a set of ideologies that is usually left leaning American, usually values growth over profit, usually is fine with taking the law less serious if it's in the way of growth or profit, usually has elements of hacker culture, ... ... or any company that started out this way, which is why Microsoft can be considered to be a SV…
Except that Microsoft didn't take venture money until right before IPO, has always valued profits over growth, and has sort of the antithesis of hacker culture. (See eg. Bill Gates' famous "Open letter to hobbyists".)