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Poll: How much do you trust Google?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#41

Post by cmars232 »

I use them, but I don't trust them. They've got my email and feedreader (for now), but not much of my search.

I hate instant search, and I don't want to authenticate myself to them just to turn it off. My browser is forgetful of cookies, and I shut it down regularly to get shit done.

DuckDuckGo is a refreshing alternative and Google now gets but a meager fraction of my search, where they used to be almost exclusive. I'll check DDG first, then elsewhere if I'm disappointed. Subjectively, DDG result relevance seems to be improving lately.

I also block Google's Javascript analytics and ads, as I do all other third parties. As a user how can I trust let alone know what all these ad networks and doohickies in a page really are? If you want to advertise or analyze on your site, fine, back it up by serving it out of your own domain if it matters that much to your bottom line.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#43

Post by nevinera »

I trust them to act as a rational, enlightened for-profit business? Just like all the other businesses and services I depend on?

Google is not a person; the word 'trust' misframes the debate about it. What you should be asking is whether their potential profit from maintaining their reputation will outweigh the profits from doing whatever it is you're afraid they'll do. And the answer, of course, depends.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#44

Post by moxiemk1 »

cubicle67 wrote: post #40

Trust them to do/not do what? I use them for search. still better than anything else out there I trust them to do their best to keep gmail working I trust them not to fudge my analytics data I don't trust them to have any sense of loyalty to me at all I don't trust them to keep my data private if given a reason not to. If Google were subpoenaed, I assume they'd give up my data in a heartbeat I think Google has almost…

Should we expect companies to hold out when subpoenaed? Though I know it's often not the case, aren't the subpoenas vetted by the court issuing them?

I'm certainly not a lawyer, but when I expect a company to follow laws for protection of my privacy, I also assume that they follow the laws when they go the other way.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#45

Post by RK »

patio11 wrote: post #10

I trust Google precisely as much as I trust any other corporation on the Fortune 500. (For poll choices, "I trust them with a substantial portion of my income" -- 100%, for all intents and purposes. I'm the lamprey to their shark -- I wish I could quit them but wouldn't be much good swimming without them and if I let go for an instant I have a funny feeling I'll meet the teeth.)

Lamprey or remora? Sort of changes the analogy. A lamprey kills its host. A remora just eats the scraps.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#46

Post by hackinthebochs »

Natsu wrote: post #11

Now, or later? Right now, I trust them fairly well in that they're not abusing their powers very much, aside from having issues with bugs in their support AI programs. But, someday, I fully expect the founders to move out and other people to move in who really don't care about the corporate slogan and who have no way to make the company grow except to monetize more of the personal data they're sitting on in ways that…

And the problem is that trusting Google now with your data is implicitly trusting future Google with your data. Once they start to do evil, you can't just pull the plug and walk away, taking your data with you.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#47

Post by sharednothing »

daeken wrote: post #3

Google has more dirt on me (primarily due to email) than any one other company/individual, but I find it really hard to care. While I'm sure certain bits of it could be used against me, I just can't muster the energy to be bothered by it. They give me enough value that I just don't care.

All this contributes to a collective fear of exercising Free Speech when it becomes necessary.

You don't give an F now about the fact that company x keeps tabs on you using tech y. Typically this is expressed as "I'm not doing anything illegal so I don't care".

Outside of US and other civilized realms, the notion of "Freedom of Association" and "Innocent until proven guilty" are perhaps foreign concepts. But to hear this non-sense -- "I'm not doing anything illegal" -- as a justification for their stupid acceptance of systemic surveillance is just unacceptable.

These companies are fundamentally enablers of tyrannies.

Re: Poll: How much do you trust Google?

#50

Post by fooandbarify »

cubicle67 wrote: post #40

Trust them to do/not do what? I use them for search. still better than anything else out there I trust them to do their best to keep gmail working I trust them not to fudge my analytics data I don't trust them to have any sense of loyalty to me at all I don't trust them to keep my data private if given a reason not to. If Google were subpoenaed, I assume they'd give up my data in a heartbeat I think Google has almost…

Exactly. I tried for a while to stop using Google services, concerned by how much of my information they control, and I found that it was extremely impractical. Google is no longer my default search engine (unless I'm using Chrome on my netbook) but I often need to use it anyways - it just gets better results than the competition for a lot of things. Gmail is simply the best e-mail solution for me - maybe it's just because I'm used to it but I was unable to get behind any of the competitors or open source options. I typically use Analytics on all my sites, although that might be changing soon. Same with AdSense.

tl;dr I don't not trust them enough to stop using their services completely, which I simply found too extremely impractical to do.

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