Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 642 posts

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#21

Post by floatingatoll »

cs702 wrote: post #6

Doubtlessly, this will be rationalized and justified as being necessary for, and in the best interest of, consumers... ...but inevitably, it will be used for tracking -- regardless of intent. It might also get Google in trouble. Copying and pasting from the a comment in the OP's URL: > Example: https://www.youtube.com - in network headers, look for x-client-data > Now, go to https://ad.doubleclick.net/abc - and your…

This comment is unreadable on mobile. https://i.imgur.com/jFusqw0.png

Could you please remove the four-space indent? You can wrap each paragraph in * ... * if you want to italic them.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#22

Post by acollins1331 »

a_wild_dandan wrote: post #12
swiley wrote: post #2

Google consumer software is almost universally an active full frontal attack on you. Stop using it.

This sounded harder to do than it was in my experience. I figured the alternatives to their products would be less polished. But I switched to Firefox and honestly prefer it to Chrome. (They allow extensions on Android, meaning adblock, which is a game changer for me.) DDG for search is great. Protonmail for email is fine, etc. There isn't much in the Google ecosystem that I miss tbh.

The only thing I have problems finding something that works is Google maps. As an Android user there are a few different options but Google did make a damn good maps app.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#23

Post by JadeNB »

kick wrote: post #18

"Backdoor" this, "backdoor" that. Proprietary software company releases proprietary software that allows them to spy on you, how shocking. In which they sacrifice privacy to allow their ad network to target you better. https://www.blog.google/products/chrome/building-a-more-priv... In which they explicitly track you more under the guise of protecting your privacy. https://github.com/jkarlin/floc For every single clai…

Sure, the general pattern of behaviour is familiar, but I didn't know about this specific manifestation, and now I do. What's the use of being so dismissive about specific information on which one can act?

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#24

Post by mateo1 »

dragonsh wrote: post #10

This is another instance that google doesn’t care about users privacy and track without their consent by using chrome installation Id. This probably might be against GDPR, so Chrome installed base in Europe multiplied by per day fine, hopefully runs into a years revenue of google. Another lesson don’t trust for profit companies with privacy protection especially advertising technology company like google with motto l…

Honestly, it's 2020, even if your technical understanding is so low that you have no idea what a "browser" is, you know that Google will do anything in it's impressive power to track down everything you do with legal or illegal means. Thanks to Snowden, this is no longer a conspiracy theory. It's a fact.

Google should be fined for this but they probably won't be.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#25

Post by macinjosh »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #16
janpot wrote: post #4

Not endorsing this, but according to https://www.google.com/chrome/privacy/whitepaper.html#variat... > We want to build features that users want, so a subset of users may get a sneak peek at new functionality being tested before it’s launched to the world at large. A list of field trials that are currently active on your installation of Chrome will be included in all requests sent to Google. This Chrome-Variations he…

Is there a reason for only sending this header to Google web properties and not all domains?

It is an abuse of Chrome's position in the marketplace. Google is using their powerful position to give themselves tracking capabilities that other online players can't access. It is a major competitive advantage for Google.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#26

Post by kick »

JadeNB wrote: post #23
kick wrote: post #18

"Backdoor" this, "backdoor" that. Proprietary software company releases proprietary software that allows them to spy on you, how shocking. In which they sacrifice privacy to allow their ad network to target you better. https://www.blog.google/products/chrome/building-a-more-priv... In which they explicitly track you more under the guise of protecting your privacy. https://github.com/jkarlin/floc For every single clai…

Sure, the general pattern of behaviour is familiar, but I didn't know about this specific manifestation, and now I do. What's the use of being so dismissive about specific information on which one can act?

It's not a backdoor! Calling random anti-consumer behavior a backdoor is the privacy-equivalent of Godwin's law.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#27

Post by eitland »

I haven't read this carefully enough to decide exactly how bad it is, but one thing seems clear to me:

From what I see many techies are now aware and upset, and hardly anyone seems to want to defend Google anymore.

I consider it more likely than not that Google will take some real beatings in the years to come. Kind of like Microsoft was fined by the US and EU, forced to advertise for competing browsers and ridiculed by Apple ads. On a case by case basis I think some of this will be well deserved, some less so, but few outside of employees and shareholders will cry.

I also guess a lot of people, including certain owners and many in management hasn't deciphered the writing on the wall yet, and in that case it whatever comes next will be surprising.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#30

Post by mojuba »

cs702 wrote: post #6

Doubtlessly, this will be rationalized and justified as being necessary for, and in the best interest of, consumers... ...but inevitably, it will be used for tracking -- regardless of intent. It might also get Google in trouble. Copying and pasting from the a comment in the OP's URL: > Example: https://www.youtube.com - in network headers, look for x-client-data > Now, go to https://ad.doubleclick.net/abc - and your…

> Now, go to https://ad.doubleclick.net/abc - and

It's funny that the doubleclick URL was removed by my adblocker and I didn't get what the original message was about. Now I can see it, thanks :)

Post reply on HN