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Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

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Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#111

Post by arexxbifs »

kevlarr wrote: post #66
frozenlettuce wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, Mozilla made donations to political entities in the past

Which ones? Eich donated like $1000 to a political group that (I would hope) most of us disagree with, but Eich != Mozilla, and he was removed because of the backlash

I'm a Firefox user but I'm doubtful about donating to the Mozilla Foundation.

They at least endorse some really far-out organizations on the Mozilla Foundation homepage[0], such as Riseup Networks.

[0] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/?utm_source=www.mozilla.or...

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#112

Post by clarry »

eitland wrote: post #27

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…

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

From what I've seen is it's like it's always been: people are upset for a day or two and then continue to not care, and continue to (directly or indirectly) support the evil they were upset about. It's incredibly difficult to get even geeks to support a cause if it requires more than pressing a like button or posting a comment.

Also, it's not like Google's wrongdoing are recent news. Anyone remember Google Watch (the site)? People have been warning and predicting things since very long ago, yet the geek crowd never seems to hesitate to embrace the next soon-to-be evil company and their proprietary offering.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#113

Post by c16 »

jcl wrote: post #93
c16 wrote: post #80

Chrome explicitly having a line [1] of code to not send the `x-client-data` header to Yahoo made me laugh. [1] https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/comp...

FWIW, it looks like that's a test case -- it is not part of Chrome itself. They most likely just wanted an example of a third-party website, and could have used any non-Google site there.

Yes, But they tested Yahoo of all websites to make sure they don't send tracking data, and not an unrelated website like wikipedia or archive.org. The only non-google test case too I might add.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#114

Post by at-fates-hands »

reaperducer wrote: post #46

I don't understand why Google and some other tech companies use their users as involuntary, unpaid guinea pigs. No consent. No opt-out. What's the motivation? Is it simple laziness because they don't want to deal with wetware? Is it afraid that if people knew what was happening they wouldn't be happy? Google has eighty brazillion employees it can test new features on.

> I don't understand why Google and some other tech companies use their users as involuntary, unpaid guinea pigs. No consent. No opt-out.

It's crazy to me to think about when I was in college (in the mid aughts), I was doing a lot of research into Native American cultures. The amount of releases, paperwork, and other hoops you had to jump through in order to just interview subjects was pretty daunting.

The fact we have become involuntary research subjects without any protections as a research subject or easy way to opt out of these companies data collection (which itself is an ongoing form of research) is staggering to thing about.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#115

Post by chopin »

kick wrote: post #37
bamboozled wrote: post #20

You should also donate to Mozilla because it’s an insanely good piece o software for the price!

Firefox should definitely be used, but donating to Mozilla is a mistake. They waste a lot of it, their executive compensation rates are way too high (especially given that MoCo just laid off employees), and Mozilla still hasn't kept up with promises they gave years ago (that Pocket is still proprietary being a notable and depressing example). Donate to smaller developers of software you use, it'll go a lot further, a…

As long as they keep Firefox available they can waste my money as much as they want. Why should they owe me anything? I am taking their browser.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#116

Post by deeblering4 »

izacus wrote: post #104
deeblering4 wrote: post #53

I see people recommending Firefox, but I'll say that for mac users Safari is a very usable browser too. It's quite fast, and to my knowledge is not collecting/sharing my personal data with apple. https://www.apple.com/privacy/ These days I only use chrome for the g-suite tools that seem to require it to avoid mid-meeting crashes.

Safari has the same kind of AdBlock limits that Chrome team wants to implement. Also it's kinda behind the curve on iOS when it comes to features. Not to mention the fact that iOS users are forbidden from using any competitive browser, including Firefox.

I'm not sure what you mean by forbidden? Chrome and Firefox (and other browsers too) are readily available through the iOS app store.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#117

Post by LinuxBender »

tigroferoce wrote: post #103
winternett wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be evil... Until we are deployed enough that users don't have a choice... Now that Google has cornered the market for Internet browsing, they're using that foothold to change how it works to suit their dominance. This is why they are not concerned about per-site tracking that Google Analytics does, as long as THEY as a company have direct browser-based tracking, they no longer need to provide tracking services…

True. But luckily you actually have a choice. Many opt for DuckDuckGo on Firefox, for instance.

You are right, but they also know most people won't switch. They have an entire generation of folks that don't even think about privacy.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#118

Post by [deleted] »

falcolas wrote: post #101
kmlx wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think their business model is just fine: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/9to5google.com/2020/02/03/alp...

There's a certain irony of linking to an amp site on Google's domain as part of a larger discussion about their business ethics.

[deleted]

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#119

Post by basch »

reaperducer wrote: post #46

I don't understand why Google and some other tech companies use their users as involuntary, unpaid guinea pigs. No consent. No opt-out. What's the motivation? Is it simple laziness because they don't want to deal with wetware? Is it afraid that if people knew what was happening they wouldn't be happy? Google has eighty brazillion employees it can test new features on.

Microsoft Vista was a Windows 7 beta, and was "necessary" to basically experiment on the entire Home market, to make the product stable enough for enterprise.

Although Window 7 may have been one of the most complex software deployments in history, needing to support decades of poorly written drivers, while making the system both stable and compatible.

Re: Google tracks individual users per Chrome installation ID

#120

Post by DangerousPie »

marriedWpt wrote: post #38

Ahh the good ol HN "stop using Google and start using Firefox" advertisement. It's a bit odd to see this in every Google thread. Btw, Firefox is too slow.

Could it be because people who like their browser tend to tell others about it? I have absolutely nothing to do with Mozilla but I think the internet would be a better place if more people used Firefox.
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