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Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

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Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#51

Post by ricardbejarano »

reaperducer wrote: post #31
ricardbejarano wrote: post #11

Controversial opinion: Half the data Chrome collects is harmless, and the other half is up to the user to give up: - Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) - Financial data: you must enter it manually and click "save for future use". Could it be better? Sure! But I think DDG is exaggerating here. We're not _that_ bad.

Half the data Chrome collects is harmless If true, that still doesn't negate the other half that is not harmless. More importantly, how about I get to choose what I consider harmless, rather than having a Silicon Valley advertising agency do that for me? Also, there's no way of knowing what Google shoves into the "other" category. Sunlight disinfects, even in Mountain View.

Fair enough.

But beware, Chrome's lead on render speed is most likely thanks to the performance data they collect. Any other browser you may choose might not collect that data, but don't be surprised if it halves your battery life and takes twice the time to render stuff (such as Firefox in macOS about 6 months ago, don't know how it performs now).

There are reasons for data collection, and I don't think everything is used for malitious intent, which is DDG's point.

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#53

Post by ricardbejarano »

bassman9000 wrote: post #45
ricardbejarano wrote: post #11

Controversial opinion: Half the data Chrome collects is harmless, and the other half is up to the user to give up: - Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) - Financial data: you must enter it manually and click "save for future use". Could it be better? Sure! But I think DDG is exaggerating here. We're not _that_ bad.

Half the data Chrome collects is harmless Until it's not. Meaning, we don't know if there's a way yet to harm users, or we don't know if anyone is actually using it to harm users. If it's harmless, don't collect it.

Chrome's the fastest browser on the market. That, along with some nice marketing strategy is what makes it the absolute market leader.

The reason Chrome is so fast, is most likely thanks to the performance (harmless) data it collects. Firefox may be proud of not collecting as much data, but (at least on macOS) they spend twice the battery to render twice as slow.

Not saying you shouldn't be able to choose what data you're collected (which, you are) but there are reasons (not necessarily evil) to get that data to the devs.

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#54

Post by Solocomplex »

ricardbejarano wrote: post #47
zepto wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems hard to make the argument to make that browsing history is harmless, given how often it is used in police investigations and court cases.

I'd love to see some data to back your point. Is browsing history being used as evidence in criminal prosecution? Where? How?

This is very common knowledge.

https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=%22Browser%20history%22&typ...

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#56

Post by fooker »

ricardbejarano wrote: post #51
reaperducer wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half the data Chrome collects is harmless If true, that still doesn't negate the other half that is not harmless. More importantly, how about I get to choose what I consider harmless, rather than having a Silicon Valley advertising agency do that for me? Also, there's no way of knowing what Google shoves into the "other" category. Sunlight disinfects, even in Mountain View.

Fair enough. But beware, Chrome's lead on render speed is most likely thanks to the performance data they collect. Any other browser you may choose might not collect that data, but don't be surprised if it halves your battery life and takes twice the time to render stuff (such as Firefox in macOS about 6 months ago, don't know how it performs now). There are reasons for data collection, and I don't think everything i…

Chrome halves battery life on macs, compared to Safari.

Clearly the fix is collecting even more performance data! :)

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#57

Post by [deleted] »

ericmay wrote: post #38
ricardbejarano wrote: post #11

Controversial opinion: Half the data Chrome collects is harmless, and the other half is up to the user to give up: - Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) - Financial data: you must enter it manually and click "save for future use". Could it be better? Sure! But I think DDG is exaggerating here. We're not _that_ bad.

> Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) Now if only we could take away Apple's ability to create a walled-garden...

[deleted]

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#58

Post by bassman9000 »

ricardbejarano wrote: post #53
bassman9000 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half the data Chrome collects is harmless Until it's not. Meaning, we don't know if there's a way yet to harm users, or we don't know if anyone is actually using it to harm users. If it's harmless, don't collect it.

Chrome's the fastest browser on the market. That, along with some nice marketing strategy is what makes it the absolute market leader. The reason Chrome is so fast, is most likely thanks to the performance (harmless) data it collects. Firefox may be proud of not collecting as much data, but (at least on macOS) they spend twice the battery to render twice as slow. Not saying you shouldn't be able to choose what data y…

what makes it the absolute market leader

What makes it the absolute leader is the void left by a dismal IE, and a completely lost Firefox, a few years back. Today's lead is coasting. I don't know OSx, but perceived performance in Linux/Windows is not any better than today's Firefox/Chromium derivatives, if any at all.

You keep saying "harmless", and keep missing the point. If you don't want data to be used against users, don't collect it. And use explicit opt-in for everything.

This argument is like the classic _well, if you haven't made anything wrong, why do you care if the state collects that much info about you?_. The problem is not being harmless today. Is that, when the moment of being harmful come, then it's too late.

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#59

Post by simonh »

ericmay wrote: post #38
ricardbejarano wrote: post #11

Controversial opinion: Half the data Chrome collects is harmless, and the other half is up to the user to give up: - Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) - Financial data: you must enter it manually and click "save for future use". Could it be better? Sure! But I think DDG is exaggerating here. We're not _that_ bad.

> Location data: you are asked and must approve for Chrome to use (at least on macOS) Now if only we could take away Apple's ability to create a walled-garden...

If only we could take away customer's satisfaction with, and preference for a well maintained walled garden.

Alternatively, if only people who don't like Apple's solutions would just go away and leave those of us who do alone.

Re: Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome

#60

Post by [deleted] »

Solocomplex wrote: post #54
ricardbejarano wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to see some data to back your point. Is browsing history being used as evidence in criminal prosecution? Where? How?

This is very common knowledge. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=%22Browser%20history%22&typ...

[deleted]
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