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An unwanted update to your Google Account

roboleary.net

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Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#11

Post by tyingq »

efitz wrote: post #5

Why are you using Google if privacy is this much of a concern for you? There are many other services that provide much better privacy protections, eg ProtonMail.

I can see someone wanting something that the GDPR provides them, while still wanting to use Google. "Right to be forgotten", for example.

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#12

Post by andrewnicolalde »

eyeinthepyramid wrote: post #6
axiosgunnar wrote: post #3

The author is aware that his account ended up being associated with Malaysia, right? I have the impression he mistakenly thinks it stayed with Germany?

Didn't he want it to stay with Germany?

Yes, and it looks like it changed to Malaysia rather than remaining in Germany.

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#13

Post by superkuh »

It's even worse if you don't enable javascript. Suddenly most google services will be in another language (not english) and there's nothing you can do about it. My google account regularly gets switched to Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc because lots of people from those countries use the same (canadian) VPS provider as me to tunnel though.

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#14

Post by wikunia »

axiosgunnar wrote: post #3

The author is aware that his account ended up being associated with Malaysia, right? I have the impression he mistakenly thinks it stayed with Germany?

Yeah I'm also confused by that part. The first said Germany -> Malaysia and the second said: Will be unchanged but Malaysia

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#15

Post by chrismorgan »

I just took a look at this for my own account. It has me associated with India; I’m Australian, but spent just over a year in India recently. I have never received any notification like the one cited in this article. (Perhaps because it wouldn’t affect which company service is offered through? But the laws may still differ.)

And as far as Google Play Store is concerned, I’m American for some completely unknown reason, and they refuse to be convinced otherwise unless I give them credit card details; so any apps region-locked to Australia are out of my reach.

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#16

Post by laborat »

I was under the impression that the EU privacy laws (GDPR etc) applied to EU citizens regardless of location. If that impression is correct, then isn't it the case that nothing meaningful, privacy-wise, will change for the author even after this change to their account, as long as they remain a German citizen?

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#17

Post by EMM_386 »

axiosgunnar wrote: post #3

The author is aware that his account ended up being associated with Malaysia, right? I have the impression he mistakenly thinks it stayed with Germany?

> I have the impression he mistakenly thinks it stayed with Germany?

I don't get that impression. I think the reason it's in bold with is to show that even after the manual attempt to change it, Google responded with "sorry, still Malaysia".

Re: An unwanted update to your Google Account

#20

Post by rvba »

nerbert wrote: post #7
efitz wrote: post #5

Why are you using Google if privacy is this much of a concern for you? There are many other services that provide much better privacy protections, eg ProtonMail.

Spoiler alert: in 10 years a leak reveals that ProtonMail is one of the multiple "Swiss-based privacy-oriented" services operated by secret services.

NordVPN is pushed so hard everywhere that it looks like a single point of failure - I assume every secret service wants to hack it, if they didnt already.
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