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Ask HN: Gmail account security

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Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#531
I realize I am a million years late to the party, but this is a good time to remind everyone to turn this “feature” off.

It’s buried deep in settings but it can be disabled.

The first time this happened to me I had to talk to an old employer to let me use my old laptop and sure enough it worked. I was very lucky.

I hate google at this point - or rather how big these trillion dollar tech companies are getting.

Would love a viable email alternative, but fast mail isn’t it.

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#532
post #507
post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More laws aren’t always the answer. Really, we should just be using a company that gives a shit about its users.

True. The sheer scale of not giving a crap is what is truly impressive. Alphabet has built a monster system meant solely to not have a phone number. That's a scary innovation.

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#533

Once upon a time I worked at Google. I returned to Austin to visit old friends and took the opportunity to visit the Google office there. The Googlers sitting around me were primarily corporate sales. They weren't getting any corporate sales calls at all as far as I could tell, but there was one extremely irate user who was locked out of their GMail account and was repeatedly calling them because they were the only h…

only tangentially related but that phrase is a pet peeve of mine. You are always the product if you are using software - free or paid. Netflix is sure as hell going to use your data the same way youtube would. The only exception of course is most but not all FOSS.

Since it's a pet peeve we share I'll add... I feel it's a bi-directional exchange. A trade. I consume a product (Gmail) and they consume a product (my personal information). At best I'd be "a" product not exclusively "the" product.

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#534
post #470

Once upon a time I worked at Google. I returned to Austin to visit old friends and took the opportunity to visit the Google office there. The Googlers sitting around me were primarily corporate sales. They weren't getting any corporate sales calls at all as far as I could tell, but there was one extremely irate user who was locked out of their GMail account and was repeatedly calling them because they were the only h…

You are actually pointing out a tremendous opportunity that Google has internally and externally. I work at Google and recently tried to file a bug about the calculator embedded in search. It was dastardly difficult to find how to file the ticket. It took me maybe an hour. A better system for filing tickets internally and for filing and triaging tickets from external users would be a tremendous asset for Google.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use google constantly— sometimes hundreds of times per day— both logged in and out, almost exclusively in Firefox or Firefox developer edition and I've never encountered this. I'd bank on it being a network thing— VPN, overcrowded proxy, etc.

The beauty of AI is that it's likely no human can say precisely why two similar users might get a different classification.

...and the beauty of the Internet is that there's really no way to be sure people are being genuine...

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#536
Have a similar problem here,

I logged into my google account on a mobile emulator VM while testing some apps and have since deleted the VM. However, when i sign into my gmail acc it has 'tap yes on your android x device to confirm it's you' (which i deleted). I have recreated the exact emulator VM and the same thing happens..

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#537
post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are actually pointing out a tremendous opportunity that Google has internally and externally. I work at Google and recently tried to file a bug about the calculator embedded in search. It was dastardly difficult to find how to file the ticket. It took me maybe an hour. A better system for filing tickets internally and for filing and triaging tickets from external users would be a tremendous asset for Google.

I guess this is why Amazon is playing the long game with their obsessive focus on customers. I don't know how that really plays out where the rubber meets the road but that's what Jeff bezos always keeps talking about.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#538

Yep, and it was even more aggravating. > have three gmail accounts > primary, name.surname@gmail.com > secondary, name.surname.purchases@gmail.com > tertiary, name.surname.work@gmail.com > secondary and tertiary have primary as a recovery address > log in/out once a week in 2nd and 3rd > last August, try to log into name.surname.work > "Password is incorrect" > WTH?! of course it's correct. > try several times, Googl…

Could be some bot is trying to log in to your account, triggering your account being locked down.

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

only tangentially related but that phrase is a pet peeve of mine. You are always the product if you are using software - free or paid. Netflix is sure as hell going to use your data the same way youtube would. The only exception of course is most but not all FOSS.

I think there’s a difference. “You are the product” means that your usage and data are the primary thing the company develops (with software) so it can be sold to their actual customers, namely, advertisers. I’ve been involved with many software companies that gather various metrics (analytics, crash logs, user info, etc.) but do not sell that data to anyone. As such, the user is not “the product” but the customer. I…

In those cases the user is an asset for the company. And not "asset" in a good way if you ask me. It's more of an resource than anything noble.

Re: Ask HN: Gmail account security

#540
post #470

Once upon a time I worked at Google. I returned to Austin to visit old friends and took the opportunity to visit the Google office there. The Googlers sitting around me were primarily corporate sales. They weren't getting any corporate sales calls at all as far as I could tell, but there was one extremely irate user who was locked out of their GMail account and was repeatedly calling them because they were the only h…

You are actually pointing out a tremendous opportunity that Google has internally and externally. I work at Google and recently tried to file a bug about the calculator embedded in search. It was dastardly difficult to find how to file the ticket. It took me maybe an hour. A better system for filing tickets internally and for filing and triaging tickets from external users would be a tremendous asset for Google.

The discoverability may not be the best, but its not terrible. There's a "Send Feedback" button on most search result pages (and specific ones per-result if you click the 3-dot menus). The same "Send Feedback" thing is available in Gmail (though its hidden in a (?) menu), Youtube etc.

IME that feedback is generally taken seriously.

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