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Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#91

Post by nightski »

pmontra wrote: post #85
lumost wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other side, DuckDuckGo is becoming pretty reasonable. I now only need to flip back to google for some hard to search technical topics. DDG also brings up a ton more of the old internet, you get way more variety in the search results.

I fall back to !g when I don't find what I'm looking for. It happens too often for technical things. And Google is the only one that handles "verbatim searches". At least I'm splitting my trail of data between two companies.

I hear people say this but I haven't even desired to use a !g for several years now (good riddance). I wonder if it is for certain types of tech.

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#92

Post by thunderrabbit »

tesseract wrote: post #18
monkeybutton wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Verbal ads during navigation?! I haven't really been driving anywhere new since covid started so I must have missed it. What are they like? "Take the next exit for a delicious Big Mac!"

"Turn after the Dunkin Donuts on the right onto Maple Street"

This actually happens in Japan, and until now I assumed it was not advertising.

I would translate it as "turn at the next left; where there is a ______."

The ______ is often a convenience store. hmmmm!

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#93

Post by lamontcg »

kornhole wrote: post #21
reustle wrote: post #5

What is going on inside Google? Far worse search results recently, verbal ads during Maps navigation directions, and stuff like this. Do they see some writing on the wall (eu pressure?) and they’re squeezing as much as they can while it’s an option?

This is the spiral of businesses based on personal data. They are pressured to meet quarterly earnings targets. As more people flee with their data, they must squeeze more out of what they have and can get. They are trying to diversify into business services and hardware, but those are struggling even though often heavily discounted. Their tarnished reputation is making it harder for customers in those markets to tru…

Its the same way that everything on TV turns into crap. It is all about maximizing profits while minimizing effort and focusing on the least common denominator of customers/viewers/users, and actually shrinking the userbase to maximize user profitability. So the result is the shit that half the people out there will just put up with.

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#94

Post by pingsl »

riverguardian wrote: post #77
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's actually mostly reasonable, but then why default on instead of either keeping the closest existing setting or asking?

Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience of using Google Workspace. We don't offer controls that separate each piece of functionality within Workspace products. The reason there _is_ one governing both Workspace and non-Workspace data (the current Web and App Activity setting) is mostly historical in nature, and the fact that there are two existing controls (one fo…

- The ability of Google Workspace organizations to turn off “Web & App Activity” for all users will be removed.

Why is this? The company should have control over how employees use the company assets.

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#95

Post by enriquto »

riverguardian wrote: post #77
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's actually mostly reasonable, but then why default on instead of either keeping the closest existing setting or asking?

Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience of using Google Workspace. We don't offer controls that separate each piece of functionality within Workspace products. The reason there _is_ one governing both Workspace and non-Workspace data (the current Web and App Activity setting) is mostly historical in nature, and the fact that there are two existing controls (one fo…

> Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience (...)

I remember, as a youngster, a Google advertisement that was in the form of a math quizz. One of the questions was about how many colors are needed to paint the sides of an icosahedron. The next question was: "which colors would you choose? Why?" I was utterly fascinated by the, so far unknown, company that wrote this funny ad that appealed so personally to me!

Twenty years later, the mouth of Google uses wooden language with terms like "product experience". This is not only useless, but also sad and stupid. Damn, Google, what the hell happened to you? Your ass used to be beautiful!

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#96

Post by ad404b8a372f2b9 »

riverguardian wrote: post #77
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's actually mostly reasonable, but then why default on instead of either keeping the closest existing setting or asking?

Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience of using Google Workspace. We don't offer controls that separate each piece of functionality within Workspace products. The reason there _is_ one governing both Workspace and non-Workspace data (the current Web and App Activity setting) is mostly historical in nature, and the fact that there are two existing controls (one fo…

No post body was provided.

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#97

Post by bamboozled »

justin_oaks wrote: post #26
jjulius wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the very extensive track record you allude to is more than enough to convince me that Google's never flipping the "don't be evil" bit back on. It's gone. Done. Sayonara. Adios. Bon voyage. Kaput. Fin. Au revoir. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I tend to agree. Companies don't seem to switch to being good once they go evil. I would love it if someone could share a counterexample. I want it to be true that companies don't just turn evil but can become better too.

Once a single bad egg gets into upper management, the core of the company slowly becomes poisoned by similar folk who they employ and rot the company from the inside out.

Psychopaths (shown here)[1] show up where ever there is money and power, make life shit for all the better / empathetic staff, who end up leaving, gut the place and move onto the next company once it's trashed.

[1] https://pics.me.me/ha-ha-business-pig-roll-com-guys-i-havent...

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#98

Post by ComradePhil »

nixass wrote: post #89
riverguardian wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience of using Google Workspace. We don't offer controls that separate each piece of functionality within Workspace products. The reason there _is_ one governing both Workspace and non-Workspace data (the current Web and App Activity setting) is mostly historical in nature, and the fact that there are two existing controls (one fo…

I don't wanna ruin the conversation here but: > Great question This is exactly how politicians (or whoever is doing something nasty) will start the answer on sensitive question. Shady business.

Not always but definitely here. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing... it's like Microsoft changing the default search engine to Bing with their updates.

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#99

Post by ajuc »

This is illegal, Google will pay another millions of euro of fines in EU. You cannot just work around privacy settings by renaming the options.

The sad thing is that they probably already included the fines in the budget cause the benefits are bigger :(

Re: Google to turn on activity tracking for many users who turned it off

#100

Post by flyinglizard »

nixass wrote: post #89
riverguardian wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question. The premise here is that search is an integral part of the product experience of using Google Workspace. We don't offer controls that separate each piece of functionality within Workspace products. The reason there _is_ one governing both Workspace and non-Workspace data (the current Web and App Activity setting) is mostly historical in nature, and the fact that there are two existing controls (one fo…

I don't wanna ruin the conversation here but: > Great question This is exactly how politicians (or whoever is doing something nasty) will start the answer on sensitive question. Shady business.

There’s built in asymmetry here in that we talk to him as mostly anonymous individuals but he needs to respond as a company representative, so I think it’s understandable it would come across like that.
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