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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

#171

Post by pilif »

greyface- wrote: post #168
riverguardian wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "tracking" is a bit misleading here. It's product (search) usage activity. None of the Workspace data you provide is ever used outside of Workspace, nor is it used for any other purpose than for the benefit of you and your users (we can't create machine learning models from your data to improve the experience for other customers, for example, without your prior consent), and that data is never used for ads.

You challenged the tone of the question, but you didn't attempt to answer it. Do you believe that nobody in their right mind would want this functionality turned off?

I'm relying on search history in my Google Workspace account every single day. It's very convenient and I have a feeling most people would agree with that.

What is a double-edged sword is how this history is being used.

If it's just about offering search history for each individual user, then it's not a privacy issue and strictly an improvement in convenience. Turning it on offers the convenience, turning it off, removes it.

This is of course different if this history is used for other profiling and for ad sales, but we just learned that the data is not used this way. Now we can either trust them that this is true, or we don't.

But if we don't, what good is a setting then because if we don't trust them to begin with, why would we trust them that disabling the feature also disables tracking?

So tell me: Why do you believe that anybody in their right mind would want this functionality turned off?

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

#172

Post by zeruch »

riverguardian wrote: post #120
twhb wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comments and the email both are written like nobody really wants tracking off, at least not if they know what’s good for them. Is that what you believe?

I think "tracking" is a bit misleading here. It's product (search) usage activity. None of the Workspace data you provide is ever used outside of Workspace, nor is it used for any other purpose than for the benefit of you and your users (we can't create machine learning models from your data to improve the experience for other customers, for example, without your prior consent), and that data is never used for ads.

"I think "tracking" is a bit misleading here." And I think you are playing a very glib game of apologia.

The benefits are not misunderstood, but the ramifications of being held by a company that is getting progressively more oblique and whose actions more obfuscated by marketing speak and sleight of hand PR don't make the ROI better for 'the actual product' when put under scrutiny.

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

#173

Post by chaps »

tomnipotent wrote: post #145
friedturkey wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Loads of valid issues mentioned around here describing concerns with users being tracked. Not really reactive when misuse and abuse of tracking data is so insanely common.

Quoted post unavailable.

Can you please clarify what you mean and why you think this?

Whether from a lack of experience with how these things can go badly, or from a lack of good faith in trying to understand others' concerns, it sounds like you simply don't understand why people would have issues with this. But you haven't clarified what your comments that, from my perspective, appear to be even more reactionary than the people you're accusing of being reactionary.

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

#175

Post by avnigo »

oefrha wrote: post #151
twhb wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comments and the email both are written like nobody really wants tracking off, at least not if they know what’s good for them. Is that what you believe?

If you’re worried about “tracking”, you probably should have moved off Google Workspace before this change. “I’ll hand all my emails and files to you in plain text, but hey, why are you storing my access patterns (and telling me about it)?” is such a weird concern.

One concern does not necessarily negate the other, hence why they exist as different permissions.

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

#176

Post by account42 »

pseudalopex wrote: post #76
staplers wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The result of a system that legally binds corporations to maximize profits enforced via shareholder lawsuit.

"While it is certainly true that a central objective of for-profit corporations is to make money, modern corporate law does not require for-profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and many do not do so."[1] [1] https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/13-354.html

How is a comment in a lawsuit against a private company relevant to a comment about the negative incentives of publicly traded companies?

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

#177

Post by roylez »

riverguardian wrote: post #70

Hello hello, PM for the feature checking in here. amf12's reply is quite on-point. Web and App Activity is designed to store search activity across all Google services, and we're splitting Workspace data out since it's governed by strict data handling guarantees, with the hope that more people will feel comfortable getting the benefits of better search in Workspace without having to opt-into search history being trac…

It is amazing that you still have positive karma.

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

#178

Post by account42 »

ajuc wrote: post #99

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 :(

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

This is why we need exponentially increasing fines for repeat offenders and perhaps even harsher things like prison sentences for CEOs or the company itself (i.e. a temporary complete ban).

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

#179

Post by robertlagrant »

nottorp wrote: post #155
riverguardian wrote: post #70

Hello hello, PM for the feature checking in here. amf12's reply is quite on-point. Web and App Activity is designed to store search activity across all Google services, and we're splitting Workspace data out since it's governed by strict data handling guarantees, with the hope that more people will feel comfortable getting the benefits of better search in Workspace without having to opt-into search history being trac…

In summary, no one trusts your employer any more no matter what they say. > Search history can be immensely useful for our users See the various comments spread across all HN articles stating that Google Search has become useless.

Is that true for Google Workspace search?

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

#180

Post by basisword »

riverguardian wrote: post #70

Hello hello, PM for the feature checking in here. amf12's reply is quite on-point. Web and App Activity is designed to store search activity across all Google services, and we're splitting Workspace data out since it's governed by strict data handling guarantees, with the hope that more people will feel comfortable getting the benefits of better search in Workspace without having to opt-into search history being trac…

Your reason for splitting this into two separate settings is understandable.

>> ...with the hope that more people will feel comfortable getting the benefits of better search in Workspace without having to opt-into search history being tracked for all Google services.

This is unacceptable. People have already opted out or been opted out by their admin. If they want to opt back in now that the setting is more granular, they can, but this choice should not be made for them.

Let's be honest, the real reason for making this opt-out again is that you hope lots of people won't notice and you can start collecting their data. Please reconsider.

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