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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

#251

Post by tut-urut-utut »

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…

Hallo dear PM.

I’m glad that you confirmed that you don’t care about your paying users anymore. Of course you will change their settings since you know better they want to be tracked even if they say they don’t.

I was under impression that, being a paid customer, I would not be a product and you would not try to scam me into being a data source for you. Looks like I was wrong and this move is the last straw that will kick me out of Google as soon as I’m done with transition. You lost my money and my goodwill. I will never ever use any Google service, nor will companies where I work or consult.

Looking forward to a Google free world.

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

#252

Post by snowwrestler »

Fiahil wrote: post #239
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…

I think you're getting a lot of shit from everyone who have an axe to grind against Google. They're not necessarily wrong, but I also think your mistake is not only to sneakily re-enable a previous off setting set by users, but rather your definition of "immensely useful". Yes, we do re-run prior searches, but they're not "immensely useful" because you have no feedback if we found what we were looking for or not. Usi…

How can search results within your Google Workspace be “mostly garbage?” Unless maybe your work emails and corporate documents are mostly garbage?

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

#253

Post by charcircuit »

Fiahil wrote: post #239
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…

I think you're getting a lot of shit from everyone who have an axe to grind against Google. They're not necessarily wrong, but I also think your mistake is not only to sneakily re-enable a previous off setting set by users, but rather your definition of "immensely useful". Yes, we do re-run prior searches, but they're not "immensely useful" because you have no feedback if we found what we were looking for or not. Usi…

>sneakily re-enable a previous off setting set by users

How is sending everyone an email about it being "sneaky"?

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

#254

Post by numbsafari »

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…

Then explain the reasoning and ask for the permission.

Opting in what was previously explicitly opted out without asking for an affirmative should be illegal.

I plan on complaining to the FTC.

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

#255

Post by irthomasthomas »

gobip wrote: post #213
evocatus wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for confirming that Google is no longer run by the same people I trusted (at least, somewhat more than I do now) over a decade ago. I encourage everyone to make the leap to DDG or some other search engine that doesn't just treat you as a data cow to be milked for your precious, precious "insights." Even GMail is no longer an attractive proposition - the risk of being locked out (perhaps, even automatically!) o…

What do you use in replacement for GMail?

https://www.gmx.com/mail/create-email-address/

Or

Protonmail.com

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

#256

Post by diamondage »

evocatus wrote: post #207
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…

Thanks for confirming that Google is no longer run by the same people I trusted (at least, somewhat more than I do now) over a decade ago. I encourage everyone to make the leap to DDG or some other search engine that doesn't just treat you as a data cow to be milked for your precious, precious "insights." Even GMail is no longer an attractive proposition - the risk of being locked out (perhaps, even automatically!) o…

DDG leaks data like a sieve. When you type a query it's present in the URL. Use an engine like onesearch.com which obfuscate this. (or get DDG to add this basic feature!)

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

#257

Post by nicce »

Lio wrote: post #169
nicce wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, ToS is a bit different thing. You have no right to use services without accepting it at some point.

Surely, we should be able to reject and turn off the service though if the terms change? i.e. "I don't and agree and don't want this."

Unless they have made the system unfunctional wihout it… which is an another topic of discussion.

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

#258

Post by scim-knox-twox »

yreg wrote: post #162
akie wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how can we trust what you say? Google is not necessarily a very trustworthy company anymore. Case in point, the subject at hand: people who said they did not want to be tracked, now have to find a setting and say it again. That does not inspire confidence in the company, and as a proxy, it doesn't give me much hope that I can trust what you say.

Well if you don't trust them then probably don't use them, since they could save your activity no matter the state of the tracking toggle in the UI.

> Well if you don't trust them then probably don't use them [...]

Sure, easy to say…

GAFA is everywhere, and most people can't escape them. For example: there are a lot of websites that allow register only by FB / Google account.

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

#259

Post by bsenftner »

prox wrote: post #185
drpixie wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call bulls*t here. Facebook has a long history of change-the-name-of-the-setting-and-the-new-flag-defaults-to-ON as a method of changing users' settings back to what facebook would prefer. Excuses aside, it looks like the same thing from google.

I have to agree. You don’t turn on stuff for people who turned it off. The default should be off, no matter where you are moving the new setting, which is fine all by itself, if informing the user. Golden rule is that the user is in control.

> Golden rule is that the user is in control.

You've just identified that the Google Search operator is not Google's primary user, it is the advertisers that Google's entire existence is geared of appease, the search function is just how they collect our desires to feed back to their real users, the advertising industry.

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

#260

Post by ryeights »

diamondage wrote: post #256
evocatus wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for confirming that Google is no longer run by the same people I trusted (at least, somewhat more than I do now) over a decade ago. I encourage everyone to make the leap to DDG or some other search engine that doesn't just treat you as a data cow to be milked for your precious, precious "insights." Even GMail is no longer an attractive proposition - the risk of being locked out (perhaps, even automatically!) o…

DDG leaks data like a sieve. When you type a query it's present in the URL. Use an engine like onesearch.com which obfuscate this. (or get DDG to add this basic feature!)

With HTTPS this shouldn’t be a problem, no?
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