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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

#341

Post by cma »

jcranberry wrote: post #323
titzer wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I encourage you, unreservedly, and without any personal malice, to fight the reality distortion field that causes people to make decisions like the above. Users do not want this. Engineers, PMs, and executives want this. Google's 23% YoY revenue growth wants this. To Google, users who don't subject to dystopian tracking, who don't consent to Google knowing everything about them, who just want to go about their own li…

If there's one feature that I would assert almost everyone wants which requires tracking some data, its search history recommendation.

Google turns off maps nav search history if you turn off web search history. Maps could easily switch to local to the device instead, since you usually nav with the same device over and over and could rebuild common history if you got a new device (or transfer history), but it feels like they want a carrot and stick.

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

#342

Post by ravar »

jcranberry wrote: post #323
titzer wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I encourage you, unreservedly, and without any personal malice, to fight the reality distortion field that causes people to make decisions like the above. Users do not want this. Engineers, PMs, and executives want this. Google's 23% YoY revenue growth wants this. To Google, users who don't subject to dystopian tracking, who don't consent to Google knowing everything about them, who just want to go about their own li…

If there's one feature that I would assert almost everyone wants which requires tracking some data, its search history recommendation.

My (non google) browser stores my history just fine.

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

#343

Post by zepto »

jcranberry wrote: post #323
titzer wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I encourage you, unreservedly, and without any personal malice, to fight the reality distortion field that causes people to make decisions like the above. Users do not want this. Engineers, PMs, and executives want this. Google's 23% YoY revenue growth wants this. To Google, users who don't subject to dystopian tracking, who don't consent to Google knowing everything about them, who just want to go about their own li…

If there's one feature that I would assert almost everyone wants which requires tracking some data, its search history recommendation.

1. We’re talking about people who have already switched it off.

2. There is no need for any tracking to implement this. It can be done on the client.

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

#344

Post by names_are_hard »

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?

There are many options, as evidenced by the replies here. I've used Zoho for a few years now, no issues.

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

#345

Post by ori_b »

mankyd wrote: post #308
matkoniecz wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 (...) that data is never used for ads. This is a blatant lie. Google will share this data with law enforcement, also on request by evil and/or totalitarian regimes. --------- And even for use within a Google: It is as believable as FB promising to not use 2FA for…

> Google will share this data with law enforcement, also on request by evil and/or totalitarian regimes. This is true of one's employer in general, no? "this data" is theoretically all related to one's work.* If a gov't approached your employer and asked for whatever they have on file, they could/would be compelled to provide it. * My spouse has done employment law in the past and likes to remind me _never_ to use wo…

> If a gov't approached your employer and asked for whatever they have on file

Which is why people don't want Google to keep it on file.

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

#346

Post by snowwrestler »

pessimizer wrote: post #277
snowwrestler wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could someone please point me to the spot in Google’s ads product to purchase these ads-in-navigation-directions? If these are really ads, there will be a place to buy them. Google doesn’t run ads for free.

They don't have to let small customers buy them, or put them up for auction like their other ads. Just offer it to big companies directly, especially ones that might be visual landmarks like a McDonald's or a Dunkin Donuts.

Google does not do this; they don’t have secret offline ad sales. Even their largest customers have to go through a UI to place every ad.

That’s why ads are so profitable for Google. The entire system is highly automated, which lowers costs.

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

#347

Post by magicjosh »

numbsafari wrote: post #264
robertlagrant wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that true for Google Workspace search?

Search for Drive has long been garbage.

Search for Drive is mind bogglingly bad. How...I can't understand it. Is it really because Google can't track me from it so they just don't care?

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

#348

Post by wnoise »

a-dub wrote: post #105
enriquto wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

happy to hear that you found corporate marketing to be moving. unimpressed by disrespectful and nonconstructive talking over of someone right in front of them.

"Talking over" is something that just doesn't apply to one reply on an asynchronous threaded forum.

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

#349

Post by taneq »

jcranberry wrote: post #323
titzer wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I encourage you, unreservedly, and without any personal malice, to fight the reality distortion field that causes people to make decisions like the above. Users do not want this. Engineers, PMs, and executives want this. Google's 23% YoY revenue growth wants this. To Google, users who don't subject to dystopian tracking, who don't consent to Google knowing everything about them, who just want to go about their own li…

If there's one feature that I would assert almost everyone wants which requires tracking some data, its search history recommendation.

No post body was provided.

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

#350

Post by nerdjon »

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?

It may not be perfect, but I switched to MobileMe for my personal email a long time ago and continue to use iCloud.

Search is for sure hit or miss, but I pay for it and feel... a bit better.

For my "professional" email I use Amazon Workmail with a custom domain.

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