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Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

smaller.fish

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Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#121

Post by smallerfish »

southerntofu wrote: post #29

Off-topic, but wtf is wrong with images on this site? For some reason i had javascript enabled in my Tor Browser (safer mode) so whenever i hover an image it starts to fill the whole screen... which is inconvenient because images are already almost filling my screen so it's REALLY HARD to scroll away from them to read the text.

Fair enough, I'll fix it. It's actually a CSS thing. In some of my travel articles it's nice to be able to see the images in full resolution, but the blog template I'm using squeezes them all to the column width. I'll add a click to zoom instead when I get a chance.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#122

Post by zamadatix »

Sebb767 wrote: post #3

Another option is that companies (mostly Google) have different offerings in different countries. In Germany, for example, they need to apply NetzDG filtering and I assume it's similar for countries all around the world. So my assumption is they don't redirect you for the language, they redirect you to the (slightly different) service for your current location, which happens to be in the local language.

On these regionalized pages you can still change the language.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#123

Post by dirkf »

_Anima_ wrote: post #18

I live in the French speaking part of Belgium and have configured all my devices in English for the past 15+ years. Apparently Google consider that if you are geo IP located in Belgium with your devices in English, you _have to be_ a Dutch speaker. While I would agree that French speaking Belgians are in majority using French UIs, there are exceptions. Please respect my browser settings! The solution? I have to put F…

For me it's often the other way around... system language is English but where possible (e.g. browser) I indicate Dutch/Flemish can also be used. Still, many websites seem to think that they should default to their French version despite my settings and even geo IP putting me in the non-French part...

I wish they would stop guessing and just listen to the hints...

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#124

Post by enedil »

RF_Savage wrote: post #93
justinmayer wrote: post #70

I met one-on-one with Google’s senior leadership in 2000 to talk about their internationalization efforts. This was very early in their trajectory, so I even sat down with Larry Page and chatted with him for half an hour. A year or two later I’m in Tokyo and talk to a new Google product manager based there. I tell her it is insane that Google serves me Japanese pages on my English-configured PowerBook just because I…

At least it's not as bad as Aliexpress. They have randomly served me the page in Russian, Turkish, Spanish, Portugese, Thai, German and Romanian. The only good thing is that the menu to change back to english is less hidden nowdays. Yet to see it in my native Finnish. And all these without a VPN and from a domestic consumer ISP connection.

I can tell you, that I saw my native Polish, and I wish I didn't. The automatic translation is so bad, that I automatically rush to switch to English.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#125

Post by d3k »

This is a common thing in software too I fear. I have Firefox on macOS. Everything is configured for US English, but I live in France. When I tell Firefox to save a page (or download something), the dialog prompts me to "Enregistrer sous..." (i.e.: "Save As..."). No idea why this happens.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#126

Post by dwheeler »

I agree, assuming the language based on where you happen to be (instead of your actual request) is completely wrong. There are websites that do it correctly. This website, which I maintain, correctly uses the browser setting: https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org

Perhaps what would be helpful would be to modify services that already evaluate websites to also determine if they switch locale correctly. If people see that there is an error, it's more likely to get fixed.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#127

Post by jve »

Remember Microsoft Windows, which considered changing OS display language a enterprise/pro/ultimate feature, which was NOT included in home edition? Ridiculous. Luckily there was "Vistalizator" where you could install language pack of choice.

Anyway, after multiple OS releases like that, they finally dropped that nonsense starting with Windows 8.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#128

Post by criddell »

darkerside wrote: post #83
justinmayer wrote: post #70

I met one-on-one with Google’s senior leadership in 2000 to talk about their internationalization efforts. This was very early in their trajectory, so I even sat down with Larry Page and chatted with him for half an hour. A year or two later I’m in Tokyo and talk to a new Google product manager based there. I tell her it is insane that Google serves me Japanese pages on my English-configured PowerBook just because I…

You know exactly how to get to Google in English though, don't you? A new person picking up a misconfigured laptop seems much more likely to get lost than a temporary visitor to another country.

Google is built entirely upon the idea that they know their users and can therefore serve effective advertisements to them. The idea that they don't know what language their user wants seems absurd.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#129

Post by mbustamanter »

arepublicadoceu wrote: post #22

My personal papercut is with YouTube. It doesn’t care that: - my browser is in English - that I’m logged in and with English as my language - that my region is set to the U.S. - that I only used English keywords on the search box It still gives me Portuguese results as my geo ip is in Brazil. It’s infuriating.

Same, but with Spanish. My first language is Spanish but 99% of the media I consume is in English. Each time I log into YouTube my location is set to Chile and language to Spanish. Each time I change them to US and English. I've even sent complaints but nothing ever happens.

Re: Why does Google use location for language rather than browser settings?

#130

Post by ascar »

justinmayer wrote: post #117
ascar wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general I totally agree with your sentiment. As you seem quite knowledgeable in the subject I want to nitpick your choice of words in your closing statement. > any company that uses geo-IP location to serve me pages specific to that locale A company should serve you content based on your geographic location. That's exactly what "localization" is for. E.g. the content should be adapted to local regulations and law…

I firmly disagree with all of the above. If a site absolutely needs to know where I am in that moment, they can ask me, and I will decide where I am for the purposes of that particular site. To pick one of a myriad of examples, I often buy software, books, etc. via the web. I don't need sites to assume I want to pay in Euro just because my IP address in that moment happens to be associated with a European IP address…

Well, your example will be in many cases against the law. Netflix isn't allowed to let me choose which countries catalogue I want to watch. A website isn't allowed to choose which VAT to charge and who they owe it to. In an Arabic country you might not be allowed to serve images of women in swimwear (or other revealing images). There are many more examples like that and the applicable law is usually based on your physical location at that point in time (i.e. the jurisdiction you are in). While I agree IP isn't the best choice, it is often the best available and letting the user just choose these things is in many instances simply illegal.
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