131–140 of 193 posts
HN probably aren't required to let me download my data, but it sure would be nice. Does that option exist, on this site?
You can do it if you know how to use an API. See the 'API' link at the bottom of the page.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If systems are built with the requirement of letting users export their data, then the additional effort to do so is trivial. It’s unreasonable, IMO, to think that companies should have had the foresight to see legislation that would happen two decades after the company had already existed and as a result build a system for retrieving user data that has no profit generating potential. GDPR is good because prior to…
You're implying that arbitrary "legislation" just arose out of the blue. Rather, it's based on a long held idea that companies are merely trustees for customers' data. So their position is more akin to having built a shed straddling a property line a decade ago, and now complaining that they couldn't have known that their neighbor might eventually want it moved.
My point is that without legislation companies generally are not going to do things that don’t make them profit directly or indirectly. Aggregating user data for users to see is not something that really generates revenue and so companies prior to GDPR didn’t really do this en masse.
It's not very often that each and every point in an article just feels "fabricated" or over the top. It starts with finding the page: Amazon -> Customer Service -> Search for "personal data" -> Search result #1 is "Request Your Personal Information" which nicely explains what to do and links directly to that page. The need to verify or activate a data request via clicking a link? Of course required so some third part…
>I get that it is scary that a big company keeps all the data you gave to them. Situation in 2022: it is scary that someone has something I willingly gave them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> each and every point in an article just feels "fabricated" or over the top. What I thought were valid points from the article: - Unclear data: "cryptic strings of numbers like '26,444,740,832,600,000” for various search queries." This is easily the worst offender IMO. - A wait time of 19 days - Separating the download into 74 buttons
Yup. I agree. The wait time doesn't make sense. They should be able to spin up extra servers from the spot market in seconds. Even if they're using Glacier, that should only be a few hours. I wonder if they execute the 74 data queries in serial to drag it out. And the multiple downloads is just bogus. That being said, I agree with the general point that the article is a bit overly dramatic. Amazon does a pretty good…
I'm one of the creators of YourDigitalRights.org, a service which automates the process of sending data requests (it's free, open source and were a registered charity). What is described in this article is, unfortunately, a common case with some big tech companies. I've recently started an experiment to send data deletion requests to 600 data brokers and document what happens. It's dark patterns all the way down. The…
> I've recently started an experiment to send data deletion requests to 600 data brokers and document what happens. It's dark patterns all the way down. I would love to read a long form piece on your findings! It sounds like it would a great way to advertise YourDigitalRights as well.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
74 zip files could themselves be added unmodified as 74 individual entries within a parent zip file, optionally, for ease of download convenience. The hashes of those 74 zip files within the parent zip file would be just as auditable as with the current process.
That's true, but then people will complain that they had to unzip 75 files instead of 74. The real issue here is that there are 74 files. Which is an issue without a good solution.
I'm one of the creators of YourDigitalRights.org, a service which automates the process of sending data requests (it's free, open source and were a registered charity). What is described in this article is, unfortunately, a common case with some big tech companies. I've recently started an experiment to send data deletion requests to 600 data brokers and document what happens. It's dark patterns all the way down. The…
It's not very often that each and every point in an article just feels "fabricated" or over the top. It starts with finding the page: Amazon -> Customer Service -> Search for "personal data" -> Search result #1 is "Request Your Personal Information" which nicely explains what to do and links directly to that page. The need to verify or activate a data request via clicking a link? Of course required so some third part…
I agree. The author set out with an agenda and spun every step of the process in the most negative way they could come up with.
There are some legitimate complaints (wait time, for example) but it’s hard to take these articles seriously when it’s clear that the author started with a conclusion and tried to work backward to build a story around it.
Sadly, these articles get a lot of clicks and shares because “your data” has become a nebulous scare phrase in journalism and Amazon is a popular company to hate right now.
That said, I bet if any one of our own employers was subjected to the same treatment by the same author with the same agenda, we wouldn’t come out much better. If someone wants to smear a company, they will.
Data export can be very confusing for end users, especially when they discover things like their shipping record with old addresses isn’t deleted when they remove the address from their address book. The old shipping records are necessary for everything from customer support to warrant claims to fraud detection to recall notices to regulatory compliance. Trying to shame Amazon for literally just keeping shipping records is bananas.
I'm one of the creators of YourDigitalRights.org, a service which automates the process of sending data requests (it's free, open source and were a registered charity). What is described in this article is, unfortunately, a common case with some big tech companies. I've recently started an experiment to send data deletion requests to 600 data brokers and document what happens. It's dark patterns all the way down. The…
What is the process of getting all my data collected by GOOGLE and MICROSOFT?