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maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

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Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#111

Post by nroets »

dislikedtom2 wrote: post #81

I have never shared my location via browser, including google maps. Still, google very well knows where I live and focuses on my home as default, when I open google maps. I'm curious what do you seek by sharing your location with google (maps)?

Perhaps your home router has a public IP. Google gets the location of the home router from just one Android phone connecting to it. I'm guessing.

But some home routers are behind CGNAT infrastructure: Then it's possible that TCP connections from the same browser can go through different public IP addresses.

Sharing the location helps Google to help users. And Google to target ads better.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#114

Post by iglio »

jimlikeslimes wrote: post #104

Genuine question. Is it reasonable as a user to expect data collected by Google via maps.google.com to not be shared with other Google applications e.g. mail.google.com? I'd have thought data collected on any of their domains would be meshed/merged behind the scenes where it suits them to do so?

I think the concern is less about other Google businesses having access to maps data as you suggest.

It’s more about the fact that using non map Google services on google.com will not prompt asking for location service permissions, if they’ve been granted when prompted on google.com/maps already.

Users may not want location to be collected for searches, but are okay with the privacy tradeoff for it being collected when using maps.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#115

Post by mananaysiempre »

ilyt wrote: post #38
bluepnume wrote: post #3

Also a great way to share cookies, avoid CORS, and probably a zillion other complexities that result from running on multiple subdomains.

It's funny for browser vendor to push those "security" features, only to work around them in their own products

I actually find that somewhat reassuring, similarly to a Google employee criticising the security practices of a Google-operated certificate authority in public[1]: it demonstrates that the team responsible for instituting security policies in the interest of users still has some autonomy.

[1] e.g. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1709223#c19

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#116

Post by JOnAgain »

jimlikeslimes wrote: post #104

Genuine question. Is it reasonable as a user to expect data collected by Google via maps.google.com to not be shared with other Google applications e.g. mail.google.com? I'd have thought data collected on any of their domains would be meshed/merged behind the scenes where it suits them to do so?

They can already join your activity across everything. This is about access and collection. So if they move store.google.com to google.com/store, they will have access to all browser permissions you gave google.com/maps or google.com/flights.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#117

Post by dsr_ »

jimlikeslimes wrote: post #104

Genuine question. Is it reasonable as a user to expect data collected by Google via maps.google.com to not be shared with other Google applications e.g. mail.google.com? I'd have thought data collected on any of their domains would be meshed/merged behind the scenes where it suits them to do so?

Do you mean:

- is it reasonable for a user to expect that Google will collect all bits of information about them, because Google isn't prevented from doing that?

or

- is it reasonable for a society to allow Google (and competitors) to do this?

I think the answers are respectively yes and no.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#118

Post by radu_floricica »

jimlikeslimes wrote: post #104

Genuine question. Is it reasonable as a user to expect data collected by Google via maps.google.com to not be shared with other Google applications e.g. mail.google.com? I'd have thought data collected on any of their domains would be meshed/merged behind the scenes where it suits them to do so?

Applications are not juridical entities, so at the absolute best it is debatable.

Most probable version is that they share as much data as their internal regulations say, or a bit more. They definitely have some form of internal regs on this, for basic security hygiene, but they write it.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#119

Post by therealmarv »

mcv wrote: post #90
canbus wrote: post #7

https://www.openstreetmap.org

But is the app as good as Google's? I always struggle with OSM maps. I think at the moment there's a massive discount on OsmAnd+. Worth it?

Really depends, it can be much better than Google depending on country/region. Google Maps is not in every country good. Definitely better for any kind of outdoor activity like hiking, bicycle, ski etc. and offline usage.

Re: maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps

#120

Post by toastal »

kaimalcolm wrote: post #21

Has this not been the case for a while? I think I've been getting /maps for at least the past year.

Yep. Noticed when I didn't want to enable JS on the whole of Google's domain in μBlock Origin. I switch to another browser for this task alone—especially as some regions have incomplete data for OpenStreetMap
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