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Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

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Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#181
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Chrome at work and Firefox on personal devices (including my Android phone). As a heavy user of both browsers, as far as I can see there is really no downside to Firefox. In fact, even though presumably there are way more engineers working on Chrome than on Firefox, I guess most of Chrome's engineering effort goes towards benefitting advertisers, not users. While Chrome seems entirely stagnant since I adopted i…

I use Firefox on both Android and desktop. It's much better in many ways, and I love it. I do get compatibility issues sometimes, but I'm unsure whether it's because of all of the add-ons I use, or websites being buggy with Firefox.

I suspect it's your add-ons. I've been using Firefox mobile for years and I don't think I've ever had a site that worked better in Chrome.

Caveats: Sometimes launching apps from the browser only works in Chrome and some demos of bleeding edge experimental Chrome features obviously don't work in Firefox.

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#182
post #143

Unrelated, but the other day, I searched something on DDGo on Firefox mobile in private mode, and a few hours later, I see a targeted ad related to that search. Whats the deal with that? The only extension I have installed is Ublock mobile.

IP address? Or coincidence?

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#183
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think the article makes the case that tracking cookies are required. It only claims that automated reminders can benefit people, which is far less controversial. The article gives instructions on how to turn this off and concludes with the classic warning about being the product.

It's less controversial but also not really relevant. Those kinds of reminders shouldn't be using cookies, and don't need to.

[deleted]

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#184
post #158

> Tracking technology can arguably benefit us as well. For example, it could be helpful if an online store reminds you every three months you need a new toothbrush, or that this time last year you bought a birthday card for your mum. fuck off

Only tangentially related, but the new hot shit i recently learned about is "conversational commerce", i.e. services that let companies spam their target markets on messengers like whatsapp in situations like the ones you describe, or when a certain product is back in stock etc.. i think it's an absolutely disgusting invasion of supposedly personal communication spaces. My ex "works" (cold messaging people on linkedi…

How many people work for Google and Facebook?

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#186

> Tracking technology can arguably benefit us as well. For example, it could be helpful if an online store reminds you every three months you need a new toothbrush, or that this time last year you bought a birthday card for your mum. fuck off

Let's have an advertising company also have a monopoly on the web browser. What could possibly go wrong?

Chrome is not installed on any desktop computer system by default except for ChromeOS that has 3% market share. Everyone that uses Chrome, went out of their way to download it. I personally don’t use Chrome. But I am assuming your answer is - government should stop people from using their own free will?

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You all voted for this.

But Chrome loads 1000 tabs a second faster than Firefox, which makes Firefox totally unusable.

You mean Firefox that also gets 90% of its funding from Google ads?

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#189
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Firefox remains a stable option to come back to everytime Don't get me wrong, I've been using Firefox for the last decade and I don't intend on using anything else for the foreseeable future, but Mozilla has no idea what they're doing with Firefox nowadays. Firefox View is the most useless thing I've ever seen, that expiring "independent voices" theme picker was some weird hippie stunt[1], the latest UI redesign wh…

I don't get this Firefox hate. I use Firefox and I'm pretty happy with it and the product's direction. I'm also fine igoring products and features that I'm not interested in.

I think we can recognize at this late date that most 'hate' on the Internet is about a form of fun, one kind of social interaction and self-expression and not about the object of abuse. People express hate about everything under the sun (and on HN).

Most of it is a performative rant, sort of like a stand-up comedy routine. The target is just material for the routine; nobody takes the comedian too seriously. Every HN thread has it.

Re: Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads

#190
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think the article makes the case that tracking cookies are required. It only claims that automated reminders can benefit people, which is far less controversial. The article gives instructions on how to turn this off and concludes with the classic warning about being the product.

It's less controversial but also not really relevant. Those kinds of reminders shouldn't be using cookies, and don't need to.

The part about tracking being arguably good is a separate paragraph that is clearly written in contrast to Google’s tracking.

At no point does the article claim cookies are required for “good” automation.

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