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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

#361

Post by MSFT_Edging »

mulmen wrote: post #103
dspillett wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> fuck off Hell yes. Those benefits don't require us being stalked around our entire online lives: the online store already knows when I bought a toothbrush¹. Unless they are trying to argue that telling every retailer on the planet when I last bought a toothbrush, or other healthcare products, is a good idea?! Same for the birthday card if I bought one online. This example is even worse: potentially not just trackin…

> I might have a PI follow that writer for a bit, so I can helpfully send reminders, to illustrate how badly ill-conceived this take is… That’s not a healthy fantasy. The “following” part is especially creepy. There’s a contact the author link on the site. If you care to contact her it’s just a couple clicks away. No reason to hire a stalker. Why are you so angry at the author and not at the people who actually made…

I think an important point is the data that is sold by these aggregators are leveraged by PIs and will go to show how vulnerable this tech makes everyone. One should consider if they should promote something that they don't also want to be made a victim of.

These things don't change unless someone important becomes a victim, otherwise its just collateral damage.

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

#362

Post by tzs »

tgv wrote: post #39
alexvitkov wrote: post #24

> 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

It's against the guidelines to be dismissive, but there really is no other response. Especially when you left read the follow-up sentence: > Offloading cognitive effort, such as reminders like these, is a great way automation can assist humanity. Does that pass for journalism? I really don't want to read the rest of the article.

Are you unaware that many people actually specifically seek out, and even pay for, software and hardware to handle such reminders for themselves?

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

#363

Post by thefourthchime »

rpastuszak wrote: post #341
thefourthchime wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick googling says Firefox makes most of its money by making Google the default search. While I'm not suggesting they are doing the same, it does make me feel they are aligned as a business. Apple is the only tech company I know that's primarily funded by customers paying for a product directly. That's why I use Safari.

True, and Safari is my default browser too. But, IIRC Google pays Apple >30x what it pays Mozilla for keeping their search engine as a default. https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/25/analysts-google-to-pay-apple-...

Good point, That said I think Firefox is a little more dependent on that revenue than Apple.

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

#364

Post by sp332 »

oehpr wrote: post #312

... does this article seem a little low quality to anyone else? > By far the most private browsers are specialist non-tracking browsers that prioritise no tracking, such as DuckDuckGo... wha??? > 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 yo…

The comment about DuckDuckGo seems fine?

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

#365

Post by jsnell »

datavirtue wrote: post #322
jsnell wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the only provider isn't "Google". The browser will provide this data equally to any site asking for it, i.e. all the ad networks that the site is using. Not just to Google. If anything, it is leveling the playing field. All ad networks will get the same interest data, rather than the ones with a higher reach 3rd party cookie having more information.

Wow, you are spinning this as a universal good? "Leveling the playing field." Ridiculous. Nothing to see here folks, move on, Google is protecting you.

No, "universal good" is something you made up.

I'm saying that the specific complaint you had was obviously false.

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

#366

Post by raxxorraxor »

jpadkins wrote: post #320
dspillett wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can anyone explain to me why this is worse than third-party cookies? How about thinking the other way around: Can you, or anyone else for that matter, explain to me why this is better than commercial interests not following us around at all ? > turn off third-party cookies, but a bunch of the internet breaks if you do that Most of what breaks is just tracking for ad serving purposes. I'm fine with that breaking. So…

> Can you, or anyone else for that matter, explain to me why this is better than commercial interests not following us around at all? Because people prefer free, ad supported content on the internet. Once you accept that premise, then it's a matter of balancing privacy, volume of ads, and payments to creators (ad tech companies are going to get theirs). Do you think the majority of people would prefer fewer, better t…

If there was only a single choice for advertisers to place a completely static banner on the page, they would still be happy. As long as no other advertiser had more capabilities.

Restrict them all and the money would still flow as the ads would increase sales just as much.

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

#367

Post by sp332 »

MrDirkGently wrote: post #116

If I'm using Chrome only to test how websites render in it, what are the alternatives? Use another Chromium based browser or do they have the same issues as Chrome? Use a browser testing suite such as BrowserStack? Or will using a user-agent switcher in Firefox achieve the same effect as using Chrome?

Put a "best viewed in Safari" badge on it and stop testing in Chrome.

If you want to know how an average user will see your site, you should probably be testing with a default profile, with no adblocker. You could leave the browser signed out of your Google account, or have a separate one just for this.

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

#368

Post by tzs »

xg15 wrote: post #115
tgv wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's against the guidelines to be dismissive, but there really is no other response. Especially when you left read the follow-up sentence: > Offloading cognitive effort, such as reminders like these, is a great way automation can assist humanity. Does that pass for journalism? I really don't want to read the rest of the article.

It's actually worth reading the article to the end, because otherwise you'd be missing the amazing final paragraph: > Lastly, it’s good to remember nothing truly comes for free. Software costs money to develop. If you’re not paying towards that, then it’s likely you – or your data – are the product. We need to revolutionise how we think about our own data and what value it truly holds. Ignoring the fact that this is…

>> If you’re not paying towards that, then it’s likely you – or your data – are the product

> Ignoring the fact that this is not how it works - there are plenty of services where you pay and still are the product

That refutation of their statement is not how logic works. They made a !A -> B statement ("not pay" -> "you are product"). Your statement, ! (A -> !B), which is equivalent to B -> !A is orthogonal to their statement.

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

#369

Post by scarface_74 »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #344
scarface_74 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that had absolutely zero effect on the market share of the browsers. No PC operating system that I know of aside from ChromeOS bundles Chrome, yet people still download it and it’s still dominant. What makes you think the outcome would be different if given a choice? Besides especially on mobile, I would be pissed if when I first used my phone I would have to use my (hypothetically limited) cellular data to downl…

> And that had absolutely zero effect on the market share of the browsers. Did it not help FF to gain initial market share? > Besides especially on mobile, I would be pissed if when I first used my phone I would have to use my (hypothetically limited) cellular data to download something like a browser. No difference from the status quo then as you have to download multiple browser updates per month anyway (and in fac…

> Did it not help FF to gain initial market share?

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/12/windo...

While there were early signs that the browser ballot screen was influencing browser usage in the EU, with Mozilla attributing some European Firefox growth to the selection page, long-term trends strongly suggest that it was next to useless. In spite of equally prominent placement on the selection screen, Opera's share even within Europe appears to have declined over the last five years. So too have Firefox and Internet Explorer. Chrome, however, has experienced significant growth.

> No difference from the status quo then as you have to download multiple browser updates per month anyway

I can’t speak to Android. But iOS updates (which include Safari updates) don’t happen that often and at least users have a usable browser at initial launch on both iOS and Android. You can choose when to update

> This is about the web as an open platform relied upon for essential public services by any citizen

I don’t know, maybe because the original submission is about Chrome’s privacy issues, not about the “open web”?

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

#370

Post by pixl97 »

scarface_74 wrote: post #301
pixl97 wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You appear to be confusing the cost of something verses the price of something. I can eat junk food cheaply every day, I pay the price later.

So the people who can’t afford to pay for their browser, email, etc… Let them eat cake?

It's kind of funny to use that exact statement, but after you put profit seeking corporations in charge of our of our information you'll find they commonly find democracy 'not profitable enough' and will go about manipulating/controlling you via your own information to further increase their profits and control over you. I guess your option is becoming the cake to get ate.

Meanwhile over in "lets not cede all control to corporations" land, did we forget the the internet was actually funded by the government in the first place? Have we already tossed away ideas like the rural electrification project?

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