Why is this a problem ?
One of many reasons: you may trust given computer with your gmail content, but you may not trust it with all your saved passwords. Silently bringing them all in there, if true, this is insanity from a security standpoint.
Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
21–30 of 332 posts
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#22The cynic in me thinks this is in anticipation of GDPR related challenges. Users that accepted a TOS are easier to track (at least, it's easier to mount a legal argument that some tracking and profile linking is ok) compared to users that never accepted anything at all.
next up: push for new standards that favor chrome over other browsers.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#23Why on earth are you using chrome if you cared about that kind of stuff so much? No,it isn't a bug. It has always been that on android,using chrome browser or the youtube app meant that whatever google account was used in play store is also used to log you into google both on on chrome,yt,maps,etc... They just brought that feature to desktop,I suppose now you'll be logged into whatever google account last used? This…
A lot of people use chrome because it has the best security according to a lot of experts, including here on HN. It’s reasonable to complain about a drift in functionality that spans the web to native gap in my opinion.
I wasn't saying don't use it. Just don't pretend the price you're paying for it is null. Chrome is the most (relatively) secure browser.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#24A typical tendency in distasteful projects: couple everything, remove choice. Make it one-size-fits-all. Switching to Chromium.
Chromium was previously downloading a binary blob on its own, which is a bit upsetting:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=786909
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#25Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#26This kind of chicanery is the reason I won't use Chrome for anything but browsing Facebook.
I never use chrome except with gmail and other google services where I have an account. I think there's a market for this kind of systema.
I'm surprised anyone privacy minded still gets concerned about Google as they've been pretty open about everything since the launch of gmail. They give you free stuff in exchange for ads.
Chrome must send data, even if you aren't signed in. Google has a shadow profile for you anyway, so if you use chrome, you're logging to google.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#27This kind of chicanery is the reason I won't use Chrome for anything but browsing Facebook.
You don't even need that, install Firefox and use their container for Facebook: https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/facebook-container-extensio...
Even better: Install Firefox and use nothing for Facebook.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#28This causes a few other problems. For example I use Hangouts Chat (chat.google.com) on my Google Apps account, and I also have a personal gmail. Ever since the change I have to log out from my personal gmail to use Hangouts Chat, because it is looking at my Chrome account and telling me that I'm not part of the organization. I can't switch to the Google Apps account at all.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#29Why is this a problem ?
Now Google can (potentially) associate your browsing history with your identity, whereas before, any read of one's history would be anonymous.
To think Google ( doubleclick ) and their competitors ( aggregate knowledge ) and others in that space arent already associating your browser history with your identity is a bit naive.
Re: Tell HN: Using Gmail? You will be force logged into Chrome
#30Why on earth are you using chrome if you cared about that kind of stuff so much? No,it isn't a bug. It has always been that on android,using chrome browser or the youtube app meant that whatever google account was used in play store is also used to log you into google both on on chrome,yt,maps,etc... They just brought that feature to desktop,I suppose now you'll be logged into whatever google account last used? This…
A lot of people use chrome because it has the best security according to a lot of experts, including here on HN. It’s reasonable to complain about a drift in functionality that spans the web to native gap in my opinion.
Really? Perhaps 10 years ago, but Chrome is pretty ok when it comes to security. This eval that is Google's top result in search [0] has them tied for 6 out of 9 (5.5) and Chromium is better for security.
[0] https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/best-browsers-for-privacy/