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Google users locked out after 15 years' use

businessinsider.com

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Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#211

Post by _trampeltier »

411111111111111 wrote: post #179
roenxi wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm trying to not make this sound harsh; but you really don't need a government regulator to tell you that centralising all your data with Google, who are providing largely free services, is risky. It is like building a house on the edge of a cliff then falling off the cliff one day. It was always a real possibility. Being locked out of your stuff is quite a likely end of the story with Google.

I disagree actually. The issue seems to me that it's a global ban. If Google only locked you out of the functionality you seem to have violated somehow, it would still be a viable strategy to use their services. Imagine losing the ability to comment or upload videos on YouTube because you wrote something offensive or published a video with copyrighted materials. Potentially bad for YouTube creators, but definitely no…

Google is a private company. So they can choose there customers. If they don't want you, they are free to throw you out.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#212

Post by YetAnotherNick »

Contrary to most comments here, I don't think self hosting is the solution, but only regular backup to your device can help with the problem. I can bet that all the hosting providers have more algorithm based lock of account than gmail has. I have myself been locked out of digitalocean once and the support won't tell me the reason. I know one other person at least who has been locked out of AWS. Almost everyone I know uses Google account and I don't know anyone who has been locked out.

So I think unless you own all the data in a server you physically control(not feasible for most), you are more safe with Google than hosting it with another provider. Also Google's server is more secure than you can ever achieve.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#213

Post by ljm »

cutemonster wrote: post #205
timvisee wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend to use your own email domain with it. If you're ever locked out or want to switch, you can easily switch while keeping the same address.

What if I forget to renew the domain? Someone else buys the domain after me? And steals all my online accounts? (Pwd reset emails)

That's honestly nobody's problem but your own. Set it to autorenew or buy it for a longer period of time. I bought 10 years up-front for my own domain.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#214

Post by bovermyer »

cutemonster wrote: post #205
timvisee wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend to use your own email domain with it. If you're ever locked out or want to switch, you can easily switch while keeping the same address.

What if I forget to renew the domain? Someone else buys the domain after me? And steals all my online accounts? (Pwd reset emails)

Then that's on you, because you would be the responsible party.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#215

Post by harha »

Daniel_sk wrote: post #160
GekkePrutser wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But even then you have to trust FastMail not to lock you out. Sure it's a paid service so less likely and I'm sure their customer service is better. But it doesn't fix the root issue of being dependent on one party.

If you combine it with a paid domain, then you can transfer your email provider even when locked out. Of course you risk loosing your emails, but you can setup a desktop client to always download all your emails or do periodic backups.

I've had trouble with e-mails from my own domain frequently landing in spam folders. I do agree on the control though.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#216

Post by YetAnotherNick »

g_p wrote: post #208
btown wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We got this protection with phone number porting eventually. So there’s hope, when government becomes sane again.

An interesting point here actually - number porting was viewed to be core to a telecoms service operator. They have to provide it free of charge as a cost of doing business. Perhaps we need similar for email forwarding - it's clear that the major email platforms (Google, Microsoft) can already handle mail that is simply deferred to another mail server (see partial cloud email transitions). Perhaps we need the same fo…

It's easy to forward from gmail to any address if you want that.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#217

Post by numpad0 »

mmkos wrote: post #100

It makes me think that it wouldn't be unreasonable to have regulation around blocking access to email. Google provides a number of services and seemingly, if you break the T&Cs on one of them, your entire account is disabled and you no longer have access to other Google services (including email). I can't imagine not having access to my email - at this point I'm kind of locked in. Google keeps a lot of my passwords a…

More like denying an identity. Online account services provide identity and freezing account for "abuse" is destroying part of it, with real world consequences.

It is true that horrible abusive people exist in real world, and maybe it is justifiable to flat out deny them, but account ban coming up on news stories aren't like that.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#218

Post by haunter »

novia wrote: post #206
haunter wrote: post #195

"They are a private company so they can do whatever they want!" - HN every single time someone banned for political reasons on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc. Most likely something like that happened here too. Considering Reddit now bans people for upvoting the "wrong political ideas" I can see Google banning people for a Youtube like or comment. But they are a private company and they can do whatever they want!

> Reddit now bans people for upvoting the "wrong political ideas" Have you got a source on that?

https://old.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/f8y9nx/sprin...

https://old.reddit.com/r/WatchRedditDie/comments/hddnml/the_...

https://old.reddit.com/r/DeclineIntoCensorship/comments/ifoo...

Talked here on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23601595

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#219

Post by gmanis »

Why don’t Google and the others give an option to at least download user data once they identify the account to have violated some obscure TOS by some equally obscure algorithm?

Like a one time download option for the user to take his data and manage it outside Google property (gmail in this case).

I think this should be mandatory and perhaps it’s high time that it’s put in some regulation.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#220

Post by friendlybus »

roenxi wrote: post #168
_jjca wrote: post #60

This is genuinely scary. Photos, Yale locks, Fi, WiFi and Nest thermostat can all be poof gone because I made a silly YouTube comment? How is this not regulated? Google photos also 'helpfully' offers to delete your uploaded photos with 'some guarantee'!!! If this isn't an indication of a giant shitty monopoly that doesn't care about its customers at all, I don't what is. They have some AI ML fucking crap but can't fi…

I'm trying to not make this sound harsh; but you really don't need a government regulator to tell you that centralising all your data with Google, who are providing largely free services, is risky. It is like building a house on the edge of a cliff then falling off the cliff one day. It was always a real possibility. Being locked out of your stuff is quite a likely end of the story with Google.

Why should a customer be punished for buying products that are not banned by the government and for tripping up on an invisible tripwire within said product?

If there were a definition for "set up to fail" it would be that customer... Or are we to assume google is a potentially hostile force, whenever it feels like being one.

We used to ban the sales of products that harmed customers.

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