I've had a Chrome extension removed from the store before, I suspect because it conflicted with Google's business model. I would be very wary of building a business on a foundation that another company controls.
Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
321–330 of 811 posts
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#322Earlier quoted context omitted.
ProtonMail has come a long way as a replacement for Gmail as well. Suuuper happy with them, they're really responsive to feature requests and support inquiries. I requested for an iOS feature to choose browsers so I could open all links from PM in Firefox. They had it implemented in a month or something... it a quick fix but that impressed me. hence me shilling here They recently added ProtonCalendar too.
I have happily paid for ProtonMail for the past couple of years. I moved all my important email (i.e. anything involving money) off of gmail.
ProtonMail user for years too. And non-tech people who get my e-mail immediately like (and ask about) the protonmail.com domain, which opens up an avenue to discuss privacy and the upside of non-Google products.
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#323Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not going to happen. This is an issue people have been raising for at least the better part of a decade... don't expect anything to change now. A more productive approach would be to focus on web browsers that allow you to do what you need to and let Google fix what they need to encourage you back. I know, most extension developers will say 'we can't do that because it's where the users/customers/whoever are'. But as…
Are you making a good faith suggestion that it's possible to build a business around a browser extension and not support Google Chrome? They have something like 70% market share dude...
I believe the suggestion is to incorporate this "bully risk" in your business plan. Some business models might not be profitable anymore if you do this. Others just need additional diversification or more risk capital.
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#324I went through the same hell a year ago [0]. My extension [1] now has 60k users (covid added 10k users in 1 month) and I'm also afraid that any insignificant update would trigger this hell.
I'll contact PushBullet with a possible way forward (PB, if you're reading this -- contact me). Anyone else in this situation: my email is in my profile.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20186915
[1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dictation-for-gmai...
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#325Another long-term PushBullet customer here. Anyone at Google who is listening- this kind of behavior kills my desire to continue using your products dead. I need functionality, of the type PushBullet has provided for years, to do my work. The recent nerfing of ublock origin has already had me feeling iffy on things. Behavior like this is simply unacceptable. If you want people to use your services, you need to have s…
If you haven't switched to Firefox, you should! There were a few things I didn't like at first, but after searching StackOverflow and blog posts for how to change the settings, I am now fairly happy!
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#326Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found the exact opposite to be true in my very specific experience. Five years ago I used every Google product under the sun, today the only Google product I use at all (even search) is Chrome because it's the only one I haven't been able to replace. I try Firefox with a fresh install on nearly every major release and I keep it installed as a secondary browser, but I can never manage to use it as my daily browse…
Assuming you are on a Windows domain, since they are able to control your Chrome. Chrome uses all the built in Windows settings. Have you check for proxy settings in internet options? Firefox I believe still uses standalone settings, and will need to be configured manually. Other thing they could be doing is adding certificates to the Windows certificate store, that Firefox does not trust. Though I expect you would s…
When I worked at a company Firefox worked then didn’t. I think the web proxy needed to use the company installed cert or some such weirdness:
https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/133254/how-does...
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#327This literally just happened to me today...
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#328Earlier quoted context omitted.
The bit that improves user’s privacy is pro-consumer. The bit that removes user’s access to products is anti-consumer.
It's obviously a balance, but you could use that argument to allow any plugin on the store. It gives more choice. I think it's important to remember that while PushBullet is known to many of us, is posting on Hacker News, is a valued part of "the community" in some respect, at Google scale this fact is not know. PushBullet is obviously good to _us_, and maybe just needs to tweak permissions a little, but to a reviewe…
[deleted]
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#329Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is why I'm often amused when people gripe about the $99/year membership fee for the Apple Developer Program.
Xcode is free, Interface Builder is free, all the documentation for everything is free. I'm trying to get into Windows development and don't use Apple devices, but I agree $99 a year for everything Apple gives developers is not expensive considering the value and the cost of these tools on similar platforms.
They're "free" but you must buy Apple hardware to run them.
Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension
#330Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's what you got out of it? Google doing a good job? They sent an email with no guidance whatsoever. These guys went above and beyond what most developers would've done, which would have been to contact support until they get a clear answer. This only alienates the extension ecosystem. And this was the primary reason I switched to Firefox. Google is the new Microsoft. If I remember correctly, they started Chrome e…
As mentioned, I think Google have handled it poorly, but their fundamental position – that this extension is incorrectly using permissions – was significantly correct and may prove to be fully correct. Google deserve criticism for the lack of clarity in the communication, they deserve criticism for the lack of human touch, customer support and many other aspects. They do not deserve criticism for calling out incorrec…
It's confusing because whatever system (whether human or automated) they're using to flag permission issues has more precise detection abilities than they chose to expose with a simple "Permission is too wide - fix it".
The fact that the extension has over broad permission asks isn't good but I think saying their communication lacks clarity is underselling just how opaque they were with their feedback. It also concerns me a bit because it looks like their opaqueness might be an attempt at security via obscurity by trying to cloak what the rules actually are - which is a generally bad approach to trying to fight malevolent actors.