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New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

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Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#451

Post by scrollaway »

OmarGonzalez wrote: post #140
aherz wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As manipulative as Google can be, we should keep in mind that Google Maps is incredibly useful and we get to use it for "free". Yes we pay with our data and privacy and Google can do a better job of making that transparent but we can only get so upset when we don't get the full version of a product when we don't want to give our data.

Yeah no, I rather pay a fee for that

I wouldn't. I also would rather not pay a fee for wikipedia. I would rather not pay a fee for Google searches.

I'm willing to pay a fee for many things but these three services redefined the entire world's productivity levels. Maps, Search and Wikipedia are world-changing (and miraculously, Wikipedia is a non-profit and still manages to exist and be stable. Please donate if you have the means, etc.). The reason they are world-changing is because they're free.

Free: Available to everyone, everywhere, without payment or account gating. It's a huge fucking deal for the world that they are and remain free.

You want to change the world? Make something massively useful to the planet. Then, make it free.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#452

Post by ehsankia »

FabHK wrote: post #285
ehsankia wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would've liked it if they included photos and videos of these "deceptive" interactions. Instead they have this flashy video which basically is just showcasing the Timeline feature, and pretending it's some secret malicious data collection plan.

Do you doubt that the deceptive interactions they describe exist as described? Most people do not realise how much data Google et al. collect about them, and are genuinely shocked when it is shown to them (even though, yes, it's an existing feature well known to you and most HN readers). The video demonstrates both a) how much Google collects (which comes as a surprise to most people), and b) that most people are not…

> Do you doubt that the deceptive interactions they describe exist as described

Not so much that I doubt it, but just a piece of text is pretty subjective. I would like to see and decide for myself if it's deceptive. Not have someone's biased opinion.

> Most people do not realise how much data Google et al. collect about them

Most people also just blindly skip through the setup. There's only so much Google can do to force feed help onto users.

I actually have location sharing on with a significant other, and Google emails me about it every other week to make sure I realize my location is being shared.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#453

Post by bduerst »

arminiusreturns wrote: post #372
bduerst wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Wikileaks may have been reputable at some point in the past but they're not trustworthy now. It's not so much the 'focus on Hillary' but their focus on being pro-Russian state. [1] The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has his own show on RT [2], which mean's he's essentially being paid by Russia's state propaganda media [3]. That, along with attacking the Panama papers leak for "going after Putin", and a…

Everyone ignore the fact that leaked documents layer out a plan by US Intel agencies to discredit Assange and WL via tactics just like this, these are now the leaks we're looking for apparently. RT has some of the best coverage of some things around, and this constant talking as of it is putins right hand in media form is grounded in tribalism and not in careful evaluation of the facts.

Which parts of the wikipedia citation are "grounded in tribalism"?

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#454

Post by vatueil »

lenocinor wrote: post #226
ntaylor wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somewhat more sinister, I think, is that they added a TTL on the Amazon Smile opt-in. Now, you must re-opt-in every 90 (I think) days. Fair bet that this small change substantially hurts the effectiveness of this charity and drives a whole bunch of money back to Amazon.

Amazon used to remind me when I wasn't on smile.amazon.com back when I used to go to www.amazon.com instead sometimes. Testing it right now, it doesn't seem like they do this anymore. :(

Prompts to use Amazon Smile do still appear. It's just that the reminders don't pop up every time you visit a non-smile domain.

Haven't seen any 90-day time limit as the parent comment mentions.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#455

Post by lozenge »

rifung wrote: post #180
levesque wrote: post #4

I tried using Google Maps without search history turned on. It's basically a downgraded version. They tied saving locations with the search history, so it won't let you search for friends' contacts, set a home address, etc. Is it on purpose? I don't know, but I find it weird that they would tie some unrelated features together. Why does setting a Home address require search history?

> Is it on purpose? I don't know, but I find it weird that they would tie some unrelated features together. Why does setting a Home address require search history? I work at Google but not on Maps, opinions are my own. I don't know if this is why they did it that way, but it wouldn't surprise me if the reason was merely that 99.9% of users opt in to location sharing and the developers didn't feel it useful to spend t…

Your opinion is incorrect - it was possible to save home, work etc without agreeing to "Search & Web History" until a few months ago. Google had to add new flows on the save buttons to get this opt in from users. Anyway, there is no logical reason to need Search & Web History to store a couple of map labels.

The real impact the team was looking for was building better advertising profiles on users.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18070183

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#456

Post by m-ee »

ultimoo wrote: post #281
FabHK wrote: post #276

My list of degooglifying actions: * switch default search engine to DuckDuckGo (can still use !s bang when one wants to see what Google has) * use tracking blocker (uBlock origin, BlockBear on iOS) * use anonymous/private/porn mode browsing most of the time (except for sites I actually want to be logged in permanently) * use Zoho as a replacement for shared Google docs * use Youtube either in private window, and/or d…

Great list! You forgot to mention the browser, I personally use FF and have grown to like it though I miss Chrome occasionally. >long ago switched to different email for main email, and forwarded gmail account to it (nobody uses it anymore). Neat! How do you set up auto forwarding with gmail?

I've switched to FF and am mostly happy but for some reason it's terrible for videos. I'll get long hangups that never happen if I watch the same video on chrome

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#457

Post by throwmeback »

codedokode wrote: post #430
throwawaymjabba wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another one is body sensors. I disabled body sensor permission for play services. Whenever I am using Google Maps, it would complain about the permission every few minutes. Thankfully, found later an option to disable that nagging in maps setting. Maps still worked fine.

It reminds me of Android 5 where every time you enable GPS, Google shows a popup asking you to share your location with them (very annoying). And besides, there is a checkbox "Don't ask me again", but if you tick it, the "Decline" button gets disabled to ensure that you don't make the wrong choice. [1] https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/115944/how-to-pr...

It's still there in Android 7 and it's still a travesty.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#458

Post by throwmeback »

FabHK wrote: post #437
Bogdanp wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use Chrome, none of the steps you listed matter as far as protecting yourself from Google. I used to use Chrome until it really struck home with me what the incentives are for the world's biggest web advertising company to own the world's most popular web browser in a world where over-the-wire auto-updates are commonplace.

yeah, it's a pity, I hear Chrome is a good browser, but since it's from Google, there's just no way I'd touch it.

There's Chromium (ungoogled Chrome, or rather the other way around I think?) and Chromium-based forks. E.g. Brave is pretty good.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#459

Post by throwmeback »

sexy_seedbox wrote: post #399
ACow_Adonis wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But with the ad-blocker installed, you get a bonus speed boost that doesn't apply to the other browsers...

That's why I use Brave on mobile.

I like Bromite on Android.

Re: New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking

#460

Post by throwmeback »

colvasaur wrote: post #401
sandov wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Replace stock android with LineageOS if your phone is on the list of supported devices [1]. It has worked great for me. [1] https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

Their “April Fools” jokes made me realize the devs think my phone was just a toy and not a tool. Not that they owe me anything. Made me switch immediately to iOS.

I agree. Contemplating the switch myself - iPhone SE is pretty cheap nowadays.
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