How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#71

Post by Lio » Wed, Nov 06, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

theelous3 wrote: post #68

Lio wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way Google acts with regard to privacy law is similar to how they act with regard to tax law. That is they look for loopholes and places they can use dark patterns to nudge users into giving up more data. They stay within the rules but push the envelope of what’s acceptable to the legal limit. It’s not that they are holding onto data specifically to support prosecutions it’s that they hold onto data because that’…

So the conspiracy is rather that the delete button simply doesn't do anything? I don't think that would go down well for the prosecution if you ever ended up in court. The reality is that 99.99% of users never even open their account settings, let alone micromanage their identity's state across dozens of platforms. Google wouldn't even notice if all hn readers deleted all of their data and deactivated their accounts…

Nope that’s not the conspiracy. The conspiracy is that you’ve pressed the wrong button because the UI is deliberately confusing.

If you could find the right button I’m sure it would delete the data...

except that it’s down the UI equivalent three flights of stairs to the basement, behind a filing cabinet in front of a locked door with a sign on saying “Beware of the leopard”.

Oh and every tracking feature is on by default even if you’re not logged in.

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#72

Post by nieve » Wed, Nov 06, 2019, 9:17 PM UTC

lima wrote: post #69

nieve wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My bet was on a mix of just a predictable edge case and Google not prioritizing testing when users have stopped activity. I don't think they sat down and decided the kind of people who care about the inactive account manager were especially good targets for manipulation. I'm sort of surprised that they didn't use the info that they have on last logins instead of the web activity tracking, but there's probably some ar…

Logins can occur without user interaction by a logged-in device, so it's not as meaningful as user activity.

That's true for apps & devices, but generally I think they can assume that a human is doing the logging in for one of their websites. If they can't assure themselves that it's mostly true they have a serious issue.

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#73

Post by lima » Wed, Nov 06, 2019, 11:49 PM UTC

nieve wrote: post #72

lima wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Logins can occur without user interaction by a logged-in device, so it's not as meaningful as user activity.

That's true for apps & devices, but generally I think they can assume that a human is doing the logging in for one of their websites. If they can't assure themselves that it's mostly true they have a serious issue.

There are plenty of passwords managers that will do an auto-login. Anyway, the last time I've logged into my Google account is months ago - I only access it on trusted devices with long-lived sessions, and I suspect this is the case for most users.

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#74

Post by theelous3 » Thu, Nov 07, 2019, 10:20 PM UTC

Lio wrote: post #71

theelous3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the conspiracy is rather that the delete button simply doesn't do anything? I don't think that would go down well for the prosecution if you ever ended up in court. The reality is that 99.99% of users never even open their account settings, let alone micromanage their identity's state across dozens of platforms. Google wouldn't even notice if all hn readers deleted all of their data and deactivated their accounts…

Nope that’s not the conspiracy. The conspiracy is that you’ve pressed the wrong button because the UI is deliberately confusing. If you could find the right button I’m sure it would delete the data... except that it’s down the UI equivalent three flights of stairs to the basement, behind a filing cabinet in front of a locked door with a sign on saying “Beware of the leopard”. Oh and every tracking feature is on by de…

Well, maybe for you. I'm in the EU. I don't have to navigate a UI. I can go the UI route, or I can email them instead for a surefire approach.

Even then, the UI's for these things usually aren't actually that darkpatterned. Once you get down the first dark tunnel, it tends to open up quite well.

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#75

Post by lrem » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 8:51 AM UTC

nathias wrote: post #33

lrem wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel I can trust Google today. What if Larry and Sergey sell the company tomorrow? What if I decide to go into politics and a written record of me saying the sky is blue and 2+2=4 becomes a problem? As someone who supported a major database in Google some five years ago: the amount of development effort that went into the GDPR compliance (we haven't even heard that name then, only that the EU is brewing a law that…

if you feel you can trust Google today, you'll probably feel the same way in the future, regardless of what happens

I re-evaluate my stances rather regularly. I've switched on brands, politics, climate change approach, even countries to live. I don't think Google has some kind of magic stranglehold, it's just a company I like right now.

Re: How to Set Your Google Data to Self-Destruct

#76

Post by nathias » Sat, Nov 09, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

LocalPCGuy wrote: post #70

nathias wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people are like slowly boiling frogs, google stopped not being evil a long time ago

Not arguing on the point of whether google is evil or not, or when that happened. But the boiling frog analogy is something that just isn't true: > "According to Dr. George R. Zug, curator of reptiles and amphibians, the National Museum of Natural History, 'Well that's, may I say, bullshit. If a frog had a means of getting out, it certainly would get out. And I cannot imagine that anything dropped in boiling water wo…

factual frog behavior is irrelevant to that analogy, but I appreciate new frog facts nonetheless