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Google doesn't have a natural monopoly in most of the country, and the ISPs do. Couple that with no ISP equivalent of ctrl+shift+n, and there you are (VPNs are

• newsat13 10y ago
  Anonymous mode is really just a placebo. All it does it keep your browser history clean. Don't be fooled that Google does not know it's you. Google can easily track you using the IP address. This is really as simple as I saw this dude login with this IP. Now I see the same IP but don't see a session cookie. I can say pretty much for sure that it's that dude in anonymous mode. Note that bing already does this kind of IP based profile building. I am 100% sure Google does this already.
  • oh_sigh 10y ago
    IPs change over time(sometimes extremely quickly), and multiple people, including thousands of individuals, can share a single IP address. Maybe companies use IP as some kind of signal(I have no idea), but it isn't a very precise signal. I do notice that creepy stalker-style ads about specific products I recently searched for no longer pop up when I browse in anonymous mode.
• rayiner 10y ago
  Verizon doesn't have a monopoly almost anywhere. It competes with cable, and satellite throughout almost its whole service area. Now, if you want to argue "we'll, satellite isn't as good," you could say the same for Bing and DDG.
  • pixl97 10y ago
    A monopoly and duopoly really aren't that different. If one profits by doing something unethical, the other will do it in a heartbeat. This is commonly seen in pricing in markets with view competitors and high costs of entry.