4 ms·

I see a lot of complaints about tracking but has anyone proposed an alternative? These products have to be paid for somehow so how about a subscription fee to n

I see a lot of complaints about tracking but has anyone proposed an alternative? These products have to be paid for somehow so how about a subscription fee to not be tracked by them? For example, I'm sure my search data is less to Google than Google is to me. How much would you consider reasonable for their service? $50-100 per year would seem reasonable to me - I'd pay that for an ad-free non-tracked experience. This might actually be good for them, because I'd finally become an Android user - my main concern is my privacy as I use the Android platform. They could hire an independent company to regularly audit this and make a report to prove that they are not tracking people who subscribe to the service. I'm sure there are flaws with this idea but is anyone actually discussing an alternative to tracking? We simply cannot expect a company to offer any product for free.

malvosenior 9y ago
Just because you're paying someone, it doesn't mean you can trust them with your data. If you put it online, expect someone to use it in a way you don't approve/know about. Even with auditing you can't be sure, it's only prudent. Also, me and many others would never pay for online services like search and social media. I'd rather give up my data and use it for free. These services just aren't worth it to me. Probably not a popular opinion but it is true.
- gtsteve 9y ago
  It feels a lot more powerful to have a contract that is audited than the current situation. At the very least a class action lawsuit can result if it is broken. I'm sure many do not care about paying for search and social media, and that's fine. I'd say it is a popular opinion actually - most of my friends who are not involved in technology don't really have a proper grasp of what all the fuss is about.
  - malvosenior 9y ago
    You would need to do that with every service though. Have air tight EULAs with every service, audit every service, sue every service... I still wouldn't trust it, malicious actors, acquisitions and more all could compromise your data eventually.
smt88 9y ago
Patreon, Flattr, Brave, etc. (many others that I'm forgetting in the microsubscription space) are the proposed solutioms
clouddrover 9y ago
> non-tracked experience You can use DuckDuckGo today to reduce your exposure to tracking: https://duckduckgo.com/ https://duckduckgo.com/
- gtsteve 9y ago
  I have tried DuckDuckGo in the past and it's pretty good but it doesn't quite have the reach or relevance of Google, at least for the topics I tend to search for. But perhaps this is because Google tracks me. When I search for "private variable" it knows I'm likely referring to C# as opposed to Java and shows an appropriate result. When I search for "supermarket london" it knows I'm referring to London, UK and not London in Canada. So perhaps after thinking about it a bit more, what I want isn't feasible.
  - peatmoss 9y ago
    Depending how long ago you used it, you might give it another go. I spent a while trying and failing to use DDG reliably. Then I took a second pass a bit later, the results were only a little worse than Google. Then over time, I found myself using the !g command to double check DDG less and less. I did a !g search for the first time in several months yesterday, and laughed when I saw how much worse Google’s results were. Try it for a month. You may find out that you’re just used to a particular way of searching Google. Maybe DDG will offer you something better once you get a little familiarity. In particular, I find technical topic searches to be head-and-shoulders better with DDG than Google.
    - gtsteve 9y ago
      OK you've convinced me. I'll give it another shot. Edit: I just actually forgot how to list a directory in C# so I ran my first query: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=c%23+list+directory&atb=v112-5_y&ia=qa https://duckduckgo.com/?q=c%23+list+directory&atb=v112-5_y&i... It has a code sample right at the top. That's one better than Google right there!
- ngngngng 9y ago
  Duckduckgo results leave a lot to be desired. Startpage proxies Google for you so you get Google results from an anonymized request.
JeanMarcS 9y ago
There’s an IT news website in France that proposes that for years. You can pay as small fee (monthly or yearly) and get no more ads and tracking cookies. It’s working, and they can produce quality content (they also have other submission plans where you get premium content)
TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
> I see a lot of complaints about tracking but has anyone proposed an alternative? Traditional advertising sold based on the audience you provide. It works well.
egypturnash 9y ago
I've seen a few suggestions that perhaps this should be a public service, possibly falling close enough to the remit of PBS (or the BBC for UK folks) to be run by them. Not everything needs to be run by a for-profit company.

malvosenior 9y ago

Just because you're paying someone, it doesn't mean you can trust them with your data. If you put it online, expect someone to use it in a way you don't approve/know about. Even with auditing you can't be sure, it's only prudent. Also, me and many others would never pay for online services like search and social media. I'd rather give up my data and use it for free. These services just aren't worth it to me. Probably not a popular opinion but it is true.

gtsteve 9y ago
It feels a lot more powerful to have a contract that is audited than the current situation. At the very least a class action lawsuit can result if it is broken. I'm sure many do not care about paying for search and social media, and that's fine. I'd say it is a popular opinion actually - most of my friends who are not involved in technology don't really have a proper grasp of what all the fuss is about.
- malvosenior 9y ago
  You would need to do that with every service though. Have air tight EULAs with every service, audit every service, sue every service... I still wouldn't trust it, malicious actors, acquisitions and more all could compromise your data eventually.

smt88 9y ago

Patreon, Flattr, Brave, etc. (many others that I'm forgetting in the microsubscription space) are the proposed solutioms

clouddrover 9y ago

> non-tracked experience You can use DuckDuckGo today to reduce your exposure to tracking: https://duckduckgo.com/ https://duckduckgo.com/

gtsteve 9y ago
I have tried DuckDuckGo in the past and it's pretty good but it doesn't quite have the reach or relevance of Google, at least for the topics I tend to search for. But perhaps this is because Google tracks me. When I search for "private variable" it knows I'm likely referring to C# as opposed to Java and shows an appropriate result. When I search for "supermarket london" it knows I'm referring to London, UK and not London in Canada. So perhaps after thinking about it a bit more, what I want isn't feasible.
- peatmoss 9y ago
  Depending how long ago you used it, you might give it another go. I spent a while trying and failing to use DDG reliably. Then I took a second pass a bit later, the results were only a little worse than Google. Then over time, I found myself using the !g command to double check DDG less and less. I did a !g search for the first time in several months yesterday, and laughed when I saw how much worse Google’s results were. Try it for a month. You may find out that you’re just used to a particular way of searching Google. Maybe DDG will offer you something better once you get a little familiarity. In particular, I find technical topic searches to be head-and-shoulders better with DDG than Google.
  - gtsteve 9y ago
    OK you've convinced me. I'll give it another shot. Edit: I just actually forgot how to list a directory in C# so I ran my first query: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=c%23+list+directory&atb=v112-5_y&ia=qa https://duckduckgo.com/?q=c%23+list+directory&atb=v112-5_y&i... It has a code sample right at the top. That's one better than Google right there!
ngngngng 9y ago
Duckduckgo results leave a lot to be desired. Startpage proxies Google for you so you get Google results from an anonymized request.

JeanMarcS 9y ago

There’s an IT news website in France that proposes that for years. You can pay as small fee (monthly or yearly) and get no more ads and tracking cookies. It’s working, and they can produce quality content (they also have other submission plans where you get premium content)

TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago

> I see a lot of complaints about tracking but has anyone proposed an alternative? Traditional advertising sold based on the audience you provide. It works well.

egypturnash 9y ago

I've seen a few suggestions that perhaps this should be a public service, possibly falling close enough to the remit of PBS (or the BBC for UK folks) to be run by them. Not everything needs to be run by a for-profit company.