Even the linked article on HN was more about the implications of this change - without any notice. It removed one wall of protection that users who didn't want

Even the linked article on HN was more about the implications of this change - without any notice. It removed one wall of protection that users who didn't want Sync had. Many people _purposefully_ don't want to sign into Chrome. The change suddenly signed them in, without notice or confirmation. That's problematic.