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Can any googlers comment on whether "turning off" activity on your user page actually does anything? My understanding has always been that it just hides that da

Can any googlers comment on whether "turning off" activity on your user page actually does anything? My understanding has always been that it just hides that data from the end-user.

toxicFork 6y ago
This too is my assumption. Even if someone says "no it means the data is not collected", I would not be satisfied with an answer here, though. It's something very hard to prove one way or another.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  Google could release a statement saying "it means the data isn't collected", and then ask a reputable auditing company to come in and inspect its systems to verify the claim and then publically say so.
  - gowld 6y ago
    https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7105316?hl=en https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7105316?hl=en https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=7-RECOURSE-ENFORCEMENT-AND-LIABILITY https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=7-RECOURSE-ENFORCEM...
  - hedora 6y ago
    I used those controls to disable all data collection, but doubleclick still targets ads at me. The controls do not work.
    - throwaway53453 6y ago
      Are you sure you're just not predictable? If HN had Ads, you could be blocking all the cookies and analytics you want, but those Ads can "look" targeted.
      - falcolas 6y ago
        If the ads are targeted at "Hacker News Viewers", that's one thing. But if a baby crib shows up on HN that's well beyond just "looking" targeted.
    - shadowgovt 6y ago
      Doubleclick ad targeting is based on the data collected by the sites you visit, not data Google is collecting about you. DCLK works by the site asking Google for an ad shaped like their idea of you and Google sends them an ad, not by Google knowing what ads you like. If you're seeing targeted DLCK ads while visiting some site, it's because the site has semantic information on you and has told Google "This user looks like they like puppies; I know this because they read a lot of puppy articles or I have a social media arm and they joined a puppy message group that I manage accounts for. Get that user a puppy ad." Now, how individual sites track you and unify their concept of your session with their concept of your ad targeting is up to them, but it's worth noting they're allowed to use basically anything (including first-party cookies, browser thumb-printing, and local store API) to do that. They can also share information with other sites (using mechanisms like image bugs to let an affiliated site know you visited their site and what your userID is on their site, so they can compare notes later and build a comprehensive ad profile for you). None of this requires Google's involvement.
throwaway53453 6y ago
These controls are not a trick, they really do what they say.
- sixothree 6y ago
  I just cannot bring myself to believe that. Related to google specifically, it would take an enormous effort to make me believe otherwise. I uploaded a picture to google maps as part of a review. About a month later I get an actual notification on my phone - hey do you want to share this picture you took in City Park last weekend? It creeped me out beyond belief. Google had been rifling through my personal pictures in the background while I was going about my life. It was an enormous breach of my personal space and it is just one example of many related to google.
  - xnyan 6y ago
    I think I may misunderstand what you are saying: >I uploaded a picture to google maps as part of a review You uploaded a photo to a public service, cool: >Google had been rifling through my personal pictures Not sure how that follows. Did google take a different photo from your phone and I'm misunderstanding you?
    - Kbelicius 6y ago
      OP is pretty clear. > About a month later I get an actual notification on my phone - hey do you want to share this picture you took in City Park last weekend? He took a picture and put it on a public service. A month later that service asks him if he wants to share a picture that he took last weekend. Since last weekend cannot be as far away as a month ago one can not conclude anything else then that we are talking about a different photo.
      - shadowgovt 6y ago
        Oh, now I understand. I'm pretty sure that's the local Google Maps client app rifling through the locally-stored photos (because it has permission to see the metadata for photos on the device). I can see how one could find that creepy, though I think it's relatively harmless. Is the specific issue that one doesn't want Maps to be able to infer you took a photo at location Y just because you once uploaded a photo at location X? Is the issue server-side Maps making the inference or client-side Maps (b/c client-side knows where you are and can see your photo metadata, so it doesn't actually need a server in the loop to ask that question)?
lrem 6y ago
It does exactly what it says on the tin - Google stops collecting data you tell it to stop. This lawsuit, from a quick glance, is about Google not preventing "hundreds of thousands" of third parties from collecting, including third parties building with Google tech.
- CobrastanJorji 6y ago
  Is the "Google tech" argument the equivalent of saying "Toyota promised not to track me, but a stalker followed me around town in a Corolla?"
  - shadowgovt 6y ago
    Basically. Firebase and Google Analytics can be used to build user behavior tracking in an app. That doesn't imply turning off web & app activity tracking the Android OS itself does turns off behaviors in apps running on that OS.
surround 6y ago
Why does HN insist on downvoting genuine questions like this?
altgoogler 6y ago
Unofficial Googler here. I have no non-public information on this topic and my opinions here are my own. The Web & App activity is described a help page article [1]. There are different settings for Android, Desktop and iOS. If you follow the dialog for the Desktop version you'll see another dialog that displays: "Include Chrome history and activity from sites, apps, and devices that use Google services" It's not clear what's being claimed in the lawsuit, but they mention Firebase, which is an app and web site framework. I would expect those opting in or our of the Web & App activity would cover signals from Android and Chrome, but not server-side components like Firebase and Analytics. I would expect those Android and Chrome signals aren't just hidden from the user and that they actually aren't transmitted or stored. From what I have seen Google tries to be transparent with everything in the My Activity portal [3]. It's not clear what they claim is being collected via Firebase. [1] https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/54068?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&oco=0 https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/54068?co=GENIE.P... [2] https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols?pli=1&authuser=0 https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols?pli=1&authuse... [3] https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity
- ForHackernews 6y ago
  The text on the "privacy checkup" page says: > Web & App Activity > (Paused) > Used by Assistant, Google Maps, and others > If you turn this setting on, Google will save your activity on Google sites and apps in your Google Account, including searches and associated info like location. You can also choose to save which apps you use, your Chrome history, and which sites you visit on the web. (emphasis mine) To me, that reads like a careful lawyerly declaration that they are already saving all my activity, but if I turn this on, it will also be saved in my Google Account where I can see it.
  - altgoogler 6y ago
    "When you delete data in your Google account, we immediately start the process of removing it from the product and our systems." https://policies.google.com/technologies/retention https://policies.google.com/technologies/retention See also: https://policies.google.com/privacy#infocollect https://policies.google.com/privacy#infocollect

Can any googlers comment on whether "turning off" activity on your user page actually does anything? My understanding has always been that it just hides that data from the end-user.

toxicFork 6y ago

This too is my assumption. Even if someone says "no it means the data is not collected", I would not be satisfied with an answer here, though. It's something very hard to prove one way or another.

londons_explore 6y ago
Google could release a statement saying "it means the data isn't collected", and then ask a reputable auditing company to come in and inspect its systems to verify the claim and then publically say so.
- gowld 6y ago
  https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7105316?hl=en https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7105316?hl=en https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=7-RECOURSE-ENFORCEMENT-AND-LIABILITY https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=7-RECOURSE-ENFORCEM...
- hedora 6y ago
  I used those controls to disable all data collection, but doubleclick still targets ads at me. The controls do not work.
  - throwaway53453 6y ago
    Are you sure you're just not predictable? If HN had Ads, you could be blocking all the cookies and analytics you want, but those Ads can "look" targeted.
    - falcolas 6y ago
      If the ads are targeted at "Hacker News Viewers", that's one thing. But if a baby crib shows up on HN that's well beyond just "looking" targeted.
  - shadowgovt 6y ago
    Doubleclick ad targeting is based on the data collected by the sites you visit, not data Google is collecting about you. DCLK works by the site asking Google for an ad shaped like their idea of you and Google sends them an ad, not by Google knowing what ads you like. If you're seeing targeted DLCK ads while visiting some site, it's because the site has semantic information on you and has told Google "This user looks like they like puppies; I know this because they read a lot of puppy articles or I have a social media arm and they joined a puppy message group that I manage accounts for. Get that user a puppy ad." Now, how individual sites track you and unify their concept of your session with their concept of your ad targeting is up to them, but it's worth noting they're allowed to use basically anything (including first-party cookies, browser thumb-printing, and local store API) to do that. They can also share information with other sites (using mechanisms like image bugs to let an affiliated site know you visited their site and what your userID is on their site, so they can compare notes later and build a comprehensive ad profile for you). None of this requires Google's involvement.

throwaway53453 6y ago

These controls are not a trick, they really do what they say.

sixothree 6y ago
I just cannot bring myself to believe that. Related to google specifically, it would take an enormous effort to make me believe otherwise. I uploaded a picture to google maps as part of a review. About a month later I get an actual notification on my phone - hey do you want to share this picture you took in City Park last weekend? It creeped me out beyond belief. Google had been rifling through my personal pictures in the background while I was going about my life. It was an enormous breach of my personal space and it is just one example of many related to google.
- xnyan 6y ago
  I think I may misunderstand what you are saying: >I uploaded a picture to google maps as part of a review You uploaded a photo to a public service, cool: >Google had been rifling through my personal pictures Not sure how that follows. Did google take a different photo from your phone and I'm misunderstanding you?
  - Kbelicius 6y ago
    OP is pretty clear. > About a month later I get an actual notification on my phone - hey do you want to share this picture you took in City Park last weekend? He took a picture and put it on a public service. A month later that service asks him if he wants to share a picture that he took last weekend. Since last weekend cannot be as far away as a month ago one can not conclude anything else then that we are talking about a different photo.
    - shadowgovt 6y ago
      Oh, now I understand. I'm pretty sure that's the local Google Maps client app rifling through the locally-stored photos (because it has permission to see the metadata for photos on the device). I can see how one could find that creepy, though I think it's relatively harmless. Is the specific issue that one doesn't want Maps to be able to infer you took a photo at location Y just because you once uploaded a photo at location X? Is the issue server-side Maps making the inference or client-side Maps (b/c client-side knows where you are and can see your photo metadata, so it doesn't actually need a server in the loop to ask that question)?

lrem 6y ago

It does exactly what it says on the tin - Google stops collecting data you tell it to stop. This lawsuit, from a quick glance, is about Google not preventing "hundreds of thousands" of third parties from collecting, including third parties building with Google tech.

CobrastanJorji 6y ago
Is the "Google tech" argument the equivalent of saying "Toyota promised not to track me, but a stalker followed me around town in a Corolla?"
- shadowgovt 6y ago
  Basically. Firebase and Google Analytics can be used to build user behavior tracking in an app. That doesn't imply turning off web & app activity tracking the Android OS itself does turns off behaviors in apps running on that OS.

surround 6y ago

Why does HN insist on downvoting genuine questions like this?

altgoogler 6y ago

Unofficial Googler here. I have no non-public information on this topic and my opinions here are my own. The Web & App activity is described a help page article [1]. There are different settings for Android, Desktop and iOS. If you follow the dialog for the Desktop version you'll see another dialog that displays: "Include Chrome history and activity from sites, apps, and devices that use Google services" It's not clear what's being claimed in the lawsuit, but they mention Firebase, which is an app and web site framework. I would expect those opting in or our of the Web & App activity would cover signals from Android and Chrome, but not server-side components like Firebase and Analytics. I would expect those Android and Chrome signals aren't just hidden from the user and that they actually aren't transmitted or stored. From what I have seen Google tries to be transparent with everything in the My Activity portal [3]. It's not clear what they claim is being collected via Firebase. [1] https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/54068?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&oco=0 https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/54068?co=GENIE.P... [2] https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols?pli=1&authuser=0 https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols?pli=1&authuse... [3] https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity

ForHackernews 6y ago
The text on the "privacy checkup" page says: > Web & App Activity > (Paused) > Used by Assistant, Google Maps, and others > If you turn this setting on, Google will save your activity on Google sites and apps in your Google Account, including searches and associated info like location. You can also choose to save which apps you use, your Chrome history, and which sites you visit on the web. (emphasis mine) To me, that reads like a careful lawyerly declaration that they are already saving all my activity, but if I turn this on, it will also be saved in my Google Account where I can see it.
- altgoogler 6y ago
  "When you delete data in your Google account, we immediately start the process of removing it from the product and our systems." https://policies.google.com/technologies/retention https://policies.google.com/technologies/retention See also: https://policies.google.com/privacy#infocollect https://policies.google.com/privacy#infocollect