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The actual problem seems to be the UA string requirement (from the OP, at least). If he removes the UA spoofing, all Google sites break because Google use this
by disgruntledphd2 6y ago
The actual problem seems to be the UA string requirement (from the OP, at least).
If he removes the UA spoofing, all Google sites break because Google use this to determine if they run their services (which is incredibly weird to me).
If he doesn't, then his browser is banned. Somewhat of a double bind.
The most charitable explanation here is that Google is a megacorp now, and the right hand and left hand are on different continents and aren't aware of each others existence.
- smaddock 6y agoYou're right that the issue described in the OP is more specific. However, I believe its a symptom of the larger, underlying problem. Google shouldn't wield the power to decide which browsers are worthy enough to access the larger internet they have control over. It's antithetical to the open web.
- AgentME 6y agoGoogle isn't restricting other/embedded browsers from the rest of the internet, Google is restricting them from its own sign-in page.
- rrobukef 6y agoGoogle literally has the keys to a kingdom. Should Google's box ever be opened, countries will burn. Let's face it, the definition of a monopoly is insufficient on a global scale. Merely restricting their own sign-in service impacts over 1.5 billion people. Of course, most are unaffected.
- est31 6y agoEven Firefox has experimented with UA spoofing on Android because Google offers a severely downgraded experience even though the browser would technically support the same site that Chrome gets. So in the limited set of a dozen or so extensions for Firefox mobile, there is one that adopts the Google UA... The list was manually selected by Mozilla so you know their opinion on this.
- rvp-x 6y agoWorth noting that Google's browser, Chrome, spoofs Firefox and Safari.