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This is whack-a-mole at best. Another lib will replace this one. The real problem is corporations trying the destroy the open web, again. We had AOL and CompuS

This is whack-a-mole at best. Another lib will replace this one. The real problem is corporations trying the destroy the open web, again. We had AOL and CompuServe, now we have app stores. Consumers have been conditioned to install apps for basic things, just so they can slurp up their data. Unfortunately this round of internet-killers are much better funded. The open web won in the past, but there is no guarantee it will win this time.

sneak 6y ago
The same companies that gave us the App Stores gave us a switch that lets us disable all location functionality on our device.
- Groxx 6y ago
  After literally years of ignoring obvious abuse. But yeah, we finally have it.
  - sneak 6y ago
    No, the ability to completely disable GPS and location has been in every mobile OS since the beginning, as far as I can recall.
    - Groxx 6y ago
      Ah, that's what you were referring to. Fair enough. Though TBH I suspect that was added purely because it's a significant source of battery-drain.
toyg 6y ago
> Consumers have been conditioned to install apps for basic things It's an unfortunate development, but I wouldn't call it "conditioning", it didn't really look like a coordinated plan - just a textbook case of people with good intentions paving a shiny road to hell. Native apps are intrinsically superior to the web experience; this is true on mobile and desktop alike. The push to native apps came before tracking was so widespread, developers just wanted people to have a great experience. Unfortunately, the amount of private data exposed by mobile platforms (and one of the two platforms being owned by an advertiser interested in such data) is so much more valuable than what was ever exposed on desktop... when this fact became common knowledge, consumers were screwed.
amelius 6y ago
Google has nothing to gain from people being conditioned to use apps. Google makes most of its money from people using the real web.
- qwertay 6y ago
  They get 30% of sales made on all apps
  - markdown 6y ago
    Which is a minuscule fraction of what they make from ads on the web.

sneak 6y ago

The same companies that gave us the App Stores gave us a switch that lets us disable all location functionality on our device.

Groxx 6y ago
After literally years of ignoring obvious abuse. But yeah, we finally have it.
- sneak 6y ago
  No, the ability to completely disable GPS and location has been in every mobile OS since the beginning, as far as I can recall.
  - Groxx 6y ago
    Ah, that's what you were referring to. Fair enough. Though TBH I suspect that was added purely because it's a significant source of battery-drain.

toyg 6y ago

> Consumers have been conditioned to install apps for basic things It's an unfortunate development, but I wouldn't call it "conditioning", it didn't really look like a coordinated plan - just a textbook case of people with good intentions paving a shiny road to hell. Native apps are intrinsically superior to the web experience; this is true on mobile and desktop alike. The push to native apps came before tracking was so widespread, developers just wanted people to have a great experience. Unfortunately, the amount of private data exposed by mobile platforms (and one of the two platforms being owned by an advertiser interested in such data) is so much more valuable than what was ever exposed on desktop... when this fact became common knowledge, consumers were screwed.

amelius 6y ago

Google has nothing to gain from people being conditioned to use apps. Google makes most of its money from people using the real web.

qwertay 6y ago
They get 30% of sales made on all apps
- markdown 6y ago
  Which is a minuscule fraction of what they make from ads on the web.