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This is about Google Collections (a sort Pinterest built into recent Android and potentially sharable) not your Chrome browser bookmarks which are private. Of c
by pvg 3y ago
This is about Google Collections (a sort Pinterest built into recent Android and potentially sharable) not your Chrome browser bookmarks which are private. Of course, e2e encryption is also optionally available for much of browser sync content, bookmarks included - if you're extra paranoid, turn that on.
https://www.google.com/collections https://www.google.com/collections
- rossjudson 3y agoLet's count the number of people who echo in with "Google Bad", and "OMG I can't believe Google is doing that", etc. It never ceases to amaze me that people will read any randomly written headline on the internet and just assume that it's true, particularly when confirmation bias is present. edit: The headline here used to be "Google moderates bookmarks", with the implication being that private bookmarks saved to your profile are moderated by Google.
- turquoisevar 3y agoIs Google not bad somehow? Because from where I’m standing they fudge the lines between “collections” and old fashioned bookmarks and try their best to nudge people towards “collections”, only to then curate what you can and can’t save regardless of it being shared with others.
- jonhohle 3y agoWhy is E2E opt-in?
- pvg 3y agoI don't know, I don't make Chrome. But if I had to guess, most people want to be able to lose a key (in this case a completely separate password) without losing all their syncable browser stuff. Edit: a fun way to think through the design constraints is to think about "how come Apple default-e2e syncs all sorts of things without an extra password but Chrome doesn't"
- hyperhopper 3y agoSame same reason it always would be: it is inconvenient and can lead to loss of data. Lose your old device, get a new device, and you won't have the key. A normal user going through this flow would be furious. Only technically competent users understand that e2e has downsides and how to mitigate those.
- heavyset_go 3y agoGiven that Google already stores passkeys and other encryption credentials, I'm sure they could come up with an scheme to securely manage E2EE keys across devices.
- rossjudson 3y agoGiven that the most common transition here is I have 1 device -> I have 0 devices because I lost my phone I think what you mean is "Google can do this for users with more than one device". Which they do. E2EE has meaning, and being convenient to recover isn't in it.
- kmeisthax 3y agoOn the other hand, if users are confusing Collections and sync'd bookmarks, is that really the user's fault? Or is it Google's for designing a UX that has people "accidentally" sharing bookmarks thru Google instead of using the E2E-able browser sync? I can see someone saying, "ok, we launched Collections, your KPI is to increase usage by X%", and some UX designer figures "oh then we need to put Collections above Bookmarks and make it difficult to tell what's the difference so that we can say that Collections 'has traction'".
- themacguffinman 3y agoGoogle Collections isn't featured on Chrome for Android or any other platform, it's primarily managed by the Search app with some integration with Maps.
- pvg 3y agoCould be but that's an awful lot to "see" from a single irritated user posting their irritation on smilodon in somewhat confusing terms.
- ufjfjjfjfj 3y agoParanoid about google invading your privacy? Are you being realistic here?
- mdwalters 3y agoCare to elaborate?
- ufjfjjfjfj 3y agoGoogle is a privacy invasion master... No need to be paranoid.