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Seeing this all go down, it feels like this is exactly Google’s master plan. 1. Roll out stuff they brand as “privacy respecting” that actually collects data f
by dceddia 3y ago
Seeing this all go down, it feels like this is exactly Google’s master plan.
1. Roll out stuff they brand as “privacy respecting” that actually collects data for their own use.
2. Brand anything that would give competitors access to that data (third party cookies, user agent strings, etc) as a threat to user privacy.
3. Lock all of that stuff down so that nobody can access it (“we’re protecting you!”)
4. I don’t think we need the ???, it’s just straight to profit, via monopoly over the data.
The brilliant/terrible thing about this is that third party cookie tracking is not great so it’s hard to set up a defensible argument where leaving things as they are is the better alternative. Apple and others have been waging a war on third party tracking for years now, and pushing public opinion in that direction, and it seems to me that Google is playing 4D chess here and using it against them (and frankly, the entire internet).
- bagels 3y agoSame playbook with apple vs Facebook
- jacquesm 3y agoThis is why the worlds largest advertising company should not be fielding a search engine, a massive email platform and a browser as well.
- dceddia 3y agoThey sure have done a job at positioning themselves at the intersection of maximum control over the web.
- flagrant_taco 3y agoAt least it anti-trust laws are hard at work! Glad it's not like the dark ages, when your operating shipped with a default browser that could be used to install any other browser you wanted.
- smashed 3y agoThe solution is very easy for consumers looking for a real privacy solution: Use a browser that is not made by an advertising company. In other words, just drop chrome. It has never been easier to do, with Edge and Safari readily available on all major platforms and Firefox for those who prefer it, and of course the many other chromium forks that are around. There is no reason to be dependent on chrome today. There was a few years where it was overly dominant and very hard to avoid for compatibility and performance reasons, but that is just not true today. Personally I use Firefox on android and desktop and I don't miss chrome at all. I uninstalled (technically, disabled) it on mobile as Google widgets like to open links in it otherwise. I have chrome on the desktop as I work in software so I need to test compatibility with it, but that's it.
- lxgr 3y agoI agree in principle, but wouldn't wish the coupon catalog emulator that Edge has become onto anyone. It's beyond bizarre. My personal picks are Firefox on Windows and Linux, and Firefox or Safari on macOS.
- ummonk 3y agoI use Safari on Mac OS with Brave on Windows, with iCloud keychain passwords sync between the two.
- soraminazuki 3y agoI don't think there's any 4D chess going on here. Nobody is buying Google's "privacy" argument. This is a simple case of other browser vendors improving actual web privacy and Google undermining that effort.
- petre 3y agoI hope the regulators are not and wish Google would be hit with huge antitrust fees in the EU due to this. We shall see.
- raydiatian 3y agoIt’s the AI thing. Everybody is building walls around their data.
- conradev 3y agoThat is Apple's plan, too, except for the collecting data or profiting part. They still have a monopoly on your data, it's just locked on your devices.
- rovr138 3y ago> except for the collecting data or profiting part Isn’t that pretty much the issue here? Anyway, what’s really locked? Text messages? Because I can export pretty much everything else. Images, videos, documents, passwords, bookmarks. Maybe Apple Music’s playlists?
- Tagbert 3y agoData collection isn’t really central to Apple business model though. I’m not too worried about them.
- taneq 3y agoIn what sense is this Apple having a monopoly on your data? If it's "locked on your device" then they don't have it. This is literally what we're asking for, or at least half of it. I agree it'd be nice if we could retrieve everything from the device ourselves, but I'll settle for this (and ensure I never give my iPhone the last copy of anything I care about) over carrying a hostile observer everywhere I go.
- taneq 3y ago> stuff they brand as “privacy respecting” that actually collects data for their own use The kool-aid is in their definition of the word "privacy." You and I might think "privacy" means "other entities aren't observing you" but Google in their benevolence knows that it really means "Google will keep your data safe from third parties." Their newspeak doesn't even allow the concept of "data that Google does not collect." (A friend of mine was involved in the launch of Google Allo. I asked them if it would be possible to use the virtual assistant features offline without sending everything to Google. They never spoke to me again.)