3 ms·

I trashed Arc immediately after install when I found out having an account was mandatory. That seemed so silly, like toothbrushes-requiring-wifi absurd. How muc

by causal 2y ago

I trashed Arc immediately after install when I found out having an account was mandatory. That seemed so silly, like toothbrushes-requiring-wifi absurd. How much moreso now.

scblock 2y ago
Truly. I was looking for a privacy respecting Chromium-based browser to use for Web MiniDisc (https://web.minidisc.wiki/ https://web.minidisc.wiki/) and came across some enthusiastic praise for Arc. I downloaded it and it immediately wanted me to create an account to even use it. How can that possibly respect my privacy? It went right in the trash.
- timeon 2y ago
  What is also strange that I only found out about account after download. Like it was standard thing for the browser. (Sure there are optional accounts in others but login-walled browser?)
  - roywiggins 2y ago
    Windows is practically login-walled[0] at this point so I imagine people are slowly getting to expect it. [0] witness the magic incantations needed https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-without-microsoft-account https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-witho...
    - cozzyd 2y ago
      This is so super annoying for shared lab computers
    - mrguyorama 2y ago
      Hilariously (in the absurd way), this affects my girlfriend, who prefers and uses the Microsoft account feature AND onedrive exactly how Microsoft would hope she would, and STILL gets fucked by their stupidity. Her laptop has a mediatek wifi card that doesn't have built in Windows drivers. Re-installing Windows requires you play the above game, so you can get into Windows, install the driver, and then immediately log into Microsoft.com.
  - ziddoap 2y ago
    Another strange thing about the account... They have a little section under "Security" FAQ (lol) that says: >"Why does Arc require an account to use?" The answer is: >"Here's a link to our forum that explains the rationale behind requiring an account to use Arc: Why do I need an account?" That link goes to here: https://resources.arc.net/hc/en-us/articles/19401542261911-Basic-Account-Details https://resources.arc.net/hc/en-us/articles/19401542261911-B... Which... Doesn't explain why you need an account!
    - radicaldreamer 2y ago
      They want an easy path to onboard you into paying for stuff.
  - antifa 2y ago
    A while back they required login before download. That's when I noped out.
DevX101 2y ago
I did the same. Requiring an account for a browser is immediately disqualifying. I don't care how many features it has.
jonny_eh 2y ago
Even Chrome wouldn't dare
macintux 2y ago
I had the same response when I downloaded Dart and discovered that a programming language thought it was acceptable to send telemetry.
- rixed 2y ago
  In 2024 it is considered normal for an _operating_system_ to require an account, an information that is potentially passed around to any app running on it.
pndy 2y ago
I had doubts already when submissions promoting the browser were added on hn while there was no way to see how it looks like or even test it out - for quite some time there was nothing but mail singup on their page. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35801529 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35801529

by causal 2y ago

I trashed Arc immediately after install when I found out having an account was mandatory. That seemed so silly, like toothbrushes-requiring-wifi absurd. How much moreso now.

scblock 2y ago

Truly. I was looking for a privacy respecting Chromium-based browser to use for Web MiniDisc (https://web.minidisc.wiki/ https://web.minidisc.wiki/) and came across some enthusiastic praise for Arc. I downloaded it and it immediately wanted me to create an account to even use it. How can that possibly respect my privacy? It went right in the trash.

timeon 2y ago
What is also strange that I only found out about account after download. Like it was standard thing for the browser. (Sure there are optional accounts in others but login-walled browser?)
- roywiggins 2y ago
  Windows is practically login-walled[0] at this point so I imagine people are slowly getting to expect it. [0] witness the magic incantations needed https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-without-microsoft-account https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-witho...
  - cozzyd 2y ago
    This is so super annoying for shared lab computers
  - mrguyorama 2y ago
    Hilariously (in the absurd way), this affects my girlfriend, who prefers and uses the Microsoft account feature AND onedrive exactly how Microsoft would hope she would, and STILL gets fucked by their stupidity. Her laptop has a mediatek wifi card that doesn't have built in Windows drivers. Re-installing Windows requires you play the above game, so you can get into Windows, install the driver, and then immediately log into Microsoft.com.
- ziddoap 2y ago
  Another strange thing about the account... They have a little section under "Security" FAQ (lol) that says: >"Why does Arc require an account to use?" The answer is: >"Here's a link to our forum that explains the rationale behind requiring an account to use Arc: Why do I need an account?" That link goes to here: https://resources.arc.net/hc/en-us/articles/19401542261911-Basic-Account-Details https://resources.arc.net/hc/en-us/articles/19401542261911-B... Which... Doesn't explain why you need an account!
  - radicaldreamer 2y ago
    They want an easy path to onboard you into paying for stuff.
- antifa 2y ago
  A while back they required login before download. That's when I noped out.

DevX101 2y ago

I did the same. Requiring an account for a browser is immediately disqualifying. I don't care how many features it has.

jonny_eh 2y ago

Even Chrome wouldn't dare

macintux 2y ago

I had the same response when I downloaded Dart and discovered that a programming language thought it was acceptable to send telemetry.

rixed 2y ago
In 2024 it is considered normal for an _operating_system_ to require an account, an information that is potentially passed around to any app running on it.

pndy 2y ago

I had doubts already when submissions promoting the browser were added on hn while there was no way to see how it looks like or even test it out - for quite some time there was nothing but mail singup on their page. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35801529 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35801529