8 ms·

Still, not cool. It is not uncommon for someone to use my machine for a brief stint. Say we're about to go somewhere and I ask them to print the directions. I'd

Still, not cool. It is not uncommon for someone to use my machine for a brief stint. Say we're about to go somewhere and I ask them to print the directions. I'd rather not have emails from 5 years ago pop up in an innocuous search.

SkyMarshal 14y ago
It would be interesting if Google provided a switch in Chrome/ium to allow you use Incognito as the default mode, and Ctrl-Shift-N to pop up a normal window. That would mitigate this scenario somewhat, at least on one browser.
vibrunazo 14y ago
Why not just have them log in as a guest? I haven't used other OS'es in a while, but on ubuntu that takes 3 or so seconds. That's a best practice you should be doing anyway even if your emails were not showing in search.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Well, probably because: Them: "Hey dude, can I use your computer real quick for a second." You: "Err, hold on a second, I need to do something..." Them: awkward silence
  - tonfa 14y ago
    ctrl-shift-n: here you go. But more seriously it really depends on what appears in that search results and for which queries. If it's done properly it only triggers when there's a very relevant mail matching the query, which would be unlikely from just a casual search from a friend. Also if just the title is shown, it doesn't reveal much.
    - saalweachter 14y ago
      Yeah, I don't want to imagine what sort of search your friend would be doing on your computer that would bring up your porn subscription, your emails to your mistress...
abraham 14y ago
Than don't use it.
calciphus 14y ago
If you use Chrome, just CTRL+SHIFT+N (or CMD+SHFIT+N) and open them in their own session that auto-expires when you close the window. Then whatever they're doing is safe for them and they don't kick you out of all your accounts. And it takes a fraction of a second to do. "Hey, can I borrow a piece of paper?" "Sure, just grab a page out of my teenage daughter's journal that she's not using. Flip through until you find one"
- alan_cx 14y ago
  Er, why am "I" expect to muck around like that to simply protect my privacy, which was more private in the first place? Here's an idea, privacy first, ooooh anit we cool coders second. Privacy very much has to be the default, not google's cleverness or revenue stream. All I can say is thank the non existent one that I don't use gmail for anything even vaguely important.
  - magicalist 14y ago
    "protect my privacy" is a really poor way to position this argument, if only for the many times we need to take companies to task for actually violating people's privacy. This is showing something on screen that you'd rather only have shown in a different tab. The only reason you don't have the same reaction to the location bar in your browser showing browser history is that you're used to it. If you don't want email results to show up on your search page, just don't turn it on.
    - barista 14y ago
      or just use DDG
  - Groxx 14y ago
    Privacy-first would be logging out of sites when you're finished, or having the default state of your browser to be un-authenticated (just use private modes everywhere). If you don't do either of those, then you are clearly not using the options (easily) available to you to be private-first. If that is true, why would you expect every site to assume you want privacy, when you chose to have customization by being logged in?
greenyoda 14y ago
And it's not just when someone else is using your computer. At work, I frequently have people in my office asking me questions, and I often do a web search while they're sitting next to me. I wouldn't want personal stuff from my e-mail being displayed to random co-workers. And I really don't want to have to remember to open an incognito window for searching every time someone is in my office.
- adgar 14y ago
  But you're logged into personal e-mail at work?
  - barista 14y ago
    you aren't?
    - telcodud 14y ago
      Chrome multiple profiles, ftw. https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2364824 https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&an...
    - adgar 14y ago
      As someone already noted: use Chrome Profiles to isolate accounts from each other. If you're using multilogin, you're sending cookies for multiple sessions on each request. How can you blame the server for thinking you might want results for both?
sp332 14y ago
It doesn't "pop up". There's a separate button in your search results that reveals your matching emails. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4357241 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4357241

SkyMarshal 14y ago

It would be interesting if Google provided a switch in Chrome/ium to allow you use Incognito as the default mode, and Ctrl-Shift-N to pop up a normal window. That would mitigate this scenario somewhat, at least on one browser.

vibrunazo 14y ago

Why not just have them log in as a guest? I haven't used other OS'es in a while, but on ubuntu that takes 3 or so seconds. That's a best practice you should be doing anyway even if your emails were not showing in search.

jlgreco 14y ago
Well, probably because: Them: "Hey dude, can I use your computer real quick for a second." You: "Err, hold on a second, I need to do something..." Them: awkward silence
- tonfa 14y ago
  ctrl-shift-n: here you go. But more seriously it really depends on what appears in that search results and for which queries. If it's done properly it only triggers when there's a very relevant mail matching the query, which would be unlikely from just a casual search from a friend. Also if just the title is shown, it doesn't reveal much.
  - saalweachter 14y ago
    Yeah, I don't want to imagine what sort of search your friend would be doing on your computer that would bring up your porn subscription, your emails to your mistress...

abraham 14y ago

Than don't use it.

calciphus 14y ago

If you use Chrome, just CTRL+SHIFT+N (or CMD+SHFIT+N) and open them in their own session that auto-expires when you close the window. Then whatever they're doing is safe for them and they don't kick you out of all your accounts. And it takes a fraction of a second to do. "Hey, can I borrow a piece of paper?" "Sure, just grab a page out of my teenage daughter's journal that she's not using. Flip through until you find one"

alan_cx 14y ago
Er, why am "I" expect to muck around like that to simply protect my privacy, which was more private in the first place? Here's an idea, privacy first, ooooh anit we cool coders second. Privacy very much has to be the default, not google's cleverness or revenue stream. All I can say is thank the non existent one that I don't use gmail for anything even vaguely important.
- magicalist 14y ago
  "protect my privacy" is a really poor way to position this argument, if only for the many times we need to take companies to task for actually violating people's privacy. This is showing something on screen that you'd rather only have shown in a different tab. The only reason you don't have the same reaction to the location bar in your browser showing browser history is that you're used to it. If you don't want email results to show up on your search page, just don't turn it on.
  - barista 14y ago
    or just use DDG
- Groxx 14y ago
  Privacy-first would be logging out of sites when you're finished, or having the default state of your browser to be un-authenticated (just use private modes everywhere). If you don't do either of those, then you are clearly not using the options (easily) available to you to be private-first. If that is true, why would you expect every site to assume you want privacy, when you chose to have customization by being logged in?

greenyoda 14y ago

And it's not just when someone else is using your computer. At work, I frequently have people in my office asking me questions, and I often do a web search while they're sitting next to me. I wouldn't want personal stuff from my e-mail being displayed to random co-workers. And I really don't want to have to remember to open an incognito window for searching every time someone is in my office.

adgar 14y ago
But you're logged into personal e-mail at work?
- barista 14y ago
  you aren't?
  - telcodud 14y ago
    Chrome multiple profiles, ftw. https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2364824 https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&an...
  - adgar 14y ago
    As someone already noted: use Chrome Profiles to isolate accounts from each other. If you're using multilogin, you're sending cookies for multiple sessions on each request. How can you blame the server for thinking you might want results for both?

sp332 14y ago

It doesn't "pop up". There's a separate button in your search results that reveals your matching emails. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4357241 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4357241