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I would never use or recommend a Chromebook for one main reason: ChromeOS tracks everything you do online. Does Google disable online tracking for school users?

I would never use or recommend a Chromebook for one main reason: ChromeOS tracks everything you do online. Does Google disable online tracking for school users? If not, Google must be rubbing their hands with glee at all the data they're collecting. Yes, I know that Google doesn't do nefarious things with the data they collect. That doesn't mean we shouldn't scrutinise the way they track online behaviour so relentlessly. Even printing to your desktop printer in ChromeOS is recorded by Google because all print jobs go through Google's cloud print service. If people thought their Linux, Windows or Mac Operating System was constantly logging their actions and sending back the details to the OS vendor, they'd be angry. When companies ask for app usage data they do so on the promise that it's anonymous and they tell you what they are recording and why. Google tell you nothing and you're not even anonymous (you have to sign in with a Google account to use Chrome OS. A guest account gives you limited access and even that's probably being tracked). How does Google get such a free ride on such matters? The response from the tech community generally seems to be "meh - it's a non-issue, I'm fine with Google collecting my data". I find it pretty depressing.

lucid00 12y ago
Chrome OS tracks what you do as much as Chrome does, which isn't as much as it's hyped up to be and is optional. Plus Windows 8 somewhat does the same thing (built in Microsoft accounts, OneDrive integration, bookmark syncing, crash reporting, etc...).
- chestnut-tree 12y ago
  What's optional? You can't use ChromeOS without signing into your Google account. You can still use Chrome in incognito mode, but you can't use Google apps without signing in. I don't have to sign in with an online account to use a word processor on Windows, Mac or Linux. And if I want to save to the cloud, there are plenty of online storage providers that give me better privacy. In the case of Windows 8, it's easy to bypass their email sign in and avoid their online tools. The fact that Microsoft are following Google's lead is not an argument in favour of online tracking. If Chrome's tracking is not as much as it's hyped up to be, then why don't Google clearly and unambiguosly state what they record and track while you use their operating system and for how long they keep this data? (Their lengthy, but vaguely-worded privacy policy tells you very little.)

lucid00 12y ago

Chrome OS tracks what you do as much as Chrome does, which isn't as much as it's hyped up to be and is optional. Plus Windows 8 somewhat does the same thing (built in Microsoft accounts, OneDrive integration, bookmark syncing, crash reporting, etc...).

chestnut-tree 12y ago
What's optional? You can't use ChromeOS without signing into your Google account. You can still use Chrome in incognito mode, but you can't use Google apps without signing in. I don't have to sign in with an online account to use a word processor on Windows, Mac or Linux. And if I want to save to the cloud, there are plenty of online storage providers that give me better privacy. In the case of Windows 8, it's easy to bypass their email sign in and avoid their online tools. The fact that Microsoft are following Google's lead is not an argument in favour of online tracking. If Chrome's tracking is not as much as it's hyped up to be, then why don't Google clearly and unambiguosly state what they record and track while you use their operating system and for how long they keep this data? (Their lengthy, but vaguely-worded privacy policy tells you very little.)