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I actually clicked the learn more, and it took me to a help site that somehow didn't exist. Failed to load. Then I manually went into Spotlight settings, and w

I actually clicked the learn more, and it took me to a help site that somehow didn't exist. Failed to load. Then I manually went into Spotlight settings, and was presented with a bunch of checkboxes that offer zero indication as to privacy implications. How am I to magically tell that the "Movies" option won't send my query to some Apple IMDB proxy? Sorry, but this script is spot on. This should not be enabled by default, and the privacy implications need to be spelt out in every single detail. It should be a legal requirement, really.

eridius 12y ago
> [...] that offer zero indication as to privacy implications There's a very prominent button labelled > About Spotlight Suggestions & Privacy on the Spotlight preferences window. If you're worried about the privacy of your searches, you can click that, and you get a detailed description of exactly what's going on, and how to disable it (to wit, uncheck "Spotlight Suggestions" and "Bing Web Searches").
- eropple 12y ago
  This is literally the first I've heard of this, and I upgraded yesterday. I didn't see whatever warning supposedly appears on the first use of Spotlight because--as I always do--I hit it and started typing. The idea that having a button in the bowels of a preference menu is sufficient is...I don't want to say "nuts", but I'm thinking it pretty hard. I'm not happy. Not unhappy enough to subject myself to a Linux desktop, but Apple is making it closer and closer with every release.
  - eridius 12y ago
    You immediately ran a spotlight query, despite Spotlight itself looking radically different, being in a different place on the screen (floating in the middle, instead of anchored to the upper-right), and didn't even notice the message it tried to tell you? That's pretty impressive. > in the bowels of a preference menu This is not the first time you've resorted to hyperbole in order to try and paint Apple in a bad light. It's not hidden anywhere. The moment you go to the Spotlight preferences, you see it. What's more, the first time you see a search result that came from the internet, a) it should be obvious that means that your query must have gone to the internet, and b) the very first place you'd go in order to disable this behavior, the Spotlight Preferences Pane, is the same place that has this prominent button that gives you a detailed explanation. > Not unhappy enough to subject myself to a Linux desktop, but Apple is making it closer and closer with every release. It sounds to me like you're trying to invent reasons to hate Apple. This is a widely-advertised major feature of the OS (it was even in the WWDC keynote IIRC), with a very prominent warning explaining how Spotlight is different in this version of the OS and making it very easy to find out how to disable this behavior, with a very prominent button in preferences called "Privacy" that, again, explains what's going on and how to disable it. And yet you're trying to insinuate that Apple is trying to stealthily sneak in the behavior that sends your queries to them, without letting the user know, as if that was something they'd even want to do.
    - nijiko 12y ago
      power users just hit it and go.
      - eridius 12y ago
        Power users use Alfred or LaunchBar (or Quicksilver, IIRC that project was resurrected).
        mikeash 12y ago
        No power user ever uses spotlight to launch apps? Those are some awe-inspiring mental gymnastics you're doing to take Apple's side here.
        eridius 12y ago
        A flippant response to a flippant response. But thanks for the hyperbole there. Really, this thread just looks like a bunch of paranoid conspiracy nuts, thinking Apple is out to steal your searches. I get it, privacy is important. I don't disagree. But you're* acting like they installed a keylogger on your computer (in point of fact, someone on IRC accused Apple of making "something that sends all of their local query keystrokes to Apple", which is a pure fabrication). * that's the plural "you", not you personally
        mikeash 12y ago
        You see it as conspiracy nuts, but I just see a bunch of people complaining that it's not explained well enough. I see no comment on motivation at all. By the way, there's a perfectly good English word that means "plural you minus you personally," which is "they."
        eridius 12y ago
        My argument is that it is explained well enough, but most people complaining in here haven't even looked at the feature beyond seeing the original article talking about how to disable it with scripting. For example, as near as I can tell, eropple doesn't use Spotlight for anything except as a quick app launcher, which is a usage that doesn't involve Spotlight Suggestions (and AFAICT doesn't even try to send any queries to Apple). And yet he's been extremely argumentative, making wild assumptions about what's going on and then publicly complaining about it. Anyone who doesn't even look at the feature hardly has any grounds to complain about what it does and doesn't do, since they don't even know what it does or doesn't do. And their lack of knowledge is entirely their fault. > By the way, there's a perfectly good English word that means "plural you minus you personally," which is "they." If I was talking to you personally, one-on-one, I'd use "they". I used "you" because I was speaking to the larger audience of the people involved in this thread.
  - general_failure 12y ago
    Trust me if you are not on Linux already, you never will. There is no shame in selling you soul to apple. Just be honest about it.
gicmo 12y ago
I see your point and I actually agree that it probably would be better if this was either opt in, or at least have the two settings on the initial spotlight window so that you can immediately disable them without going to the settings. Also giving 'privacy' info for each spotlight 'category' is indeed a good idea. May point about the script was more that it also just disables the two things listed in the initial privacy info given by Apple, i.e. "MENU_WEBSEARCH" and "MENU_SPOTLIGHT_SUGGESTIONS" and having informative text with screenshots to which checkboxes to unselect on the website would have sufficed. At least you wouldn't be executing code from some random place on the internet.

eridius 12y ago

> [...] that offer zero indication as to privacy implications There's a very prominent button labelled > About Spotlight Suggestions & Privacy on the Spotlight preferences window. If you're worried about the privacy of your searches, you can click that, and you get a detailed description of exactly what's going on, and how to disable it (to wit, uncheck "Spotlight Suggestions" and "Bing Web Searches").

eropple 12y ago
This is literally the first I've heard of this, and I upgraded yesterday. I didn't see whatever warning supposedly appears on the first use of Spotlight because--as I always do--I hit it and started typing. The idea that having a button in the bowels of a preference menu is sufficient is...I don't want to say "nuts", but I'm thinking it pretty hard. I'm not happy. Not unhappy enough to subject myself to a Linux desktop, but Apple is making it closer and closer with every release.
- eridius 12y ago
  You immediately ran a spotlight query, despite Spotlight itself looking radically different, being in a different place on the screen (floating in the middle, instead of anchored to the upper-right), and didn't even notice the message it tried to tell you? That's pretty impressive. > in the bowels of a preference menu This is not the first time you've resorted to hyperbole in order to try and paint Apple in a bad light. It's not hidden anywhere. The moment you go to the Spotlight preferences, you see it. What's more, the first time you see a search result that came from the internet, a) it should be obvious that means that your query must have gone to the internet, and b) the very first place you'd go in order to disable this behavior, the Spotlight Preferences Pane, is the same place that has this prominent button that gives you a detailed explanation. > Not unhappy enough to subject myself to a Linux desktop, but Apple is making it closer and closer with every release. It sounds to me like you're trying to invent reasons to hate Apple. This is a widely-advertised major feature of the OS (it was even in the WWDC keynote IIRC), with a very prominent warning explaining how Spotlight is different in this version of the OS and making it very easy to find out how to disable this behavior, with a very prominent button in preferences called "Privacy" that, again, explains what's going on and how to disable it. And yet you're trying to insinuate that Apple is trying to stealthily sneak in the behavior that sends your queries to them, without letting the user know, as if that was something they'd even want to do.
  - nijiko 12y ago
    power users just hit it and go.
    - eridius 12y ago
      Power users use Alfred or LaunchBar (or Quicksilver, IIRC that project was resurrected).
      - mikeash 12y ago
        No power user ever uses spotlight to launch apps? Those are some awe-inspiring mental gymnastics you're doing to take Apple's side here.
        eridius 12y ago
        A flippant response to a flippant response. But thanks for the hyperbole there. Really, this thread just looks like a bunch of paranoid conspiracy nuts, thinking Apple is out to steal your searches. I get it, privacy is important. I don't disagree. But you're* acting like they installed a keylogger on your computer (in point of fact, someone on IRC accused Apple of making "something that sends all of their local query keystrokes to Apple", which is a pure fabrication). * that's the plural "you", not you personally
        mikeash 12y ago
        You see it as conspiracy nuts, but I just see a bunch of people complaining that it's not explained well enough. I see no comment on motivation at all. By the way, there's a perfectly good English word that means "plural you minus you personally," which is "they."
        eridius 12y ago
        My argument is that it is explained well enough, but most people complaining in here haven't even looked at the feature beyond seeing the original article talking about how to disable it with scripting. For example, as near as I can tell, eropple doesn't use Spotlight for anything except as a quick app launcher, which is a usage that doesn't involve Spotlight Suggestions (and AFAICT doesn't even try to send any queries to Apple). And yet he's been extremely argumentative, making wild assumptions about what's going on and then publicly complaining about it. Anyone who doesn't even look at the feature hardly has any grounds to complain about what it does and doesn't do, since they don't even know what it does or doesn't do. And their lack of knowledge is entirely their fault. > By the way, there's a perfectly good English word that means "plural you minus you personally," which is "they." If I was talking to you personally, one-on-one, I'd use "they". I used "you" because I was speaking to the larger audience of the people involved in this thread.
- general_failure 12y ago
  Trust me if you are not on Linux already, you never will. There is no shame in selling you soul to apple. Just be honest about it.

gicmo 12y ago

I see your point and I actually agree that it probably would be better if this was either opt in, or at least have the two settings on the initial spotlight window so that you can immediately disable them without going to the settings. Also giving 'privacy' info for each spotlight 'category' is indeed a good idea. May point about the script was more that it also just disables the two things listed in the initial privacy info given by Apple, i.e. "MENU_WEBSEARCH" and "MENU_SPOTLIGHT_SUGGESTIONS" and having informative text with screenshots to which checkboxes to unselect on the website would have sufficed. At least you wouldn't be executing code from some random place on the internet.