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Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!). Obviously in order to perform cross-device synchronisation, it's necessary to send this information

Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!). Obviously in order to perform cross-device synchronisation, it's necessary to send this information. I'm not free to discuss the details of how these systems work, but consider this: if both the statements "Google will store this information" and "the fact that you are using Chrome does not cause Google to receive any special or additional personally identifying information about you" are hard requirements, how would you implement this feature?

rockdoe 12y ago
Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!). Can you use an Android phone without this? AFAIK that's essentially impossible without very deep technical knowledge.
- asuffield 12y ago
  Yes, you can. If you use a clean Nexus build then last time I tried it, the behaviour was that the first time I opened Chrome it asked me if I wanted to sign in to chrome to share my history and bookmarks between devices, and I had a simple yes/no choice. I don't think this needed any deep technical knowledge. I'm not intimately familiar with the android chrome settings UI, so I apologise if I've missed an easier way, but in about 30 seconds of tapping I found the button to turn it off: main settings page, accounts, my google account, sync, uncheck chrome.
minthd 12y ago
>> Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!) This isn't true , according to this post in google product forums(and others like it who complain about unwanted sharing and how stop it) : https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/hOk8r9pCYf8 https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/hOk8r9... And personally i've tried it , and that's false - the default is history sharing. I don't want to be rude, but are you some kind of a troll, or just enjoying spreading lies ?
- asuffield 12y ago
  The answer given there is simply not correct. Click: settings, advanced sync settings, uncheck "history". I am quite confident that the default behaviour when you install chrome is that you are not signed in. It definitely doesn't share any history when you're not signed in. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to have a login box otherwise ;) I also feel that the message you get when you decide whether or not to sign in to chrome makes the purpose of this feature quite clear: "Sign in to get your bookmarks, history and settings on all your devices." Here's the detailed page it links to: https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/browser/signin.html https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/browser/signin.html I'm not sure what behaviour you were expecting, can you clarify?
  - killwhitey 12y ago
    Fresh install of Chrome. https://i.imgur.com/4ZyuSNN.png https://i.imgur.com/4ZyuSNN.png Notice how little "No thanks" and "Choose what to sync are". Nice anti-pattern. And if you simply sign in and don't choose anything, this is what you get https://i.imgur.com/XQSxwu5.png https://i.imgur.com/XQSxwu5.png
    - asuffield 12y ago
      That all seems clear and reasonable to me. I double checked the size of 'No thanks' and 'Choose what to sync' in the chrome dev tools: they are 13px, which is exactly the same size as 'Sign in' and 'Need help'. Signing in without making a specific selection gives you what the third line on the screen said it would do. What, if anything, is wrong with this?
      - sanxiyn 12y ago
        You know it is wrong, because it misleads users. UI is not about technical accuracy, it is about what users do.
        asuffield 12y ago
minthd 12y ago
Of course "the fact that you are using Chrome does not cause Google to receive any special or additional personally identifying information about you." could be true. But Agreeing to sign to the history sync feature is something different , not covered by "using Google Chrome".So now Google is free to use your history. And let's be realistic here. Most people don't think about the implications of login into Google(even if it says sync of bookmarks , history etc) and probably don't read the instructions. Many even don't understand what it means. And realistically most people see a Google login box which they filled a million times, and fill it once more, as a sort of a pavlovian response.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

rockdoe 12y ago

Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!). Can you use an Android phone without this? AFAIK that's essentially impossible without very deep technical knowledge.

asuffield 12y ago
Yes, you can. If you use a clean Nexus build then last time I tried it, the behaviour was that the first time I opened Chrome it asked me if I wanted to sign in to chrome to share my history and bookmarks between devices, and I had a simple yes/no choice. I don't think this needed any deep technical knowledge. I'm not intimately familiar with the android chrome settings UI, so I apologise if I've missed an easier way, but in about 30 seconds of tapping I found the button to turn it off: main settings page, accounts, my google account, sync, uncheck chrome.

minthd 12y ago

>> Notice that this is a feature you have to turn on (try it!) This isn't true , according to this post in google product forums(and others like it who complain about unwanted sharing and how stop it) : https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/hOk8r9pCYf8 https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/hOk8r9... And personally i've tried it , and that's false - the default is history sharing. I don't want to be rude, but are you some kind of a troll, or just enjoying spreading lies ?

asuffield 12y ago
The answer given there is simply not correct. Click: settings, advanced sync settings, uncheck "history". I am quite confident that the default behaviour when you install chrome is that you are not signed in. It definitely doesn't share any history when you're not signed in. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to have a login box otherwise ;) I also feel that the message you get when you decide whether or not to sign in to chrome makes the purpose of this feature quite clear: "Sign in to get your bookmarks, history and settings on all your devices." Here's the detailed page it links to: https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/browser/signin.html https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/browser/signin.html I'm not sure what behaviour you were expecting, can you clarify?
- killwhitey 12y ago
  Fresh install of Chrome. https://i.imgur.com/4ZyuSNN.png https://i.imgur.com/4ZyuSNN.png Notice how little "No thanks" and "Choose what to sync are". Nice anti-pattern. And if you simply sign in and don't choose anything, this is what you get https://i.imgur.com/XQSxwu5.png https://i.imgur.com/XQSxwu5.png
  - asuffield 12y ago
    That all seems clear and reasonable to me. I double checked the size of 'No thanks' and 'Choose what to sync' in the chrome dev tools: they are 13px, which is exactly the same size as 'Sign in' and 'Need help'. Signing in without making a specific selection gives you what the third line on the screen said it would do. What, if anything, is wrong with this?
    - sanxiyn 12y ago
      You know it is wrong, because it misleads users. UI is not about technical accuracy, it is about what users do.
      - asuffield 12y ago

minthd 12y ago

Of course "the fact that you are using Chrome does not cause Google to receive any special or additional personally identifying information about you." could be true. But Agreeing to sign to the history sync feature is something different , not covered by "using Google Chrome".So now Google is free to use your history. And let's be realistic here. Most people don't think about the implications of login into Google(even if it says sync of bookmarks , history etc) and probably don't read the instructions. Many even don't understand what it means. And realistically most people see a Google login box which they filled a million times, and fill it once more, as a sort of a pavlovian response.

deleted 12y ago
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