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Google Promises Chrome Changes After Privacy Complaints (cnet.com)
Google, on the defensive from concerns raised about how Chrome tracks its users, has promised changes to its web browser. From a report: Two complaints in recent days involve how Google stores data about browsing activity in files called cookies and how it syncs personal data across different devices. Google representatives said Monday and Tuesday there's nothing to be worried about but that they'll be changing Chrome nevertheless. "We've heard -- and appreciate -- your feedback from the last few days, and we'll be making some product changes," tweeted Parisa Tabriz, a security team leader at Google. Google added in a blog post Tuesday evening that it will add new options and explanations for its interface and reverse one Chrome cookie-hoarding policy that undermined people's attempts to clear those cookies.
Was that bad? Should I not have done that?
NEVER!
Just use a better browser.
(For what it is worth, I am not affiliated with them and don't have any special agenda here, but of course I am posting as AC so there is no reason to believe me. Still, it's a good browser).
Google added in a blog post Tuesday evening that it will add new options and explanations for its interface and reverse one Chrome cookie-hoarding policy that undermined people's attempts to clear those cookies.
They'll just move the info stored in the cookies to internal non-cookie storage and they're still going to log you in when you login to other aspects. They're just going to change the interface to show you they're watching you.
Be nice to have a MS office assistant character appear (like Clippy) and tap on your screen and say "Hey... I'm watching you!"
It seems to be the current thought process in corporations is that they have very little concern for privacy unless they get caught. Suddenly after they get caught they are all about privacy for a brief period to get some good PR.
Sent from my TARDIS
And separated out as an organization separate from Google/Alphabet. All the browsers relying on Blink/Chromium code need to do more to make sure they have contingency plans if Google pulls a Microsoft with Chrome.
When the word about Dragonfly came out, I knew that had to put my principles before my convenience
Google is now, and I believe irrevocably, not a company with whom I want to do business. They took their advantage and have firmly leveraged it against the public interest.
Advertising networks, and Google's specifically, need to be dealt with by the FTC immediately. We have the right to be secure in our correspondence in the USA. "Let me move your correspondence for free, and I will read everything about it, compile it, and sell what I can" is not a contract many people would join if the terms were laid so plainly.
Populus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur...
"Force shits upon Reason's back." - Poor Richard's Almanac
Google: "We're sorry we got caught doing something evil (yet again). We'll be more careful not to get caught next time."
You can fix this right now. This auto-login actually broke email/sync for a company I consult for, and luckily actually found a way to turn it off right now.
1) Visit: chrome://flags
2) Set to Disabled:
Identity consistency between browser and cookie jar
When enabled, the browser manages signing in and out of Google accounts. – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android
#account-consistency
I really wonder why people reading slashdot still uses Chrome? I mean we are a bunch of people that are both aware of the issues with corporates seeing all we do online, we understand technology well enough to know how to switch and most of us care about open source. Chromium is a little better, but really what Mozilla is doing to a great extent is needed and should be supported (by for example using Firefox). I mean, we all remember the good old days when many pages only worked in IE6 right? And if all we end up with is a browser from either Google, Microsoft or Apple, it is not a lot better.
So really, why not switch? Performance reasons? All browsers are quick enough. Memory issues? They all use a lot of memory. Fancier ui? For me I see no logical reason at all to use Chrome or Chromium over Firefox, no reason from a technological standpoint and no moral reason either. And still usage of Chrome keeps going up, even among people in the tech industry. It saddens me a bit that people just do not think, or do not care about such an important thing as the web.
No, they didn't log into chrome, they logged into Gmail. Then Chrome's login system hijacked the cookie. Big difference.
Google will pretend to change things, and more quietly implement what we'll call, for convenience's sake, Plan B. If they get caught, there'll be an excuse for why it's not the same thing as they were doing before, they'll apologize, promise to change, possibly fire someone and/or rearrange bits of the company, and even more quietly implement whatever they will call it, but we may as well call it Plan C. If THAT gets leaked or discovered...
Why do you think they call it ALPHABET?!? They have at least 26 plans for how to screw users over and rip them off and get even richer, and if they exhaust those, they'll either move on to another, perhaps starting with the Greek, (Plan Alpha, Plan Beta, etc.,) or perhaps start incorporating numbers.
Maybe they'll even try to change their name to "Alphanumeric". Shit... I should see if there's already one of those and if not trademark THAT, and buy-up the domain name... nah. OTOH, I don't really care enough to bother looking. But that is kind of a cool name, right?
Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.