myaccount.google.com - privacy or conveniency?

[Loppan Torkel]

https://myaccount.google.com/intro
I kind of found/noticed this while searching on google.

So the questions are - do I want a more customised experience/find the stuff I'm searching for more easily/live in my bubble/let google know everything about me/etc.

There are plenty of options to choose. I'm a bit torn on it. It might be good to not be spoon-fed with the things you already believe in. Have you checked it out at all? Have you made any alterations?

 

[bhavv]

To be honest, by the time anyone finds those settings, google already knows everything about your porn searching habits.

 

[Zelig]

I have a special browser that I use only for Google services (gmail, maps, docs, etc.)

In my primary browsers, I don't use Google search, don't allow Google javascript or cookies, and block connections to Google ad domains.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

I have a special browser that I use only for Google services (gmail, maps, docs, etc.)

In my primary browsers, I don't use Google search, don't allow Google javascript or cookies, and block connections to Google ad domains.

What kind of special browser is that? ..and didn't you argue against my attempts to make it more difficult for google, windows, etc to track my habits?

 

[Zelig]

What kind of special browser is that?

Just special in the sense that it's an independent installation that I don't use for anything else.

..and didn't you argue against my attempts to make it more difficult for google, windows, etc to track my habits?

Possibly, hard to say without context.

Google and Microsoft/Apple are fundamentally different though - Google is an advertising company that tracks you to be able to charge more for their ads. Microsoft is a software company that tracks software behavior in order to improve their software. Apple is a hardware company that tracks behavior for the same reasons as MS.

For equivalent services that MS/Google/Apple offer, I treat them equally with regards to privacy.

 

[Tahuti]

For equivalent services that MS/Google/Apple offer, I treat them equally with regards to privacy.

Google/Alphabet is a multitude of degrees more creepy than Apple or MS given the breadth of the information they collect: They have managed to integrate file sharing, searching, mail and internet videos under one convenient umbrella.

Now, the switch towards Alphabet may mark a change for the better, though I'm still skeptical.

 

[Synobun]

I enjoy the convenience this offers and currently possess no reason to particularly frown at the amount of information Google has on me.

I like the idea of pure disconnect from the internet in theory but it's very much not the world we live in. Making the effort towards that idea sort of just comes across as an "it's about the principle!" response to me, which is fine I suppose. I have better things to worry about, though.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Google/Alphabet is a multitude of degrees more creepy than Apple or MS given the breadth of the information they collect: They have managed to integrate file sharing, searching, mail and internet videos under one convenient umbrella.

Now, the switch towards Alphabet may mark a change for the better, though I'm still skeptical.

Given the creepiness - have you changed any privacy options for your account?

 

[azzaman333]

I don't care enough to worry about it.