Google enables advertisers a look into your browsing history…

  • 1984@lemmy.today
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    1 year ago

    It’s disgusting. Users browser history is private, just like their search history. Fuck Google.

  • cyd@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    “Enhanced Ad Privacy.” That’s the technology that, unless switched off, allows websites to target the user with adverts tuned to their online activities

    That’s some Orwellian shit right there.

    • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      This is how the internet has worked since forever. At least for Chrome it’s opt-in, and they’re very clear about what is shared.

      Edit: apparently it’s only opt-in in Europe so I offer my condolences

      • Woedenaz@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It’s not opt-in. These settings are automatically set to be turned on unless you intentionally turn them off. So they’re opt-out by definition.

        • derfl007@lemmy.wtf
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          1 year ago

          On android i got asked if i wanna turn it on upon opening chrome, but since they call it “ad privacy” I can see a lot of people thinking it’s a good thing when in reality it just makes it easier for ads to track you without needing your cookie consent. I do remember though on windows it was a “Hey it’s on now, go to the settings to turn it back off” kind of message

          • Woedenaz@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            That latter message is exactly what I got on Chrome on my work computer. It said something akin to “Ad privacy is turned on. Go here to edit the settings!” and then you go look and they’re all set to be enabled. I had to turn them all off.

        • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          It is most definitely opt-in for me. It popped up and said “would you like to enable this?”, explaining what would be shared and why. It was not enabled automatically. That’s opt-in if you ask me.

          • tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk
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            1 year ago

            I’ve been getting it on and off for a couple of weeks and that’s my experience too… you get a ‘we want to enable this exciting new feature’ and you click no. They’ll ask again… which may push me to use firefox more.

          • Woedenaz@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I got the pop-up on desktop chrome yesterday and I had to intentionally go to the settings and turn them off.

            Maybe it’s different on mobile chrome? I don’t know but it was absolutely opt-out on desktop.

            I use Firefox as my main browser but work requires I use chrome for some stupid bullshit. Otherwise I wouldn’t touch the browser at all.

            • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              So your region does not have laws prevent them from automatically enabling it.

              • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                No… It pops up and asks you very clearly if you want to enable it. It also shows what it is, what’s being tracked, and who the information is shared with.

                • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I’ll have to take a look later but I specifically remember the options being auto selected. So you have to go to the options and uncheck them when that pop up comes up. That would be saying the default option would be for it to be on. So you would have to opt out of the changes. Opt in would be default option set to off.

                  Were you on a computer, or a phone. Also are you in Europe? I have seen some users say that in the U.S. it is checked by default (where I am at) and some users in Europe claim it is unchecked by default there.

      • TheEntity@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I doubt this “opt-in” would replace the already existing tracking. It being opt-in is pointless since at very best it doesn’t change anything.

        • dustyData@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It’s opt-out. It’s on by default in Chrome as they claim it is the safest option, and you have to turn it off so it stops sending some data to Google. I think only in Europe it’s opt-in, because only Europe enforces their citizens rights to not have their privacy raped by US companies in the name of security.

          • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            I live in Europe so maybe that’s why it asked me if I wanted to enable it.

      • smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 year ago

        That’s how bad online services and nonfree programs was working since forever. The Internet is just sending the stuff your computer want to send.

        • Ricaz@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Tracking cookies have been a thing for literally decades.

  • 👁️👄👁️@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    This was overwhelming rejected by everyone, including Microsoft, Mozilla, Safari, and others. It’s universally disliked, and Google knows this, but they intentionally know they’re abusing their monopoly to push anti-consumer bullshit.

    • ZeroCool@feddit.ch
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      1 year ago

      It sure would be nice if the US still pretended to care about consumers and breaking up monopolies.

      • bobman@unilem.org
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        1 year ago

        The solution to breaking up monopolies is nationalization.

        All of a sudden, we’re paying less money and have way more rights. It’s why the USPS can’t open your mail without probably cause but fedex and ups can.

        Rich people and their dick-suckers will be upset. But who cares about them anyways?

    • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I opened the browser at the library to print a pre employment drug screen form today. The browser had a pop up asking to review settings, it looked like you could tell them not to use ads this way, but damn I wish I would have read it now. Not my computer and it reboots to clear the profile when you “log out” so I didnt spend the time

    • Marxism-Fennekinism@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Any organization that feels the need to outright claim without being asked that they’re not evil are 100% projecting and are evil.

      • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        I think they honestly weren’t, back in those days, or at least trying not to be.

        Now google is a fully fledged advertising and marketing company

        I already dumped google search in favor of DuckDuckGo years ago which gives objectively better results. Google search has been overrun with SEO spam since years ago

        I’m getting rid of chrome, then of google drive, then what more… Google maps is a big one to drop too but it’s so nice.

        It sucks that a company builds good software and then just abuses the crap out of it but this is why we have open source!

        Lastly I’ll need to drop google from my Android phone, somehow.

      • bobman@unilem.org
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        1 year ago

        Nah. In the early days it made sense because Google was doing some really cool things.

  • Carion@lemmy.antemeridiem.xyz
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    1 year ago

    2056

    • Plug DNA access into pc

    • Google sync my brain chip with my browser page

    • Start searching new brain plague of 2043

    • Google show ad pop-up in my eyes, try to close them, but the ads are projected on the optic nerve.

    • New ideia

    • scan anti-ad chip that my friend gave me

    • It works, I’m free

    • anyway, try to order food

    • Error the system is not autenticated please install chrome chiplinx 3.8 to continue.

    • Receive fine of half my salary, new policy under anti-piracy order

  • U de Recife@lemmy.sdfeu.org
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    1 year ago

    It’s crazy to think that this level of intrusion is considered fair game. The way these behaviors are normalized is completely dystopian.

    • SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      It’s absolutely insane that this is legal. This type of spying is explicitly forbidden in the constitution of the United States of America, but since it’s a private corporation it’s suddenly okay? The FBI has been known to purchase information about consumers from private corporations. This is a back door around the 4th amendment. Actually since corporations are essentially governing by proxy, buying laws and legislatures, this is a constitutional violation.

      • Kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Incremental changes have muffled the impact to most consumers sadly and as long as that works they’ll keep doing it.

    • mvilain@infosec.pub
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      1 year ago

      They already did this with Youtube. I turned of Youtube history because I didn’t want anyone being able to track what I watch. All of a sudden, Youtube’s home page for my account was blank with a message that said “Turn on history if you want to see recommendations”. I sat with that for a couple days, going to Youtube to check out channels I’d subscribed to. It wasn’t the same. When I got to Youtube for some distraction, I want to discover something different from my usual stuff. So I delete my history weekly as part of “routine maintainence”.

      • Tsunami45chan@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Same I delete all my history in clean state on youtube. I hate seeng videos thay I’ve already watched before.

          • Jaggle@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Exactly! Erasing your history just means YOU can’t see it anymore.

        • mvilain@infosec.pub
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          1 year ago

          Youtube let the other shoe drop in their end-stage enshittification this week. Last month, they required you to turn on Youtube History to view the feed of youtube videos recommendations. That seems reasonable, so I did it. But I delete my history every 1 week instead of every 3 months. So they don’t get much from my choices. It still did a pretty good job of showing me stuff I was interested in watching.

          Then on Oct 1, they threw up a “You’re using an Ad Blocker” overlay on videos. I’d use my trusty Overlay Remover plugin to remove the annoying javascript graphic and watch what I wanted. I didn’t have to click the X to dismiss the obnoxious page.

          Last week, they started placing a timer with the X so you had to wait 5 seconds for the X to appear so you could dismiss blocking graphic.

          Today, there was a new graphic. It allowed you to view three videos before you had to turn off your Ad Blocker. I viewed a video 3 times just to see what happens.

          Now all I see is this: “Ad Blockers violate Youtube’s Terms of Service”

          Google has out and out made it a violation of their ToS to have an ad blocker to view Youtube. Or you can pay them $$$.

          I ban such sites from my systems by replacing their DNS name in my hosts file routed to 127.0.0.1 which means I can’t view the site. I have quite a few banned sites now.

      • El Barto@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That deletion strategy is useless. They can still retain that information indefinitely.

        Just use the search bar.

    • Mojo@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      I tried Firefox in like 2016 but it was very slow for some reason.
      Is it fast now? Been thinking about securing my privacy lately so I might give it another try.

      Im going for as much privacy I can while still maintaining as much functionality as possible.
      Anyone having any pointers?

      • 0ddysseus@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Ive used Firefox and chrome for a long time side by side and on a daily use basis there is not any discernable difference that’s caused by the browser. On Firefox, add the extensions ublock origin, privacy badger, and decrentraleyes to start with, and I’d recommend changing default search to duckduckgo or start page as well. Your entire web experience will be massively improved (Yes ddg and start page look and feel different. Search results are the same but without all the ads and misdirects)

        • RT Redréovič@lemmygrad.ml
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          1 year ago

          Greetings. uBlock Origin is a great choice. However I must add that you should instead opt for a custom user.js and drop Privacy Badger and Decentraleyes as they are mostly redundant. Refer this.

          As for Startpage and DuckDuckGo, I suggest avoiding them. These are not open source search engines and have a suspicious and questionable history regarding their ethical position. I suggest SearXNG. It is an open source Meta Search Engine, i.e., it congregates results related to your search from multiple search engines without giving them your IP. As it is open source, it is self hostable (you may request your instance admin to host one if you wish to) and multiple instances exist. Make your selection here.

      • El Barto@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Bro, 2016 in browser terms is ancient history.

        Imagine saying in 2003: “I tried such-and-such in 1996. Is it fast now?”

        • Mojo@ttrpg.network
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          1 year ago

          Im getting old. Feels like the first Avatar movie came out a couple of years ago to me.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    I think I’ll just invite Google to come get my dna, set up cameras everywhere, and install a microchip in my brain. Then I can be done with this slow-walk of privacy invasion.