What do you think about the policy change in Google Account?

[conceptualclarity]

I went on YouTube yesterday and was surprised to be confronted with this:

I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do.

I don't use Google Chrome, and I seldom use Google search engine, although I do make some use of a search engine that mixes Google and Bing. I have GMail as a secondary email account that I don't use a whole lot, but it does get regular messages from a couple of sources. Of course I have a YouTube account. I have a Google+ account that I don't use. (I don't think Google+ is very successful, is it?)

What are you guys going to do about this Google Account policy change?

 

[frogboy]

Privacy has been long gone for a while now and Google can target me all it want's for relevant ads i have not seen an add on the internet for years. So not worried much about these changes.

 

[Andytay70]

I avoid google if possible, I either use duckduckgo or startpage.com if i need to search anything.
I agree with our mate @frogboy that privacy is long gone!

 

[conceptualclarity]

Privacy has been long gone for a while now and Google can target me all it want's for relevant ads i have not seen an add on the internet for years. So not worried much about these changes.

Thank you for giving your opinion on the Google policy.

What ad-blocker do you use to get a result like that? Personally I don't really believe in ad-blockers because I sympathize with the need of free website owners to get ad revenue to stay afloat. But because I'm on an old computer I need relief from the resource drain that comes with maximum ad exposure, so I use Ad Muncher. It doesn't block all the ads, but that's OK: it blocks enough to keep my browsers from freezing. AdBlocker Plus made Firefox too heavy for me, and on Maxthon (where it's built in by default), it tended to unformat web pages.

 

[Cohen]

Google is known for not respecting the privacy of their users. But because they have been integrated with society as much as they have, in their eyes they don't have to as the majority of people rely on them for day-to-day tasks.
I block ads on most sites, so it doesn't affect me very much.

 

[frogboy]

@conceptualclarity i use uBlock Origin with some filter lists i stole from @Logethica if you got to his config page he has some very good lists there. Here is a link to his lists. PC: SECURE - Logethica's (Free) Security Configuration

 

[conceptualclarity]

I avoid google if possible, I either use duckduckgo or startpage.com if i need to search anything.
I agree with our mate @frogboy that privacy is long gone!

I am very bullish on DuckDuckGo myself. I think it's actually the best search engine , although I admit I haven't given an adequate try yet to all the lesser-known ones like StartPage and Ixquick.

@conceptualclarity i use uBlock Origin with some filter lists i stole from @Logethica if you got to his config page he has some very good lists there. Here is a link to his lists. PC: SECURE - Logethica's (Free) Security Configuration

I'm interested in using uBlock Origin on my next computer for malware blocking. Thank you for the link.

 

[shmu26]

I couldn't care less what google knows about my browsing habits or whatever. I don't even live on US soil, so how is it even going to affect me? Terrorists and drug-dealers should be worried, not me.

 

[DardiM]

Personal thought :
Google doesn't sell your personal information anymore = > now they offer these info against money / services

 

[Lucent Warrior]

"What do i think of Google's privacy changes"..

What are we comparing it to, Microsoft's? Because in this case, i think MS has taken the lead on data mining/advertisement. At least Google offers up very good products for free while doing so. I would personally call it an oxymoron if one were to judge Google's privacy tactics while using Microsoft for an OS.

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

I agree LW, but I am new (was) to chrome.
I did figure my issue out with FF and Ccleaner so Chrome just went in the trash

 

[frogboy]

I agree LW, but I am new (was) to chrome.
I did figure my issue out with FF and Ccleaner so Chrome just went in the trash

That is some good news right there @_CyberGhosT_ not a fan of Chrome at all either.

 

[shmu26]

it is security vs privacy
at the present time, I think google is +1 on security, and FF is +5 on privacy.

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

it is security vs privacy
at the present time, I think google is +1 on security, and FF is +5 on privacy.

And I can add things like No Script, and WEBrtc to increase security in FF.
I just thought google was doing good on the information front, then they go this direction.
While I am not shocked, it is a little disheartening.
And anyone that knows me, knows I'm a FF user at heart.

 

[Logethica]

I am not a fan of the "relevant ads" option...
Rather than helpful,I see it as a deliberate attempt to manipulate what I view next.
Once a user becomes accustomed to watching "recommendations" based on previous viewing habits then it would become easy to coerce them into watching whatever "Google" wants them to watch.
These tactics are a "psychological tool" that can be used through a "recommendation chain" which can be employed to push a user from point A to a point B of Googles choosing (which would probably be Google projects that are at risk of failure)
Examples of possible "Recommendation chains" could be:
Fastest Cars -> Latest Sports Cars -> Sports Car Tech -> Latest Tech -> Google Glass
Space -> Future Space Travel -> The Tech of Space Travel -> Latest Tech -> Google Glass

The Youtube pop-ups that ask "How do you rate..?" can be removed with the "element picker" in UBlock Origin.

 

[conceptualclarity]

And I can add things like No Script, and WEBrtc to increase security in FF.

What is WEBrtc?

I would personally call it an oxymoron if one were to judge Google's privacy tactics while using Microsoft for an OS.

I'm very critical of Microsoft, but the problem is that they are virtually a monopoly in regard to people like me who want access to the broad spectrum of software that's out there. If we could magically make all the software for Windows usable on Linux, I would switch to it in a heartbeat.

 

[Cohen]

What is WEBrtc?

"WebRTC is a standard that defines a collection of communications protocols and application programming interfaces that enable real-time communication over peer-to-peer connections. This allows web browsers to not only request resources from backend servers, but also real-time information from browsers of other users."

 

[LabZero]

Google collects a huge amount of data on the activities and the identity of its users. It is a situation almost inevitable, it can not do otherwise because of its nature.
I also think that this change has little effect on the current situation.
I do not like it, but it is not a big deal.

 

[askmark]

Google collects a huge amount of data on the activities and the identity of its users. It is a situation almost inevitable, it can not do otherwise because of its nature.
I also think that this change has little effect on the current situation.
I do not like it, but it is not a big deal.

+1

 

[Neno]

Privacy?!? Well that is one big joke in a single word.