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by shak77 3099 days ago
Chrome pushes you to create a Google account to sync. Firefox pushes you to create a Firefox account to sync. You'll tell me where the difference is.

At least Google does not also push you to create a Pocket account... ;^)

4 comments

One of them syncs your tabs and bookmarks, and the other one syncs you tabs and bookmarks and can create stronger links with their already extremely prevalent browser tracking technologies which they then can tie in to their analytics on your email to support their largely advertising-driven, for-profit enterprise?
Firefox sync is encrypted client-side so Mozilla can't access your data. And the server is open source and self-hostable:

https://mozilla-services.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howtos/run...

So is the google sync. Especially if you set an extra passphrase to decode.
Oh, cool - it sounds like the passphrase is mandatory to encrypt your synced data, it doesn't happen by default, but that's still a good start. TIL.

(I still like having the option to run my own sync server though.)

It does, but by default, it uses your google account password.
> Chrome pushes you to create a Google account to sync. Firefox pushes you to create a Firefox account to sync. You'll tell me where the difference is.

With Firefox account, Mozilla is not selling any of your data data, a Google account not only is a goldmine of data to sell, but you're signing for a lot more services than just Sync itself.

You mean, except for shipping CliqZ, a cooperative project between Mozilla, and the German ad, tracking and publishing house Burda, which receives all the URLs your visit (as a test, this was bundled with 1% of German Firefox installs)?
While bundling CliqZ was certainly a poor decision that does not inspire confidence, my comment above fast specifically in regards to Firefox Sync.

If you honestly believe that Google is less or equal in terms of user data privacy as Mozilla, then I'm not sure I can convince you otherwise, but despite all the recent blunders, I still trust Mozilla more in this regard, be it with a watchful eye.

Well, I don't have a choice, do I?

about:addons uses Google Analytics, and yes, I know Google promised Mozilla not to look at that data.

But either I have to trust Google that they don't use the data from Chrome's Enterprise and Chromium builds. Or I have to trust Google that they don't use the data from Firefox' about:addons and Firefox Focus, and that CliqZ doesn't use the data from Firefox.

If I have to trust Google anyway, I can just use Chrome.

Google doesn't sell data. Chrome, however, isn't silently installing extensions without people's permission, though.
Chromium pushed (and kept pushing) me to open an account in order to install addons. I never used the Mozilla sync-feature, but have no problem with it announcing its availability once in a new install. And likewise for the Google-browser, if that's what it does.
I use Chrome (not Chromium) and it has never asked me to create an account to download addons. :/
using Chrome means you've embraced the botnet

and with the browser phoning home constantly, they know which account to associate your browsing behavior with, no account creation required ;)