[annapurna]

Android users are pushed through a variety of techniques:

  Deceptive click flow
  Hidden default settings
  Misleading and unbalanced information
  Repeated nudging
  Bundling of services and lack of granular choices*

Deceptive click flow is the click-flow when setting up an Android device pushes users into enabling “Location History” without being aware of it.*

Hidden Default settings is [when] setting up a Google account, the Web & App activity settings are hidden behind extra clicks and enabled by default.

Third one is users not given sufficient information when presented with choices, and are misled about what data is collected and how it is used.

Repeated nudging is users being repeatedly asked to turn on “Location History” when using different Google services even if they decided against this feature when setting up their phone.

And finally, bundling services when for example if the user wants features such as Google Assistant and photos sorted by location, Google turns on invasive location tracking.

I would believe most of us HN crowd are fully aware of the pros and cons of such tracking and make our choices accordingly (using these tools/software/devices). However, for the majority (yes, they may not appear to be interested in privacy as yesterday's FB quarterly report shows), are they aware of how much data is being collected, how it could be misused, etc.? We, as a society, should do our part in pushing back against such indiscriminate tracking. No specific call to action. For my older parents, I have switched them to iPhone 6S and have gradually gotten older family relatives to do the same as well.

[ehsankia]

I would've liked it if they included photos and videos of these "deceptive" interactions. Instead they have this flashy video which basically is just showcasing the Timeline feature, and pretending it's some secret malicious data collection plan.

[FabHK]

Do you doubt that the deceptive interactions they describe exist as described?

Most people do not realise how much data Google et al. collect about them, and are genuinely shocked when it is shown to them (even though, yes, it's an existing feature well known to you and most HN readers).

The video demonstrates both a) how much Google collects (which comes as a surprise to most people), and b) that most people are not aware of it (which apparently comes as a surprise to you).

> pretending it's some secret malicious data collection plan

Of course, there's the maxim that one should never ascribe to malice what can plausibly be blamed on incompetence. But sorry, if you find these repeated dark patterns throughout again and again, in apps that have been carefully designed and optimised by huge teams of people, then it is justified to speak of bad intentions.

[mda]

I kinda doubt actually. Personal anecdote : I disabled location history about a year ago, and it almost never asked me to enable it afterwards, obviously they dialed it down quite a bit lately. Other claims are also hand wavy. They should include tiimestamped videos with build ids otherwise, it is horse manure.

[ehsankia]

> Do you doubt that the deceptive interactions they describe exist as described

Not so much that I doubt it, but just a piece of text is pretty subjective. I would like to see and decide for myself if it's deceptive. Not have someone's biased opinion.

> Most people do not realise how much data Google et al. collect about them

Most people also just blindly skip through the setup. There's only so much Google can do to force feed help onto users.

I actually have location sharing on with a significant other, and Google emails me about it every other week to make sure I realize my location is being shared.

[annapurna]

> Most people do not realise how much data Google et al. collect about them, and are genuinely shocked when it is shown to them (even though, yes, it's an existing feature well known to you and most HN readers).

I was surprised (even though I should not be) when I saw how conveniently all my Amazon purchases and travel plans (flight reservations, check-in, rentals etc.) were neatly organized when I went to remove all my personal information. I understand the convenience (with Amazon - being able to track the delivery, flights - automatic calendar scheduling etc.) but oh boy does Google like to gather all the data forever.

[heroprotagonist]

I particularly dislike seeing buttons like "Make Google Better" that if pressed will turn on search history.

That pushed me to Firefox and "temporary container tabs" add-on. Now I _can't_ be logged in while using search, so I can't accidentally press some deceptive button that will turn on additional collection. When the tab's gone, so are all the cookies. But mail.google.com and the login domains load in a persistent tab so I can still use those.

A search link fixer add-on prevents capture of what I clicked from that search menu, and the resulting page opens in a new temporary tab separate from the one I searched Google on originally. It's a second layer of separation so that I don't have to depend _just_ on ublock/umatrix to prevent what's sent back from resulting tab from correlating.

Still not perfect, but it makes me feel more comfortable. I still don't feel comfortable enough with results from DuckDuckGo to use it by default, but it has been getting a lot closer.