[Barrin92]

>They definitely collect much more data than Facebook. The only reason they haven't faced the same shitstorm is because they don't seem to share all that data with 3rd parties.

And that is something that is much more relevant to many users. I don't mind sharing a lot of my data as long as I know where my data actually ends up. If Google uses my data to improve their ad algorithm I'm fine with it, if my Facebook data ends up in the hand of some election manipulation company I'm not fine with it, no matter how much data it is.

[la_barba]

> I know where my data actually ends up

And how do you know what Google does with it? AFAIK Google has never officially stated in specific detail what data they collect, what they do with it, who can access it, etc.

Their Privacy Policy gives them a giant escape hatch to essentially do anything with it -

"We provide personal information to our affiliates and other trusted businesses or persons to process it for us, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. "

https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US#infosharing

[Barrin92]

I think you not quoting the rest of that sentence is quite disingenuous

>"...For example, we use service providers to help us with customer support"

As far as I'm aware there is no evidence that Google shares my personal information, without my explicit consent, with third parties like Cambridge Analytica, which collected tens of millions of individual user profiles.

[la_barba]

Sorry, how is it disingenuous? I didn't consider the example relevant to the policy itself, and I provided a link to the source material for anyone to read. Giving a benign example is meant to downplay the fact that Google can do anything they want with your data.

[mda]

Anything? How so? They are bound by their legal disclaimers and laws. Which prohibits many options automatically.

[village-idiot]

Anecdote time.

My wife and I typically donate to a few non profits, such as the ACLU and Trout Unlimited. They occasionally mail us, but we did give them our address so that’s ok.

But one day she donated to the environmental defense fund. Since then the number of surveys and donations requests from random non profits has exploded to 3-4 a week, including weird ones like evangelical surveys and pro-Israeli things. My wife is pissed at the EDF, and will never give them another dollar.

The point? We were both fine having the non-profits having our address and using it, but knowing that one of them sold that data really pissed her off.

[JohnFen]

> I don't mind sharing a lot of my data as long as I know where my data actually ends up.

But I do, and Google (and Facebook) suck up my data anyway, whether I use their services or not.

That's the real fundamental issue.