[rich_sasha]

I hate the data-grabbing business model as much as the next hacker. Equally, I feel reluctant to burn with the holy wrath of anger. It is, and has been, no secret that this is how Google works. They give you great services for 0 money and all your data. What’s unclear or unethical about it? Take it or leave it.

What bothers me much more is Google’s et al crushing dominance over the competition, meaning that whatever shenanigans they come up with end up forced on {m,b}illions of users. This, and the sneaky hiding of data grabbing in “consent” boxes or 100 page ToS docs.

[patates]

The whole point is they do everything they can not to allow us to leave it.

[rich_sasha]

But leave for what? I'm all for leaving Google, I use Firefox and OpenStreetMap as much as I can. I have a non-gmail e-mail account.

DuckDuckGo sucked at searching last time I tried it - and I'd happily pay money for an alternative. Ditto for Google Docs. Google Scholar - another thing I use a lot.

I think the root cause is not really FLoC etc. but Google's total dominance over the Internet, and with it, a lack of real alternative.