[inlined]

I’m really tired of hearing everyone suggest Google is some boogeyman trying to do something subversive to get your data. Anyone who thinks this should grab their nearest google engineer and talk about privacy controls internally. Privacy is critical to the company and every product launch has a privacy review. In one of my launches we even had to add an opt in to allow users to share data with themselves because it crossed product boundaries.

[GeekyBear]

> because it crossed product boundaries

Sorry, but I still remember Google pinky swearing before Congress that it would never combine the data it had on it's users with the advertising profiles it acquired with DoubleClick.

>In today's Big Tech antitrust hearing in front of a Congressional subcommittee, representative Val Demings questioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai about the company's merger with DoubleClick.

Specifically, the way Google combined data from the advertising company -- bought in 2007 -- with Google's own data. Founder Sergey Brin had told Congress it would not combine the personal information, but the company quietly did so in 2016 anyway.

https://www.engadget.com/google-antitrust-hearing-doubleclic...

>Google’s privacy policies as of March 1, 2012 established that no combination between DoubleClick’s advertising data and Google’s personally-identifiable information would take place without the prior consent of its users, but an updated version of those policies subtly allowed the integration of both databases regardless of prior consent of its users

https://www.promarket.org/2020/08/21/why-we-should-be-carefu...

People suggest that Google is a boogeyman because they have repeatedly broken their promises.

[andreareina]

Except I can't set a home location in Maps without enabling location history. Neither can I limit location history to Maps. And if I've logged out of my account I can't access groups archives (but that works fine incog, so why am I being required to sign in?). And Google is damn aggressive about linking accounts with who knows what repercussions. Actually, I do know: get all your accounts nuked because of a clear false positive that Google will nonetheless uphold[1].

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32560361

[nuker]

> Anyone who thinks this should grab their nearest google engineer and talk about privacy controls internally. Privacy is critical to the company …

Better grab a top level business executive, who tracks company sources of income. Why engineer? He is far from money flows.

[PascLeRasc]

All of the Google employees I've met have been incredibly vocal about security and privacy, really considerate about how technology should serve us, as well as being some of the kindest engineers I've ever met. I can't really square the HN attitude of Google being evil with my experience.

[GeekyBear]

Some of them were kind enough to speak out internally about Google's terrible privacy settings, after Google was caught still tracking user location for users who had followed Google's advice on how to turn off location tracking.

>"The current UI feels like it is designed to make things possible, yet difficult enough that people won’t figure it out."

"Some people (including even Googlers) don’t know that there is a global switch and a per-device switch."

"Indeed we aren’t very good at explaining this to users. Add me to the list of Googlers who didn’t understand how this worked and was surprised when I read the article ... we shipped a UI that confuses users."

"I agree with the article. Location off should mean location off, not except for this case or that case."

"Speaking as a user, WTF?" another employee said, in additional documentation obtained by the Arizona Mirror. "More specifically I *thought* I had location tracking turned off on my phone. So our messaging around this is enough to confuse a privacy focused (Google software engineer). That’s not good."

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/unredacted-suit-...

However, the engineers at Google aren't in charge.

[scarface74]

How does Google make money? Apple’s value proposition is very simple. I give Apple money and they give me goods and services.