[srazzaque]

Interesting, I wasn't aware Google had actually stated "we don't use this data for tracking, and we only use it for link protection" (does it?).

Assuming true: you are right in that it's basically no-win. The fact that Google draws so much revenue from advertising makes it difficult to reconcile.

Nothing short of a third-party code audit of Google's code against their asserted privacy policy would appease everyone. And even then, there would be doubters.

[TeMPOraL]

If they did state that, this would probably be legally binding in the EU under GDPR.