Like you, I was also a fan of Google, but things that have been happening recently with Facebook have made me come to a grave realization. If Facebook has this much data on us and has shadow profiles of people who don't even use the platform, then we should be very worried about the amount of data Google has on us.
With free tools like Google Search, Google Fonts, Google Maps, Google Analytics etc. Google has been tracking our users to an extent that can infiltrate their privacy and then eventually manipulate them using ads.
What are your thoughts on this? How can we make a change? Or should we leave things the way they are?
Latest comments (82)
In 2019 and beyond, I think Amazon scares me a lot more than Google. Not to say this discussion isn't worth having.
The easiest (is it?) solution that comes to mind is, we stop using them as and when we can. But can we?
If I'm stopping the use of GMaps, for instance, then it means the alternative is good enough, and has an ecosystem.
Many love to use Apple products, not because Apple makes any off-the-charts services. Many are stuck with Apple, because of what is called, 'Ecosystem'.
I would love to leave Google behind, but my question is, then what's the alternative? Is there an alternative ecosystem? My current online presence is seamlessly streamlined in a way that they work like clockwork.
I just checked. I'm actively using 31 different products of Google, every month, directly or indirectly. (it's sad I've sold my soul to Google)
Now all these service run in tandem to provide me with useful information and services. I could use 31 different services from 31 different companies with multi-ways of doing things, different interfaces, different workflows, etc.
Not to mention, if all these services take even 1$ a month, that's 31$ each month, no questions asked. Having total privacy is priceless, far outweighing the 372$ each year.
I could do that, but the question would be, 'At what extra cost?'. 'After paying 372$, what other costs am I incurring as a result of juggling around 31 independent platforms in the demand for privacy?'.
I might have gained my privacy, but at a loss of convenience, to an extent. How much does my convenience cost to me?
I don't like this. But I imagine an Android phone (by Google) with
The strength of Google is less of the data they collect, and more of the ecosystem they've built. If there is an alternative with coherent ecosystem, many, including myself, would switch, even if it's gonna cost a bit.
This might sound crazy, but I prefer my most private household items all stored in one room, under one roof, than scattered across 31 different storage facilities of mine
Terrible way to do things, no redundancy, no fallback, but 31 different houses to manage?
I hate to say this, but until there's something we can do about it (entirely stopping to use Google, not an immediate option), only thing we could do is probably minimize our dependence on their services.
I use Telegram now (quit WhatsApp last year). Telegram is, to me, lightyears ahead of WhatsApp, thus, switching to Telegram was a no brainer.
If I quit using Maps today, what am I gonna use? Here Maps? or Open Street Maps? None of these alternatives are equal or better than Maps.
AdSense, AdWords, YouTube, Android (Play Services), Google Photos etc.
.... open stream map is not better.
Since Google turned overtly evil, I've been trying to move away from their services as much as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot yet replace Google Voice or Gmail in their entirety. I actually host my own mail server, but the Gmail one is for large files and high spam-risk, and I'm trying to slowly stop using it.
Google Voice is the tough one, as I don't currently have the means of paying for a similar service.
I have been able to switch out the following, however:
I'm still in the process of transitioning the following, and suspect it will take some time.
It's a real battle actually, How to shift. That's why I'm working on an open source project called "Nomoogle".
🐻 Chromium extension to get rid of Google addiction
Nomoogle
A simple Chrome extension that can help you get rid of Google addiction.
Installation
Features
Strict Mode: Block the entire webpage completly, doesn't allow you to move forward.
Redirects: Automatically redirects the page to popular alternative.
Thanks to
License
MIT License
Short answer: I'm afraid that yes, Sarthak. And we're helping Facebook in the same way.
Yes, but I would say they're not the most dangerous monopolists. Two of those three tools are professional utilities specifically aimed at developers and designers, who make up a fairly small part of the labor market. Compare that to FB, which controls (at least) the three top communication tools for most of the developed world, has incredibly granular preference and browsing data on pretty much all internet users, and has shown its hand as a completely amoral player. You could argue that FB and Google have about equal power over people when they decide to start acting badly, but personally I think both of them kind of pale in comparison to Amazon.
If Google and FB decided to just completely shut down tomorrow to protest some perceived slight I expect some sites would go offline, surfacing content would be hard, a significant piece of the economy would crash (anything ad-supported, right?), and that's just off the top of my head.
If Amazon were to do the same thing, around 1/3 of all internet users (this is based off a number from 2012 so it's probably massively higher now) would have at least one web request fail. This post puts the percentage of the internet that is "on AWS" somewhere between 3% and 50%, depending on the way your measure it. It's possible that 50% of the internet would experience some form of disruption. That's just the internet though, and it glosses over the fact that the US government runs a bunch of stuff on AWS' GovCloud, along with hospitals and other kinds of organizations important to our day to day lives. So, internet is down, whatever economic effect I mentioned above is like... way worse, but whatever, that's all kind of intangible. What about deliveries? How many people rely on Amazon for groceries, medication (guess who owns PillPack?), cleaning supplies, diapers, etc? Don't forget, Amazon owns Whole Foods now! The list goes on, Amazon is in an insane number of markets, and we just keep giving them more of a share.
In this context, "monopoly" could be a synonym for "centralised".
A centralised Internet, or rather a platform that has centralised all kind of services that everyone relies on, is bad on the long term. Regardless of the tracking and "Internet police", this isn't good.
I am not so concerned about ads (there are already some ways to reduce our footprint). Political usage of our data is far more dangerous. The majority of people feel like nothing bad can happen. But Google has already violated the web neutrality and this is a form of censorship.
Honestly, my data isn't worth protecting. I have given it away freely for years and will continue to do so until it negatively impacts me. Google isn't too big to fail, in fact, it could very easily start failing considering the considerable controversies it's currently facing discrimination and privacy issues.
This isn't a developer problem, this is simply a capitalist problem. Free will always be better, but will there ever be a team of people who work round the clock all day to provide you with a service as good as Google Maps for free? No. Even with ads, it would be horrible.
I can't decide if I'm underestimating how much my data is of value, or if everyone else is completely overestimating the value of theirs. As someone said earlier: I'm more scared of my Government having this information than Google.
A large part of the issue with Social Media privacy is that the average user (who is not a dev) may get upset that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc collect their data through shady means. But these same people don't seem to see an issue with making every last detail about their lives common knowledge through totally ordinary means. I mean, how many celebrities, politicians, CEOs and other A-listers get tagged every day for posting something incredibly revealing and/or obviously offensive on social media? How many hashtag the place that they are, tag who they are with, and talk about how long they have been there and when they will leave? To be honest, knowing everything there is to know about a person isn't really that hard. In fact, unless you go public with your intention to use it to be a perv or psycho, the possibility of your over sharing being used for that purpose doesn't bother people at all. So, if you are aware of the fact that posting naked bath time photos of your 3-year-old could likely be seen by pedophiles, but don't stop posting them, what reason would Facebook have not to make a buck on the same data to sell your data to advertisers of clothes for your 3 year old?
People's privacy will not mean crap to tech companies until it means something to the average person for longer than 6-10 minutes after they hear that their data is being sold without their knowing. We developers have no responsibility nor ability to stop this at all. Developers are responsible for creating this issue, and all power to them really. Because people know the threat. They know exactly what is going on. But just like McDonald's sales went up even after we all saw "Super Size Me", this problem will not go away until the people affected care about their privacy enough to stop posting every nine minutes of their life online.
Someone has to pay: The Problem With Google And Why You Should Care