Google has agreed to wipe billions of records it collected from over 136 million Americans, users of its Chrome browser, as part of a settlement for a 2020 lawsuit.
Am I the only one who never thought that incognito mode or the equivalent on FF was protecting me from anything other than anyone else who may use the same pc? I don’t share my pc with anyone so I only use those modes when I think a website is acting up because of previously stored cookies, credentials or my various script blockers.
Exactly. And you can’t be surprised when a company that also runs a search engine and ad network stores that data for other purposes.
I rarely jump in on things like this because of the lack of understanding of how things actually work as well as the inevitable responses like from OP and someone else I just responded to.
To repeat for those who may not get it just yet. Private browsing on FF and incognito mode on chrome are specifically for use when you use a shared pc or someone else’s system to check your email or whatever. It’s always been designed to protect locally not from the greater web.
I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing anything from Google about this mode hiding data from them.
Private mode is for when I want to pull up some weird YouTube video where some guy silently melts copper into bars and not have it clog up my partner’s reccos
I never thought that these modes were protecting me from anything except those who shared the same pc. Apparently I am the only one who understands the way the internet works and that nothing you do or any software you run on your system can stop every website and server you interact with or that passes on your data packets to the next server from logging everything it can about you.
How do people think that sites like reddit cross check and correlate data from users to find those with multiple accounts that are attempting to evade bans? There is so much data that we don’t even know we are creating.
I’m all for privacy and anonymity when and where it makes sense but it seems like people here have no idea what the difference between the two are and just how difficult it is and how much extra friction it brings to attempt to be completely anonymous and private via a system designed to connect people.
I’m seeing a lot of people make arguments like this and I just don’t get it. Is your point that its okay for tech companies to prey on the ignorance of nontechnical users? We can’t expect everyone to know everything about every service they interact with.
I understand how the internet works but you apparently don’t understand how people work. Normal people have absolutely no concept of how the internet works, they don’t understand what data servers need about them to function, or what a packet is. They need to be explicitly told that even though they’re using a privacy mode Google is still collecting data on them, especially since they’re collecting data even if you are not going to google hosted sites.
You’re infantilizing people. Instead of treating them like toddlers, maybe we should be educating people and teaching them some critical thinking skills.
You may know how the net works but you apparently can’t read well because the last sentence of that comment is probably the most important.
Because we have stopped teaching people anything in school. I learned critical thinking, civics, etc. Most people don’t. Schools just push kids through because the funding isn’t there and a lot of parents are assholes who don’t want to raise their own kids nor teach them anything. They let the schools do it and the teachers don’t have the time nor the resources to make up for shit parenting.
We need to stop infantilizing people. Yes, corporations are at fault but so are the people who fall for the bullshit. It’s not Pepsi or McDonald’s fault that people are overweight, it’s their own fault and their parents and society for not teaching them what’s what.
This shit is why I don’t interact much on social media as a whole. It’s full of jackasses who think that we should be basically living under a dictator because most people can’t tie their own shoes without help. People can handle a lot more than you think but they have to be taught how.
I say the above as someone who questions how most people are walking and breathing at the same time. Generations have let future generations down and the masses keep getting dumber because we let them.
You’re infantalizing people by assuming everyone who doesn’t know how the internet works lacks critical thinking skills. Do you ever interact with non nerdy people? Additionally, some people do genuinely lack the capacity to understand how systems like the internet work, are we supposed to just let them get taken advantage of or exclude them from society?
I’m ignoring your last sentence because its entirely irrelevant to the situation, the data that Google was collecting from people using incognito mode is not data that they needed to make their services work.
I know what he is saying. There is ways to speak. If he think he is the only one to know (and in the meantime he doesn’t know what i know… ), then its ok for me.
Why he think he is giving me a lessons.
I’ve laughed at the title of the link, like a lot of u… Just the word agree. And even, on the tech side, I’m OK. I’m just sharing… A link…
Not sharing my knowledge here… And there is way to do so. He is the only to know ? OK end of discuss for me
Am I the only one who never thought that incognito mode or the equivalent on FF was protecting me from anything other than anyone else who may use the same pc? I don’t share my pc with anyone so I only use those modes when I think a website is acting up because of previously stored cookies, credentials or my various script blockers.
Incognito mode is for hiding your search history from your relatives and friends. Corpos ready have that data anyways.
Exactly. And you can’t be surprised when a company that also runs a search engine and ad network stores that data for other purposes.
I rarely jump in on things like this because of the lack of understanding of how things actually work as well as the inevitable responses like from OP and someone else I just responded to.
To repeat for those who may not get it just yet. Private browsing on FF and incognito mode on chrome are specifically for use when you use a shared pc or someone else’s system to check your email or whatever. It’s always been designed to protect locally not from the greater web.
I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing anything from Google about this mode hiding data from them.
And hey if you were to somehow believe otherwise, well. You’d be stupid! Haw haw
laughs in obscene money
Private mode is for when I want to pull up some weird YouTube video where some guy silently melts copper into bars and not have it clog up my partner’s reccos
I have something in common with that sentence but mine ends at pull
Yeah it is more of a debugging tool then anything.
No you are not,
take this link and share it around to others who trust them…
I think you misread me.
I never thought that these modes were protecting me from anything except those who shared the same pc. Apparently I am the only one who understands the way the internet works and that nothing you do or any software you run on your system can stop every website and server you interact with or that passes on your data packets to the next server from logging everything it can about you.
How do people think that sites like reddit cross check and correlate data from users to find those with multiple accounts that are attempting to evade bans? There is so much data that we don’t even know we are creating.
I’m all for privacy and anonymity when and where it makes sense but it seems like people here have no idea what the difference between the two are and just how difficult it is and how much extra friction it brings to attempt to be completely anonymous and private via a system designed to connect people.
I’m seeing a lot of people make arguments like this and I just don’t get it. Is your point that its okay for tech companies to prey on the ignorance of nontechnical users? We can’t expect everyone to know everything about every service they interact with.
You need to step back and actually read what I am saying. You need to also learn a lot more about how the internet works.
Again. Read my entire comment and then give it time to sink in.
I understand how the internet works but you apparently don’t understand how people work. Normal people have absolutely no concept of how the internet works, they don’t understand what data servers need about them to function, or what a packet is. They need to be explicitly told that even though they’re using a privacy mode Google is still collecting data on them, especially since they’re collecting data even if you are not going to google hosted sites.
You’re infantilizing people. Instead of treating them like toddlers, maybe we should be educating people and teaching them some critical thinking skills.
You may know how the net works but you apparently can’t read well because the last sentence of that comment is probably the most important.
they are toddlers though. They don’t care how something works even if it is the backbone of their entire infra and society.
Because we have stopped teaching people anything in school. I learned critical thinking, civics, etc. Most people don’t. Schools just push kids through because the funding isn’t there and a lot of parents are assholes who don’t want to raise their own kids nor teach them anything. They let the schools do it and the teachers don’t have the time nor the resources to make up for shit parenting.
We need to stop infantilizing people. Yes, corporations are at fault but so are the people who fall for the bullshit. It’s not Pepsi or McDonald’s fault that people are overweight, it’s their own fault and their parents and society for not teaching them what’s what.
This shit is why I don’t interact much on social media as a whole. It’s full of jackasses who think that we should be basically living under a dictator because most people can’t tie their own shoes without help. People can handle a lot more than you think but they have to be taught how.
I say the above as someone who questions how most people are walking and breathing at the same time. Generations have let future generations down and the masses keep getting dumber because we let them.
You’re infantalizing people by assuming everyone who doesn’t know how the internet works lacks critical thinking skills. Do you ever interact with non nerdy people? Additionally, some people do genuinely lack the capacity to understand how systems like the internet work, are we supposed to just let them get taken advantage of or exclude them from society?
I’m ignoring your last sentence because its entirely irrelevant to the situation, the data that Google was collecting from people using incognito mode is not data that they needed to make their services work.
Okay, now I’m blocking you because you have no idea what words actually mean.
You have no idea which end is up, nor what you don’t actually understand.
Have a nice life now.
Where did rdyoung say any of this?
What you just did was put words in his mouth;make a straw man.
And factually, browsers explain what their respective private/incognito modes do. People assumed they did something else.
Did these corporations take advantage of that? Yes.
In the end, these users are as much to blame for using a tool and assuming how it functioned.
OK blocked. Come on for real.
Reread the original comment, and try being nicer. You’re wrong.
I know what he is saying. There is ways to speak. If he think he is the only one to know (and in the meantime he doesn’t know what i know… ), then its ok for me.
Why he think he is giving me a lessons.
I’ve laughed at the title of the link, like a lot of u… Just the word agree. And even, on the tech side, I’m OK. I’m just sharing… A link…
Not sharing my knowledge here… And there is way to do so. He is the only to know ? OK end of discuss for me
It sounds like English is not your first language, so I understand your mistake.
The original comment asks “Am I the only one?” It does not declare “I am the only one.” The order of the words “Am” and “I” changes the meaning.
Nothing hostile was meant or implied. Simple misunderstanding! 😊
Look the answer then ;-)
And I fucking agree on the tech side…
Well.
Why doesn’t this surprise me?