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OT: Google is your friend ....


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I almost never use Google anymore. They have gone way overboard with data collection, I'm not even going to click on that link. I got really tired of them exploiting my searches to serve ads in other websites, and really tired of them using my location to serve targeted ads. They even snoop on Zoom conferences. I know this because our friends met last Christmas over Zoom, and during the course of the conversation there was discussion about lighting under the kitchen cabinets. Not much later I started seeing ads for under cabinet lighting, and I hadn't even searched for them on Google!!!. The only way they could had known my interest in cabinet lighting was through snooping on that Zoom conference.

 

It has gotten so bad that I set up another account only for anonymous use using Google, etc. Data collection can't be shared across accounts.

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Kill them. I am not clicking your link either.

I have an Android phone, I've disabled every possible Google app on there. I don't log into any accounts or use the internet on the phone.

 

So, it's just a phone/text device and nothing more. Besides Google (which is far worse than bad enough), there are hackers. Hackers could find my Contact list, that'a pretty much it. I suppose they could read the profoundly boring text conversations.

 

As I said recently in another KC thread, I trust Google the way I trust hungry alligators.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I almost never use Google anymore. They have gone way overboard with data collection, I'm not even going to click on that link. I got really tired of them exploiting my searches to serve ads in other websites, and really tired of them using my location to serve targeted ads. They even snoop on Zoom conferences. I know this because our friends met last Christmas over Zoom, and during the course of the conversation there was discussion about lighting under the kitchen cabinets. Not much later I started seeing ads for under cabinet lighting, and I hadn't even searched for them on Google!!!. The only way they could had known my interest in cabinet lighting was through snooping on that Zoom conference.

 

It has gotten so bad that I set up another account only for anonymous use using Google, etc. Data collection can't be shared across accounts.

I am pretty sure they read your IP address. You do not need to sign into a Google account for Google to see and track you. Perhaps a proxy approach would work.

 

Are you not a tech guy? I thought that was the work you described with your move. I leave it open to being corrected as I am just eclectic with no expertise.

 

I usually use Duck Duck Go but I do sometimes use Google because their results can present things Duck does not. I did a bit of research on a tactical flashlight. I have been getting all these ridiculous ads for tactical pants and survival gimmicks you would see on an infomercial.

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I suspect that rather than them eavesdropping on the Zoom conference, it may have been listening in on your phone (which you may or may not have been using on your Zoom call).

My wife and her daughter were talking on the phone to each other one day. Her daughter had locked her keys in her car. Next thing you know, wife is getting all kinds of ads for locksmiths on Facebook.

Just sayin'. If you have the Facebook app or the Facebook Messenger app on your phone, you have granted them permission to listen in on your phone calls.

 

/rant

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Goggle is not a SAFE website to use as a search engine. Too much ease dropping by businesses trying to sell you something. There are other choices.

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Goggle is not a SAFE website to use as a search engine. Too much ease dropping by businesses trying to sell you something. There are other choices.

 

I've tried those other choices. At least a dozen of them over the years. But I always come back. Their results are just better, in spite of the flaws. I just use ad-blockers and tracking protection and Firefox and call it a day.

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Adblockers are a must these days. They don"t stop them from snooping on you, but at least your browsing experience is clean. I couldn"t fathom browsing a site the 'normal' way with all kinds of banners everywhere. They also kill Google Ads and video ads in YouTube videos (although not 100% sure about this). You can get them on your phone too.

 

And yeah, the 'listening' is most likely done on your phone. It"s creepy. You have a conversation about buying a new car, and suddenly all your 'targeted' advertising is car ads, ads about car insurance, car maintenance.

 

Another useful tool is a sturdy VPN like ExpressVPN. Unlocks region-based streaming content too.

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I subscribe to YouTube so I don't have to watch adds, so I am logged in to Google on my computers. I have noticed that I can ...

 

1. Get on Facebook and mention that I want to make white chicken chili tonight and need a good recipe.

2. Get on Google and enter "recipe for" and it will default white chicken chili in the search window. Even if I switch computer.

 

Have to wonder how much processing power and internet bandwidth they are using to track me so close.

A few years ago I bought a nice Samsung Android phone. The amount of tracking and information pushing drove me crazy. I have to say that Samsung was worse than Google. I went to Olive Garden in Florida and before I could order a message on my pone popped up to tell me the Olive Garden accepts Samsung Pay and I should try it. Between Samsung and Google I was getting bombarded. Quickly went back to iPhone even though I had to pay full price for the phone.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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I wiped my Samsung and installed LineageOS. Nothing on there that I didn't put there myself. Battery life almost doubled.

 

Since I use an iPhone I wasn't aware of this. But I have two lines, one has an anciend Android phone. Sounds like it might be worth getting a new phone and installing LineageOS.

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A few years ago I bought a nice Samsung Android phone. The amount of tracking and information pushing drove me crazy. I have to say that Samsung was worse than Google. I went to Olive Garden in Florida and before I could order a message on my pone popped up to tell me the Olive Garden accepts Samsung Pay and I should try it. Between Samsung and Google I was getting bombarded..

 

Two years ago I also bought a Samsung phone - an S20 FE (I'm posting this using Chrome, so I'm curious if anything gets picked up from this site). My father (15 years gone now) gets frequent emails advertising Samsung phone upgrades (among other tech stuff) and even life insurance... Meanwhile, he and my ex-wife (of 30 years) get paper mail at this address at least a half-dozen times a month.

Of course the volume of gear popups I see is staggering; Sweetwater is apparently on top of that.. :sigh:

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hard to escape any of this datamining. I just went to a ortho doc for a shot in shoulder acting up. They send 2 emails to fill out prior. One for med history, ok. But the other, to see your info history, scheduling and meds etc. from a different company. Read the privacy links to that the lawyers wrote up and you're signing up for a service. No thanks.

 

After 911, privacy took a hit with terrorists and I got no problem with that personally myself. Look at what just happened in NZ.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-attacker-shot-dead-after-injuring-people-mall-2021-09-03/

 

 

All this leads me to ask if anyone stopped posting upcoming gigs on FB or other media? Thieves can be looking at when you're not home.

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Before a Stones tour that was sponsored by a beer company I believe, there was a lot of talk about them "selling out," etc. When Keef was asked about it, he said, "it's the Americans that complain the most about it, and it's their bloody system!" :laugh:

 

I think about that whenever people complain about ad tracking. If ads are targeted at people, they complain, if ads are irrelevant, they complain. I'm not saying I'm wild about tracking, but sometimes it can actually be helpful. Sometimes. And internet ads are more often than not obtrusive and annoying. I've stopped going to some sites or paying for some subscriptions because the ads interfered with what I was trying to do on the site.

 

The other side of it is that say you and a friend were having an in-person conversation about roofing supplies, and then after that you saw all these ads for roofing supplies. Maybe you were listened to, or maybe you started noting those ads because you were talking about it. That is how the human mind works, after all.

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Before a Stones tour that was sponsored by a beer company I believe, there was a lot of talk about them "selling out," etc. When Keef was asked about it, he said, "it's the Americans that complain the most about it, and it's their bloody system!" :laugh:

Keith doesn't realize it was not the "American's bloody system" which complained about The Stones selling out. The majority of citizenry are not the corporations nor the corporate whores. The system may have been born in the USA ("America" :rolleyes:) but that does not mean the people like anything about it. The Americans are likely to be the most vocal about it's vices.

 

I think about that whenever people complain about ad tracking. If ads are targeted at people, they complain, if ads are irrelevant, they complain. I'm not saying I'm wild about tracking, but sometimes it can actually be helpful. Sometimes. And internet ads are more often than not obtrusive and annoying. I've stopped going to some sites or paying for some subscriptions because the ads interfered with what I was trying to do on the site.
Is one time out of maybe 20,000 helpful? I cannot recall ever clicking on a tracking ad and buying the item because it nailed my quest or even because it was interesting to me.

 

The other side of it is that say you and a friend were having an in-person conversation about roofing supplies, and then after that you saw all these ads for roofing supplies. Maybe you were listened to, or maybe you started noting those ads because you were talking about it. That is how the human mind works, after all.
This is not the flip side of ad tracking. It is a false dichotomy. The two situations exist in separate contexts.
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Have to wonder how much processing power and internet bandwidth they are using to track me so close.
I suspect it is similar to a GPS satellite not following you all over because you send your data to the satellite instead. It is not like a laser beam is assigned to follow you all over. Bandwidth would not be a significant factor. The processing power is not in the tracking. The power is in their search tech sorting out your information which you provide. This, once they have placed a "kick me" sign on your back. It does not take that much when you break everything up into small stages. A guppy is a big fish in a puddle. A little info is enough to get something going. Similar algorithms used in search engines can sort through and connect your dots to relevant dots. If they can handle all of the searches done every minute without lag they can sort you out without any lag. The infrastructure is already in place. They would utilize it to send other data across the pathways serving clandestine objectives.
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