Location history != location tracking no matter how much some people want it to be, it's a location feature not the master switch for all location features.
No one was expecting it to disable tracking, you do that by disabling Location Services. What they did expect was that Google would stop saving their location to Google's servers, but no, you have to also tend to some other seemingly unrelated toggle (from the article "Some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps.")
Also, if I turn of location history on my phone, Maps won't show me what I last searched for. Has Google forgotten how to store locally? I don't mind my device saving my location, what I don't want is it being stored on servers out of my control. Google knew exactly what they were doing here, and pretty forcefully persuade you to not switch any of it off.
Every article I read on this confused "location history" with "location services", if you are aware of the difference you shouldn't be surprised that location data is still being sent to their servers.
The Google experience is all about apps backed by the cloud, that's when their apps are at their max utility, I get why some people might not want that but that's no cause to ascribe malice to them.
I find the lack of granularity annoying. Your search history is generally less sensitive than your location, but both are bundled up in 'Web & App Activity'. There's no way to get Google to remember my search queries from my phone without it also creepily recalling every single location I brought my phone to. This feels almost like a dark pattern, like bundling a newsletter subscription when signing up to service.
I use google maps on iOS without logging into google — why can’t I see my recent search history reliably on the local device?
I feel like there’s a tipping point where “we have the strategy that data is delivered to/from the cloud” becomes a way to punish users who turn features off for privacy reasons ...
Most apps implementation (for example chrome) is to store all profile data in a local store, which then gets synced to the cloud, and to all other devices logged in as you.
If you switch off a privacy option, that simply switches off the saving of that data to the store. In turn, that means it doesn't get synced to the server.
An alternative implementation might be to still save the data to the store (so it's available for local use), but tag it in some way so it doesn't get synced. That proves very difficult though because then the store can become inconsistent, with some other contradictory data in the store in a part which does get synced, put there by the server or another device signed in as you.
That's a different point, one I made on an earlier article here, that generic names like "location services" doesn't mean much to Jo user.
Solution, make "location history" mean location history. My mum knows that switching "Location" off on her phone turns of any tracking, she doesn't want that, she likes being able to check in on Facebook etc. When she started finding Google Maps creepy, and went looking to stop Google storing her location, but still be able to use Google Maps, she didn't know that turning off "Location History" doesn't exactly do what it says on the tin. Jo user isn't necessarily an idiot, but they don't know the ins and outs of Google tracking either.
Annoying "You're from the EU" nagscreen.
Every time I see one of those when I visit a site, I navigate back.
And yours is especially annoying since it's full screen.
I wish the media would hold the same hue and cry over telco tracking. ISPs are unrepentantly shady about their collection and resale of PII but nobody bats an eye...
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 42.8 ms ] threadAlso, if I turn of location history on my phone, Maps won't show me what I last searched for. Has Google forgotten how to store locally? I don't mind my device saving my location, what I don't want is it being stored on servers out of my control. Google knew exactly what they were doing here, and pretty forcefully persuade you to not switch any of it off.
The Google experience is all about apps backed by the cloud, that's when their apps are at their max utility, I get why some people might not want that but that's no cause to ascribe malice to them.
I feel like there’s a tipping point where “we have the strategy that data is delivered to/from the cloud” becomes a way to punish users who turn features off for privacy reasons ...
Most apps implementation (for example chrome) is to store all profile data in a local store, which then gets synced to the cloud, and to all other devices logged in as you.
If you switch off a privacy option, that simply switches off the saving of that data to the store. In turn, that means it doesn't get synced to the server.
An alternative implementation might be to still save the data to the store (so it's available for local use), but tag it in some way so it doesn't get synced. That proves very difficult though because then the store can become inconsistent, with some other contradictory data in the store in a part which does get synced, put there by the server or another device signed in as you.
And that's not how Chrome works at all. When you turn off sync, it just stops syncing up to Google, it's got nothing to do with local on-disk storage.
Solution, make "location history" mean location history. My mum knows that switching "Location" off on her phone turns of any tracking, she doesn't want that, she likes being able to check in on Facebook etc. When she started finding Google Maps creepy, and went looking to stop Google storing her location, but still be able to use Google Maps, she didn't know that turning off "Location History" doesn't exactly do what it says on the tin. Jo user isn't necessarily an idiot, but they don't know the ins and outs of Google tracking either.
1. Everyone I know already hates their cable/phone company
2. The ISPs don’t pretend to be a force for good, or not be evil, or allow you to have privacy controls
they essentialy meet their very low expectations so it’s not really “news”