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Ask HN: Blocking "Login with Google"?

10 points by chiefalchemist ↗ HN
The solutions I’ve found all seem to recommend a Google accnt setting. I don’t keep myself logged in to Google (for all the obvious privacy reasons). I barely use Google but have some legacy stuff on Google drive that I reach to from time to time.

Login with Google feels like a twin of reCAPTCHA; less about a solution and more about tracking / surveillance. I don’t like Goggle or anyone following me around the internet.

Certainly someone has addressed this, true? Cloudflare? A certain VPN vendor? Perhaps a VPN connection to the EU?

If it matters, I’m currently using Vivaldi on laptop and mobile.

10 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 30.6 ms ] thread
mubou
Are you talking about the thing that appears in the corner on some sites, which isn't part of the page but rather the browser? I thought that was only in Chrome, but the setting for that I believe is buried under Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Additional Content Settings > Third-Party Sign-In.
chiefalchemist
Aside from Vivaldi, I also use Firefox. Get the “login with Google” on both. Maybe Google has fingerprinted my laptop?

But that’s the point, the image in that pop-up / mini-modal is a tracking device. The minute the browser requests it, Google knows where I’ve been. F** that

mubou
Some sites include a JS "log in with google" that does the same thing. You can tell by whether you can select it with the element inspector. Use ublock to block the js version. Also, the login prompt appearing has nothing to do with Google tracking you or using fingerprinting. It's just the site author added google sign-in. That's all. Block google domains in your dns if you're paranoid.
touwer
Paranoid? Maybe you're a bit naive about the tracking habits of the worlds biggest spionage company
chiefalchemist
If the image is served by Google then it’s a tracking device. Full stop.

I use all the usual extensions so maybe I’d see it more?

Sign in with Google is just another reCAPTCHA… a tracking tool masking as a benefit to the user.

johng
I have a few google accounts and I don't want to have to log in to each one to disable it. Nothing I've done has fixed it. That popup is so annoying. I'm hoping someone has a way to disable it on Chrome on Mac. I'm so tired of seeing that thing pop up constantly.
chiefalchemist
I’m not using Chrome. I see it on Firefox. I see it with Vivaldi. It’s not just annoying. It’s a tracking device.
NoahZuniga
If you're referring to sign in with google buttons, these are usually just static buttons where the pages author's own code redirects you to Google's sign in prompt. The sign in with google button doesn't share any information with google just by being there.