They know what they are doing - it is purposeful.
Posted on 01/26/2022 10:01:57 AM PST by george76
The browser is no longer a thing that exists for you to navigate the internet.
A while back, Google said that it was on board with the idea that cookies--the little pieces of software code that websites use to do all sorts of things like keeping you logged in, and letting an advertiser know when you've clicked on its ad and then made a purchase--were bad. At least, the third-party kind--the ones that track your activity across the internet. Those types of cookies would be blocked in Chrome by 2023.
Except, because Google--like every advertising platform--uses cookies to know what types of ads to show you, getting rid of them was complicated. Actually, it wasn't really that complicated for Google, which doesn't even need third-party cookies to know what you're interested in, since it literally runs the website where billions of people just tell it what they're looking for.
Google's real problem is that it can't just shut off third-party cookies entirely since that would be very bad for its competition and might look like it was leveraging the fact that not only does it control the world's largest advertising platform, but also its most popular web browser, Chrome. Considering the attention that regulators and lawmakers are paying to big tech companies, that was a non-starter.
So, Google said it would introduce an alternative known as Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC. The short version is that Chrome would track your browsing history and use it to identify you as a part of a cohort of other users with similar interests. Advertisers would then target ads to the "I like to buy expensive ski outfits" cohort, or the "I just turned 50 and have two kids about to enter college and want to re-finance my mortgage" cohort.
That's not exactly how it works, but you get the basic idea. The thing is, no one likes FLoC. Privacy experts hate it because it's not actually more private just because the tracking and profiling happens in your browser. Advertisers and ad-tech companies don't like FLoC because, well, they like cookies. They'd mostly prefer Google just leave things alone since cookies are what let them know exactly when you click on an ad, put something in your cart, and buy it.
Now, Google is introducing an alternative it calls Topics. The idea is that Chrome will look at your browsing activity and identify up to five topics that it thinks you're interested in. When you visit a website, Chrome will show it three of those topics, with the idea that the site will then show you an ad that matches your interest.
Google says that Chrome will allow users to view the Topics they are associated with, and give them the ability to delete them. Google isn't asking users if they'd like to be part of Topics--it's just leveraging the fact that it owns Chrome to force users to be a part and then giving them a way to opt out if they want. That's great, except almost no one is ever going to do that. Google knows that.
More important, Google is fundamentally changing the way people think about the web browser. In theory, this ubiquitous piece of software is simply a window that allows you to access the virtually infinite expanse of content on the internet. Browsers competed to make the user experience better by supporting better standards and formats, and by adding additional utility--such as extension that allow you to block ads altogether.
For example, Safari and Brave allow you to block third-party cookies already, and they do so without any reservation that there should be some alternative way to target you with ads. Neither browser was planning to support FLoC.
"At root is Google's insistence on sharing information about people's interests and behaviors with advertisers, trackers, and others on the web that are hostile to privacy," Peter Snyder, who is Brave's director of privacy, said in a statement. "These groups have no business--and no right--to learn such sensitive information about you."
Ultimately, that change in the way Google is looking at Chrome--that it isn't a tool that serves its users, but is a tool that serves up users to advertisers, albeit in a slightly more privacy protective way--is a bad sign. It's also the best reason to finally ditch it altogether.
The best reason not to use Chrome doesn’t have anything to do with privacy: it’s just a terrible browser. The interface is clunky, the amount of resources it gobbles up is horrendous, and it doesn’t play well with most VPNs. And that’s just for starters. By the time you start talking about privacy, shoot, Lynx starts looking good again!
As many have noted, Brave is a lot more secure and is very stable on Windows. If you don’t need javascript, Tor is an option too.
Lol. They need to work on their ad routines. I mostly get ads for stuff I’ve already bought. No I don’t need a pair of work boots. I already bought a pair. Lol.
Been using Brave browser for over 3 years. On all my devices. Its excellent in every way. Couldn’t ask for anything better.
And use an adblocker.
Has Vivaldi always been available for Linux? I could have sworn when I set up my Linux computers a while back Vivaldi wasn't available. Maybe I just missed it.
They know what they are doing - it is purposeful.
I quit Chrome years ago!!!
Same here, DuckDuckGo.
Vivaldi has been available for some Linux distros for about 6 months or so. Depending on the Linux version, it may not show up in the software manager. I primarily use Mint Cinnamon and had to download it, initially, from the Vivaldi website. It does now show up when it needs to be updated.
Brave...
Absolutely. The experience is just like Chrome (minus all the bad Google spying stuff). You can even install extensions just like Chrome. I run Edge with a VPN extension to additionally hide traffic data from Comcast.
That explains it. I use Linux Mint for our backup PC and laptop. Setup was done some time ago. I will go download Vivaldi separately and install it on both computers. Thanks.
Vivaldi is showing up in the Mint Cinnamon ver 20.3 software manager.
Vivaldi web browser has built in blocking. Plus I added uBlock Origin by going to in the browser to Tools> Extensions> Chrome web store (in upper right).
https://vivaldi.com
Otherwise use uBlock Origin add-on as I do for Firefox which is what I use most of the time. Tools> Add-ons
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin
I added the UD icon on my toolbar for easy access. Right click on toolbar> Customize Toolbar then drag the icon where you want.
Customize Firefox help: http://davidswebsite.com/Firefox_tabs/firefox_tabs.html
I also have it installed in Chrome. I hardly use it as it is slower and cannot be customize.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en
Using uBlock Origin you can right click on an image or ad and Block element.
.
Multiple tab rows as with Firefox hacks is here: https://adamfeuer.com/notes/2021/06/06/multiple-rows-of-tabs-in-firefox-89-proton/ or here https://blog.grebulon.com/multi-row-tabs-in-firefox-71/
I use Chrome with Adblocker Plus.
It counts the ads it is not showing—for some sites we are talking hundreds of ads.
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