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Comment by newusr10121 | Hacker News Reader

I'll consider Google alternatives when there is a better alternative. Until then I use the best technology. Do we really need these same posts every other week?

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"Best" is a subjective measure. For a lot of people being tracked all around the internet is a non-starter. I would also argue that a lot of Google products have stagnated and are not the best on offer anymore. Hey and Protonmail for mail, Notion for docs/keep, and Sync for file syncing come to mind, but of course that's just me :)

Not all Google products are best in class, but search and maps definitely are, along with a handful of others. Keep wouldn't make that list.

As the parent poster states, it’s subjective. If your criteria is privacy then Google Maps and search are definitely not best in class.

Google Maps is best in class for POI search and driving directions. It certainly isn't for walking or cycling.

> I'll consider Google alternatives when there is a better alternative.

Sure, you do you, nothing wrong with that. I'd rather use 'inferior' technology if that means better privacy standards.

In what way does google invade your privacy that has made you worse off?

>In what way does google invade your privacy that has made you worse off?

This made me laugh. Let's talk about an example. Imagine the nicest house with all of the features possible. You get to live in the house and enjoy all benefits at not cost whatsoever. Only catch would be that the house would be made of transparent glass and everyone outside gets to see what you are doing at all times. Would you still choose to live in the house? Sure you might, I for one will not because it would make me extremely uncomfortable. It might not directly make me worse off but tracking my every move does not sit right with me.

Using google's service is somewhat like that transparent house except whatever you do on web is tracked, profiled and used against your best interests.

That's a poor example. I think a closer comparison is that the house doesn't have transparent glass but rather sensors that can tell which room you're in, how much time you spend in a room etc. People may be fine with that in exchange for living for free in a nice house vs. living in a rundown shack without tracking.

Do you know my google search history?

Google provides decent security/privacy controls, see my comment on how to turn them on [1].

If you have any specific concerns, I'd love to learn more and see if there's anything I can help.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25383289

This assumes Google is acting in good faith, and I find that hard to believe when Google's consent prompts are intentionally annoying and not GDPR compliant (for reasons outlined in another comment of mine: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25373600) and they used dark patterns like intentionally disabling functionality such as saving specific locations when location history is disabled in Google Maps.

Every service needs early adopters, perhaps you are not one of them? Nothing wrong with that just as there's nothing wrong with wanting to try new services, more so when not happy with what's on offer.

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