A new low, even for #Google. Giving Google permission to share information about you with third-party websites is being falsely advertised as an "ad privacy feature". This is privacy washing at its most extreme. But it gets even worse.
There is a dark pattern on the second screenshot. It isn't just informing you about the fake privacy features. Clicking on "Got it" actually turns on these features that allow Google to use your recent browsing history for ads on third-party websites:
@jrod3737 @Noptisun @protonmail Superficially:
- I can see why people might see ads as a necessary evil to fund a service they use (yes, you can block them, but your conscience may not let you use a service you're not funding).
- If you're going to see ads anyway, having ones relevant to me might be vaguely useful instead of just an annoyance.
But experience tells me that its not just me that sees my "relevant ads", and that's where there's a significant privacy concern. 1/
@jrod3737 @Noptisun @protonmail If my whole household sees ads which are relevant to me, that is a privacy problem - a single household is small enough to work out who the ads are targeted at, and reveals information about what they have been doing online.
In the case of my household, this has resulted in a few ruined christmas / birthday surprises. In other households, the effects of this kind of information leak may be very serious (think abusive relationships, etc.) 2/
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Steve Hill 🏴🇪🇺