Craig GrannellJul 28, 2025

Just saw someone whose Google account was shuttered. They’d been… using Sheets to track movies they’d watched.

A question people should ask themselves, but rarely do: What would you do if, tomorrow, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox, and every other cloud provider you use closed your account without warning? Then maybe spend some of today safeguarding against that eventuality.

Show threadAndy

@craiggrannell to play devil’s avocado, that’s definitely all they had been doing and nothing nefarious that they don’t want to admit to? If the former, surely a cockup on Google’s side?

But agreed, you’re only in control of your local data and anything cloud based could go without warning.

Jul 28, 2025 at 9:56amWeb
Show threadL'égrégore André ꕭꕬJul 28, 2025
@nanu @craiggrannell The devil doesn't need more advocates, and it's not unknown that Google et al's prone to random account shuttering without recourse.
Show threadGavinJul 28, 2025

@nanu @craiggrannell I don't think it is Google's place to decide whether the contents of a Spreadsheet is above board. It is their job to comply with law enforcement.

Until they receive a warrant, they need to keep their noses out. The fact that they don't should give everyone who still uses their services pause.

Show threadAndyJul 28, 2025
@gavin57 @craiggrannell hard agree.
Show threadGavinJul 28, 2025
@nanu @craiggrannell Needless to say, if you are looking for an alternative to Google’s services, give Nextcloud a look. Currently paying £5 a month to a dedicated host based in the UK, 1TB of storage and native ODF support through the browser. It is fully modular so you can pick and choose the features.
Show threadPhilJul 28, 2025
@gavin57 @nanu @craiggrannell the way the UK government is going we'll probably have to hand over all our IDs, a photo to prove your age and all your passwords to continue using nextcloud and other UK based firms.
Show threadKristell L.Jul 29, 2025
@gavin57 @nanu @craiggrannell I'm seconding Nextcloud; I've had it running on a $50 PC for about 6 months with very few issues. Daily offsite backups in case of a fire/someone stealing literally all of my devices, and that's about it
Show threadSheepnikJul 29, 2025
@gavin57 @nanu @craiggrannell Who are you using to host your Nextcloud?
Show threadGavinJul 29, 2025

@sheepnik @nanu @craiggrannell LibreCloud. So far so good. Instance up & running in about 10 minutes. They email you your Nextcloud login details and then all you need to do is settle in. https://www.librecloud.host/

Nextcloud starts a bit barebones, but once you add the modules you want (including 2FA and encryption), they take care of the major software updates.

Librecloud - Managed Nextcloud Hosting

Managed Nextcloud hosting for mission-critical sites around the world. Amazing support, enterprise class, & optimized for Nextcloud.

Show threadSheepnikJul 29, 2025
@gavin57 Lovely, thank you.
Show threadMax LeeJul 29, 2025
@gavin57
Unfortunately that's not how the laws work in lots of places.
@nanu @craiggrannell
Show threadGavinJul 29, 2025

@the_moep @nanu @craiggrannell I don't think this is a case of the law working in mysterious ways, as I don't think making a spreadsheet for the movies you've watched is illegal in any jurisdiction.

This is Google being a bad steward for your files.

Show threadCraig GrannellJul 29, 2025
@gavin57 @the_moep @nanu I imagine it’s just automation. Something triggered a ban. Job done. We’ve seen the same from various other providers. This isn’t anything new. But because these incidents are relatively rare, people just assume they’ll be OK – which is fine right up until the day they’re not.
Show threadCraig GrannellJul 28, 2025
@nanu I’ve seen authors who’ve lost everything because Google decided their writing was dodgy. It’s all automated. Much like people who’ve had YouTube channels killed because record labels have hit them for copyright strikes, despite the channel owning the rights to the music.
Show threadllanciawnJul 28, 2025
@craiggrannell @nanu This is a major point. The automation is a complete disaster. It would not be so bad if there was recourse, or the chance to discuss it with as person. But that would be a pain for the provider who just wants to employ fewer people for customer service.
Show threadSlightlyCyberpunkJul 30, 2025

@craiggrannell @nanu there was also the guy a few years ago who got his account banned for texting his child's doctor. Google reported him to the cops who spent a few months investigating him and confirmed he had not actually done anything wrong. He sent that police report to Google and they still refused to unblock his account. Lost his online data, lost his phone number, lost his internet access...also couldn't access his online banking and other services that used email or SMS for 2FA...

All because some automated system thought that discussing his child's medical condition with his doctor constituted child abuse (and because he had those texts automatically backed up to Google's servers.)

NYT did a pretty massive article on it so seems legit:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220823055404/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html

A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal.

Google has an automated tool to detect abusive images of children. But the system can get it wrong, and the consequences are serious.

Show threadCraig GrannellJul 31, 2025
@admin Yeah, I remember that story at the time. Madness. Also another great example of what happens when you take people out of the loop (or at least don’t allow people any nuance to explore issues with unique terms).
Show threadGary Jul 28, 2025
@nanu @craiggrannell my suspicion is that was a list of file names, using common “scene” naming conventions, rather than simply a list of movies titles.
Show threadSupermoosieJul 28, 2025

@nanu
I am just here for the devil's avocado

@craiggrannell