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nilesh
Remember kids, there's a pernicious reason why #Google redirects "http://maps.google.com" to "http://google.com/maps". Because of this redirect, the location permission that you grant to Google Maps also automatically becomes available to Google Search - making your search queries more valuable to advertisers. 66 comments
  
Khleedril
@calmeilles @jwz @nilesh This is the thing which seems to have passed everybody by: when Google dropped the 'Do no evil' bye-line, that was a direct indication that they were now going to do evil (otherwise they wouldn't have dropped it), and nobody cared about that.
jwz
@khleedril @calmeilles @nilesh It was always bullshit. (Actually the term-of-art is "bluster".) They always defined "evil" as "lack of fiduciary duty to shareholders". Certainly the term wasn't defined in the TOS or articles of incorporation. I'm sure the only reason they scrubbed it was merely the lawyerly instinct to delete anything that reflects personality or humor.
Paul in de Emiraten
Max
@Paul_Harts @jwz @nilesh But even if it were true, they would charge you and still sell your data which would double their profits. It's win win! (where Google wins twice)
Paul in de Emiraten
@PossiblyMax @jwz @nilesh I see your point. And to answer your question I distrust them less than I used to do but still avoid them when I can. Unfortunately Maps of Apple is no use at all in the Emirates. 
SPACEFALL
@nilesh The concept of Holy See has become muddied with business of limit of understanding using mind and language.   
GunChleoc
@vandorb12 Organic Maps is a great app https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.organicmaps/ You can download the when at home maps and use it offline later, so it makes you less dependent on a constant internet connection. Unless you need current traffic jam/roadworks information, there's no need for Google Maps.
vandorb12
@gonzalo @gunchleoc great recommendations, but apps don't satisfy hunger.
Mario
@gunchleoc @vandorb12 if you are looking for an alternative within the Google play store I suggest mapy.cz
Pasquale
@gunchleoc @vandorb12 To get traffic, there is Magic Earth, which is great.
Urja
There's no reason you couldn't have just pointed maps.google.com to the same servers on the DNS level, so.... 🤨
ベンツくん
@cartocalypse @nilesh Yes. The one webserver binary, which is running thousands of instances, of course. It's called GWS, you can find many references to it. Google has many other binaries that serve http but this is the one serving google dot com.
Wortex17
@bentsukun @cartocalypse @nilesh So GWS is not capable of port forwarding or supporting aliases/CNAME? Impressive. 
shrimp eating mammal 🦐
@bentsukun @nilesh LOL your employer sucks so hard that nobody will believe you even if you're right
klausfiend
@nilesh I would also like it if the Google Maps app would stop attempting to sign me in on mobile. I'm still using Google Authenticator which means I think I'm stuck with cached Google credentials on my phone, and big G has a way of insinuating itself into fucking everything once you give it a toehold.
GunChleoc
@klausfiend @nilesh Do you have a requirement to use a specific authenticator app? If not, you could get an open source one from F-Droid https://search.f-droid.org/?q=authenticator&lang=en
klausfiend
@gunchleoc @nilesh Not especially. Inertia is a thing, though, and the usual anxieties about migration/recovery (Google Authenticator to its credit makes it easy to transfer 2FA info between devices)
Hotte
@klausfiend @gunchleoc @nilesh
GunChleoc
@AnCaoladoir @klausfiend @nilesh I sort of picked FreeOTP at random. I guess I should look around for one that has password protection, but I was being lazy at the time. I'm only using it for my social media accounts, so it's not that critical.
Donald Clark
@gunchleoc @AnCaoladoir @klausfiend @nilesh using Authy here (although sad it is now part of Twilio) 
Joe Ortiz
@dsc @gunchleoc @AnCaoladoir @klausfiend @nilesh I use Aegis which is open source and offline. https://getaegis.app
Ed Berrevoets
@klausfiend @nilesh in many cases you don’t need an Authenticator at all. It’s built in in iOS under passwords. Select the appropriate service and there it is: verification cordes.
Ed Berrevoets
@klausfiend @nilesh yup. I love it. Get out of my way, #Google spythenticator and #Microsoft #authenticator. It came somewhere in 2021 already as you can read here: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/ipha6173c19f/15.0/ios/15.0 #totp
Johnny ‘Decimal’ Noble
@nilesh True story: my Irish mate Paddy got so drunk one night, he forgot what happened. He’s an Android user. So he just opened his Google account and it told him exactly, minute-by-minute, where he’d been. He had _not_ been using Google Maps all night. 
Simon Müller :sparkles_trans:
@nilesh oh thats a VERY interesting point, I haven't considered that until now Bravo for noticing/knowing about it 👏 
Mike Vosseller
@nilesh wonder if Apple could / would allow “path” based permissions? ie only give location under /maps? 
Pasquale
@StarkRG @nilesh Try Magic Earth, I use it since a few weeks, and I am very happy with it. 
Gerard Cunningham ✒️
@nilesh I'd almost live with that, if the URL told me what I wanted to know, but they've somehow managed to simultaneously make it worse.
CounselorBecky🖖🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇺🇦🗳🌊😊
The more you know... 😳😬 Now, where did I put that extra large Rand McNally road atlas?   
Rick :swift: 6x💉😷🇺🇦
@nilesh too bad you can’t nckude parts of the path in the permissions specifications
Kaan Barmore-Genç
@nilesh I keep seeing this repeated, but that's not how the Geolocation API works. There is no way for a website to check if you gave permission or not, they can only attempt to read your location which will trigger a prompt if you haven't given permission yet. So if you visit Google Maps and give permission, then revoke your permission in browser settings, if Google ever tried to read your location in an ad you would suddenly get a location prompt. I have never heard of that happening.
Patrick Pfeifer
@nilesh arrrg. Thanks for this!!! I'm feeling really stupid that I haven't ever thought about that. I was wondering what the reason was many times.
KarlE
@nilesh I only use Google Maps (*if* I use it - most times, I use openstreetmap) in the Private Browsing window. I am well aware that browser fingerprinting can still leak my browser identity but at least it makes it a bit harder - cookies are contained. Of course I do not use a Google account. @isotopp |
Gregory's Server
@nilesh as an ex-Google privacy person it makes us very happy that people who aren't under NDAs talk about this (you're the second we've seen to mention it, the first was several years ago. might have also been you actually, can't remember)