I just asked a question, because I’ve never used Android and wondered why an old friend hates Google so much.
It’s a shame you can’t comment without resorting to mild abuse, but sadly it’s not uncommon.
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Is Google that bad?
- Thread starter Bill21
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I just asked a question, because I’ve never used Android and wondered why an old friend hates Google so much.
It’s a shame you can’t comment without resorting to mild abuse, but sadly it’s not uncommon.
My main gripe with Google is that about 73% of their revenue comes from advertising: Search ads, YouTube ads, and their wider ad network. That's not incidental, it's the entire business model. When a company's survival depends on selling attention, every new product they build, however useful it looks, has an underlying incentive to collect more data and keep you engaged longer. Privacy-first design would actively conflict with that. So no, I don't think they're classically evil by any means, but I do think their incentives are fundamentally misaligned with the user's interests.
BigMcGuire
macrumors G4
I don’t believe you are a troll. While I may not agree with everything you post I appreciate you taking the time to explain what you believe and understand. You’ve been pleasant to deal with as well.
I’ve never installed an app outside of the App Store (nor anyone I deal with or assist with so I’ve never experienced being unable to uninstall a malicious app).
Google is in the business of selling you, which is why their business model is free services to get you to use. Apple’s business model is to get you to use their hardware and be locked into their ecosystem of hardware. They do not make a business of selling your data and usage behavior by making their services/hardware free. They are not in the business of advertisement (for now), which Google is.
Now, while I may not agree 100% with your statements, you have every right to express your beliefs and I do not think you are completely wrong - these companies have $ as their god. To trust them is a mistake - even Apple.
Now, Apple provides services that help protect privacy better than most companies - Privacy Relay, Advanced Data Protection, encrypted end to end iMessages, etc. But, do I stop there? Nope - I use encrypted DNS, adblockers, etc. I’m a big fan of Kagi search engine for this reason too (business model).
Again, Apple is not in the business of selling their customers (yet). So while I do believe the goal of all companies is their $ god, some approach it differently than others. No company has their customer as their primary focus - it’s always $. But I’ll give Apple my business before Google any day (for now).
BigMcGuire
macrumors G4
This is a great place to ask questions - make sure to do some research of your own to back up what people say too. Highly recommend going out of your way to use an Android device in your hand and check it out - just to experience it and see for yourself what it uses. You can get more privacy focused Android phones / operating systems - and you can turn off a lot of the “tracking” Google does.
I know some highly respected security experts who use Android. (I respect them myself (and work with some)).
I also do not believe you to be a troll - don’t let them get you down. 😀
crococarbs
macrumors member
That is fine, but it is the kind of question that triggers a lot of unhelpful responses unfortunatelly.
One recurring point made here is the business model, and that's not random opinions, that is a fact:
- Apple's business model is driven by actual direct sales: hardware sales (iphone+wearables+macs+airpods+etc) and services (icloud+appletv+software+other subscriptions).
- Google is an ad company, they get the vast majority of their income from selling personalised ads, and they use very aggressive tracking of your data to provide this personalisation.
Caveat #1: Apple is starting to dip their toes into advertising. In comparison it is insignificant to what Google does, but gotta keep an eye on that.
Caveat #2: Google's browser Chrome and Google Search, aside from the privacy concerns, have been suffering "en********ation", but that's the easiest thing to solve: simple use a different browser (I use Vivaldi) and a different search engine (I use Kagi and DuckDuckGo).
Hope it helps.
BigMcGuire
macrumors G4
Another Kagi user!!!! 🙂 These companies usually don’t age well so I expect that toe dip to be more later sadly. But for now it’s a concern definitely.
I gotta give Vivaldi a try. I went the Brave route for work.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Google the company or just Android?
Android is alright. I've been using Android phones since KitKat.
Google, you don't have to use every product and service from it. You have a Google account to sign in for your Android, but you can use something else other than Gmail for your email.
Google Maps are still superior to Apple Maps, in my opinion.
Also I don't have social media, not even Linkedin, and I watch Youtube or TikTok videos occasionally without an app or signing in.
Android is alright. I've been using Android phones since KitKat.
Google, you don't have to use every product and service from it. You have a Google account to sign in for your Android, but you can use something else other than Gmail for your email.
Google Maps are still superior to Apple Maps, in my opinion.
Also I don't have social media, not even Linkedin, and I watch Youtube or TikTok videos occasionally without an app or signing in.
Steve Adams
macrumors 68000
OMG never use LinkedIn. The massive data scraper from MS. Business facebook is what I call it. We will be using YouTube to create income soon, So, I take the good with the bad there.
I am off work sick today and my manager made an odd remark because I had to go out and pay a couple of bills inbetween puking and pooping, so I went in and checked the many apps they made us install in our phones at the beginning of employement. Some scrape images, text messages and everything. I have them all force disabled on my phone now. No more of that.
I really don't care what apple, google, Microsoft or farcebook/meta sees that I do, Like I said. it's video/photo/tech stuff with a smattering of the wife and I watching "content" every now and then. Nothing more.
I only like and use maps from google so no idea but agree with others who have said none of these companies care about our privacy, proven by how many times they’ve been busted doing shady things like selling our data etc.
indefinite
macrumors regular
I've seen people definitely have way more fun with Google phones! But it's not always the case for people who want phones that provide privacy and quality (iPhones). And with similar phone pricing tiers, its just a matter of preference.
Parowdy
macrumors 68000
Google services are relatively bad In my experience, their million overlapping apps not to mention. The only service I still use is YouTube and luckily it’s also the only that hasn’t incorporated Google‘s web design language which is almost as bad as Microsoft while Amazon takes the cake.
Their data practices in the past have made me sour for life.
Their data practices in the past have made me sour for life.
Parowdy
macrumors 68000
Meta and Apple are the same?
That’s bold. And plain wrong.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
I read an article many years back that the best google phone is, in fact, an iphone. It was a good article that helped convince me to switch from android to an iphone.
If you have an android, you are completely locked out of the apple ecosystem on your phone. If you have an iphone, you're not really locked out of the google ecosystem at all (ok, maybe a little bit)
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
Huh? This is a huge part of tiktok. People post "reaction" videos (many of which are just reposting the original video). I'm not sure why that's considered evil. Most of tiktok is just people stealing IP from each other with or without the help of AI.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
Is this somehow different than any other company offering similar products or services?
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Because someone else is enabling full blown IP theft, that doesn't make it "good" or "ok".
TikTok is its own all kinds of totally awful.
iHorseHead
macrumors 68020
Both are Android.
I think Huawei and other operating systems are Android.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HarmonyOS -> OK, that's not Android, but most operating systems on phones are Androids.
So you used Androids.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
I mean, sure. But there are probably a few dozen other ways to accomplish this. I guess if you're willing to hate almost all of the software companies it makes sense to hate google.
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
My apologies. But you have to understand that when you create an account somewhere new, just make a couple posts, and then disappear for a week after leaving what could be viewed as a ragebait headline--it was a safe assumption to think you were just here to stir up anger. But when you are assuming, you make an ass out of Yao Ming... or something like that.
But now that your back: What do you mean by "bad?" What does your friend hate about Google? Are we talking about the ad business, privacy concerns, AI in general, or something about the state of Android?
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ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
Steve Adams
macrumors 68000
No it's not bold...and plain right. Even with apple YOU are the product, just in different ways.
Steve Adams
macrumors 68000
According to the orange carbuncle TikTok is a Chinese government spying tool. If that is the case, it's purely for entertainment. "ha ha ha, Look at stupid American eating tide pods".
ElPaso
macrumors member
Excellent response. Companies exist to make a profit, and for some reason we get all offended when we find out lol - - -