Comment by LyndsySimon
7 years ago
I totally agree on the security aspect, but I think we're talking about different threat models.
Security matters if your concern is the data leaking to a potential malicious actor. The concern that I'm speaking to is the intended use of the data. Google is definitely going to use it for ad targeting and building a "shadow profile", but a small developer probably won't. This one says they won't, but even if they do they're likely to be much less effective than Google would be.
Probably. Wow, you used the word "probably". I guess you aren't aware of the many cases wherein when a Chrome extension gets popular, indie developers are contacted by some company and many have sold their extension are let them collect data. Also yhis data gets sold to 3rd parties,many such cases with small-medium websites have occured. Remember Unroll.me
Also, Google knows how to make profiles and it knows the importance of that data amd keeping it safe. It is also somewhat answerable to Consumer groups,users,shareholders,regulatory bodies. Indie dev doesn't know how to make good profile, more likely to sell the data to make revenue. Not ridiculing indie devs, just ridiculing your assumptions that if a solo dev is an angel.
https://www.labnol.org/internet/sold-chrome-extension/28377/
https://m.slashdot.org/story/328731
I'm curious what your concern with Google building this 'shadow profile' is if you're not worried about this data being leaked to a malicious actor - Is Google simply having this data a bad thing, and if so, why?
Is that really a question? Google creates global profiles of everyone for tracking and advertising.
Having a random developer create a shadow profile isn't the same.
The scale is vastly different and can be used to track you from site to site.
I know Google creates global profiles for tracking - and my question (which is the same as my original question) is why do you care? If that data is only used internally by google to serve you better ads why are you concerned with them having your data?
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It's not just bad from a privacy PoV. By giving away signals to GA, you're actually underselling your user's data. Google can correlate your analytics with other's to place highly targetted ads for your visitors on other sites, stealing the attention your high-quality content generates, such that sites with big pockets for Google ad bidding and placement but otherwise only low-effort content (and Google itself, of course) make all the money.