In an attempt to peel away from shady data practices, I’ve started using more private browsers, opting out of data sharing on websites, and logging out of my Google account and social media to minimize cross-site tracking. For the most part, the only immediately noticeable thing that has come out of this is that my ads are less relevant, but I still see the same amount. However, a side-effect I didn’t expect to miss as much is the personalization of the service itself.
Now, my YouTube recommendations have become a lot worse, searching is more cumbersome without some amount of recent history, and my email inboxes are stupider.
If you’ve logged into Gmail recently, you’ve probably seen the pop-up above. Google effectively gave its users an ultimatum: Give us your data for ads or suffer the consequences of dumb tech.
What’s interesting about this is the way they frame it. Google claims the data they need to make Gmail smart is necessarily related to how your ads are personalized. Of course, this is 100% false. Google could change their business model and charge users for these smart features, sans ads. It would be a difficult undertaking, no doubt, but it’s certainly…
