How to avoid using Google's politically biased search algorithm

NightHawkeye

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You, maybe. You must be an important bigshot. As for me, I'm just an ordinary guy and nobody particular cares where I go, and I don't care if they know anyway.
I thought nobody cared about me, too. Then I caught GPS tracking working on my smartphone ... despite it being turned OFF. Weird, huh? On one occasion it even had me pinpointed to an exact location in a parking location ... despite GPS being turned OFF.

There are lots of reasons for the tech behemoths to track your whereabouts, some benign, some mischievous.
 
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Speedwell

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I thought nobody cared about me, too. Then I caught GPS tracking working on my smartphone ... despite it being turned OFF. Weird, huh? On one occasion it even had me pinpointed to an exact location in a parking location ... despite GPS being turned OFF.

There are lots of reasons for the tech behemoths to track your whereabouts, some benign, some mischievous.
Ooo, mischievous. That sounds fun. What are they?
 
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SimplyMe

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I'll merely restate that privacy protection laws in the United States are a joke. We need much better privacy protection laws. Sure, you can keep Google from knowing various information if you don't use any of their services or products -- though that can be difficult.

Of course, that doesn't stop the various websites you do visit to track you, often checking your browsing history and other information they can grab from your browser. It gets worse when you set up an account, as that ties you -- the person (or at least your email) -- to the information they've grabbed from your browser. Depending on the site, they may also "share" that information with other groups to get more information on you, in many cases even starting to mix in credit history information (based on credit cards you may use online).

Maybe with the whole social media "free speech" issues, it will cause Congress to also look at privacy concerns online -- though it is doubtful. This is yet another area where Corporations are given a lot of leeway and where Congress doesn't want to "crack down" on the free market.
 
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timothyu

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Nope. It was a dumb car. No GPS, no satellite system, no bluetooth.
Is your dentist NSA/CIA? But yes I agree. You can turnoff what you want and delete what you want but nothing is removed from the servers, only from your immediate space. Data is god in today's world. Analogue to them is the devil.
 
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NightHawkeye

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Is your dentist NSA/CIA? But yes I agree. You can turnoff what you want and delete what you want but nothing is removed from the servers, only from your immediate space. Data is god in today's world. Analogue to them is the devil.
Thing is I never turn GPS ON. Never. The only time GPS had been turned ON was when I first purchased the phones. After that, always OFF ... or so I used to think.
 
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chevyontheriver

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Do you think anybody cares where you went?
Would you be willing to tell me everywhere you went, and where you stopped along the way, for the past year? If not, you have some desire for privacy of your own.
 
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timothyu

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Thing is I never turn GPS ON. Never. The only time GPS had been turned ON was when I first purchased the phones. After that, always OFF ... or so I used to think.
Yes but like in Alice Through the Looking Glass there are two sides to your utility.
 
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stevil

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I remember you spamming threads in hopes that the election is overturned. I hope you demand your money back from anyone who told you that the election is overturned.
I'm pretty sure that information will come out at some point, showing where the 250 million went that was donated to the "stop the steal" campaign. By looking at the has been lawyers and the poor quality cases that were brought to the courts, it's clear that they went on the cheap in the legal department.

So, where did the millions go?

I'm sure many people are investigating this at the moment.


Trump's supporters though, will be OK with that money going into the bank accounts of Trump and his children (if this turns out to be the case)
The supporters of the WALL seemed to be fine with Bannon stealing the money (especially once Trump pardoned him)
 
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DaisyDay

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Oh look, more conservative claims of martyrdom. Google does not care that you are conservative and they are not actively trying to sabotage your search results. Google has enough ethical issues without making things up to appear persecuted.

Misquoted and misunderstood: Why many in the search community don't believe the WSJ about Google search
There is a huge difference between "black box" and "black magic". ^_^

I have Brave on my phone because the ads are less annoying on that.
 
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Freodin

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I get around that by not having internet on my phone.
Anyone trying to track my phone will be successful without even bothering.

It is in the same place it has been for the last 44 years.
Oops, sorry, that's not totally correct. I moved it up one floor about 15 years ago.
 
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timothyu

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It is in the same place it has been for the last 44 years.
Oops, sorry, that's not totally correct. I moved it up one floor about 15 years ago.
A cumbersome beast that requires a warrant to eavesdrop on until it's lighter digital wireless tin can came along where it's open season because rights were thrown out for convenience. Hard to believe 15 yrs ago most people didn't even know what email was and now they think they are so tech savvy. Digital trojan horses..
 
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Speedwell

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Would you be willing to tell me everywhere you went, and where you stopped along the way, for the past year? If not, you have some desire for privacy of your own.
Why should I take the trouble to tell you? If you want to know you can find out for yourself. When moving about in public I have no legal expectation of privacy--you can hire a private detective to follow me around if you want. Or, you can obtain the information from my phone company, who are already following my phone around for reasons of their own. Either way it will cost you time and money; I hope it's worth it to you.
 
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adrianmonk

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Oh goodie.

Even if you have an old school flip phone, your carrier has location records (though not as accurate as phones with GPS) by the towers your phone pings.
 
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adrianmonk

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There is a huge difference between "black box" and "black magic". ^_^

I have Brave on my phone because the ads are less annoying on that.

I use pi-hole on my home network to block trackers, along with Brave. De-googled chromium also works great!
 
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adrianmonk

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If you really want a privacy focused phone, checkout Purism. Beautiful, Secure, Privacy-Respecting Laptops & Phones – Purism . If you want Android without Google, checkout the /e/ phone at e Foundation - deGoogled unGoogled smartphone operating systems and online services - your data is your data .

Even with these phones, your carrier has your real time location information, which they sell. And the FTC let them off with a slap on the wrist. FCC set to fine big telecom companies for selling location data. Is $200 million enough? - Marketplace
 
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