The Lemon Fool

Googles intrusive demands for me to 'agree' to something are beginning to drive me up the wall.

I have no idea of what I am agreeing to, and even when I turn as many things off as possible before agreeing, my setting are not saved.

Can anyone help me with a browser/search engine combo that avoids all this stuff?

Al ideas gratefully received.

77ss wrote:
Can anyone help me with a browser/search engine combo that avoids all this stuff?

This is a popular alternative to Google search -

https://duckduckgo.com/

I've been seeing the same intrusive Google pop-ups lately too, and suspect it's to do with me clearing my cookies at the end of every browser-session.

This is clearly something Google have implemented recently, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Google will see lower numbers of people using their main search box as their browser home-pages from now on..

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

GDPR cookie consent requests often rely on third party cookies to save your preference settings.
If you keep getting them for the same sites that will probably be the issue as many people have third party cookies blocked in their browsers (not just a Chrome issue).

One way around it is to invoke 'reader mode' which rerenders the page and strips out the consent requests.
I've got that switched on in all PC/phone browsers that offer it in settings.
In Chrome you might need to do it from chrome://flags as it depends on how up to date your Chrome/Chromium browser is.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAPK ... CA0&uact=5

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51106526

Google is to restrict the number of advertising cookies on websites accessed via its Chrome browser, in response to calls for greater privacy controls.
It said that it would phase out third-party cookies within the next two years,
Cookies are small text files that are used to track users across the web.
It comes as a study suggests that many cookie consent pop-ups are flouting EU privacy laws.

Cont.

DuckDuckGo
Brave (a Chrome fork)
I Don't Care About Cookies and Ublock Origin extensions
Bing Maps
I'm still stuck with Gmail and Calendar, but I read the calendar on my Android phone aCalendar, as I loath flares.
I sometimes use OsmAnd rather than Google Maps, but its navigation keeps refusing to stop
No Root firewall to stop Android ads

Itsallaguess wrote:

77ss wrote:
Can anyone help me with a browser/search engine combo that avoids all this stuff?

This is a popular alternative to Google search -

https://duckduckgo.com/

I've been seeing the same intrusive Google pop-ups lately too, and suspect it's to do with me clearing my cookies at the end of every browser-session.

This is clearly something Google have implemented recently, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Google will see lower numbers of people using their main search box as their browser home-pages from now on..

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Thanks to all who replied. I think duckduck go looks as though it may meet my needs - and my level of understanding!

If I find it works, then Google has indeed seen the last of me - until they buy duckduckgo I guess. I don't think its near as good as it used to be anyway.

JohnB wrote:DuckDuckGo
Brave (a Chrome fork)
I Don't Care About Cookies and Ublock Origin extensions
Bing Maps
I'm still stuck with Gmail and Calendar, but I read the calendar on my Android phone aCalendar, as I loath flares.
I sometimes use OsmAnd rather than Google Maps, but its navigation keeps refusing to stop
No Root firewall to stop Android ads

I am probably the only user of this Board that has not the slightest idea what you are talking about. It does not matter as for my simple needs I do not think that I need to know.

Dod

I've used DuckDuckGo for years because I value my privacy. I would thouroughly recommend it unless you like to be bombarded with adverts. As far as I can see it is just as good a search engine as Google, although the results are often ordered differently, probably due to payments by advertisers.

Also look at OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org as a replacement/alternative for Google Maps. It usually shows more detail than Google Maps and often seems more up to date with new housing developments.

Dod says : "It does not matter as for my simple needs I do not think that I need to know." That's how Google has made its millions, by selling your information to others who think it does matter.

All web browsers are gradually starting to block 3rd party cookies by default.

This is a good thing when you have
-www.shoppingsite.com
-www.eviltracker.com

but no so useful when you have
-www.google.com
-cookies.google.com

We will probably have a few months of this before the big IT companies sort out their systems.

I used to use 'I Don't Care About Cookies' but recently turned it off because it was breaking a few websites, it swallows some popup prompts that are nothing to do with cookies.

The Brave web browser is run by a company with terrible ethics. The CEO was basically fired from his previous role due to his dodgy politics.
They remove the adverts and replace them (on the fly) with different adverts that they take the profit from - I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.
Google are far from perfect but they do put a lot of effort into removing malicious/drive by exploits delivered by adverts, do you really think Brave are putting in anything like the same effort?

Lanark wrote:The Brave web browser is run by a company with terrible ethics. The CEO was basically fired from his previous role due to his dodgy politics.
They remove the adverts and replace them (on the fly) with different adverts that they take the profit from - I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.
Google are far from perfect but they do put a lot of effort into removing malicious/drive by exploits delivered by adverts, do you really think Brave are putting in anything like the same effort?

Brave is Chromium based and as such you can run whatever extensions you want from the store, so if you don't trust the built in brave://adblock model simply install uBlock Origin or whatever else you prefer.
I have uBO installed on Brave but TBH even with only the built in adblocker active I wasn't seeing much, so your assertions that it just serves up its own ads doesn't match with my day to day useage.
Brave does have opt in ad affiliate connections, including micro payments, but that is actually quite a good idea as you get to control who receives those payments and so support sites you want to survive in an age of mass adblocking where ad revenue might be their only lifeline...
https://brave.com/introducing-brave-payments/

I run Chrome/Edge(Chromium)/Brave/Firefox/Firefox Nightly currently on W10/ChromeOS/Linux/Android.
Chrome is run with a ton of extensions, the others less so.
I've tried out many browsers over the years, especially on Android, where finding a good option with built in ad blocking has always been a challenge. FF has add ons including uBO/HTTPS everywhere now, so that's my go to 'anonymous' Android option.

Another DuckDuckGo devotee here. I use Firefox as my default browser, and have always set DDGo to be my default search engine, so Google doesn't get a look in...

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Another DuckDuckGo devotee here. I use Firefox as my default browser, and have always set DDGo to be my default search engine, so Google doesn't get a look in...

I too use Firefox generally. Following up on suggestions made in response to my plea for hep (thanks again guys) I' changed my search engine to DuckDuckGo and have been happily ducking for a couple of days now. I see no downside - goodbye G.

That covers the vast majority of my needs - I can always follow up on some of the more esoteric suggestions when the need arises.

Used the duck for ages and why not go to Wikipedia directly for many searches?

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Another DuckDuckGo devotee here. I use Firefox as my default browser, and have always set DDGo to be my default search engine, so Google doesn't get a look in...

Both good recommendations (Qwant is also a good search engine), but sadly Google now infests most of the internet. To really get rid of Google, you'd need to install the NoScript add-on for Firefox, block Google Analytics (equally good locally hosted analytics services such as Matomo are available), block DoubleClick ads (other equally sleazy tracker spyware ad services are sadly also available), block the Google Fonts service, block the Google APIs script hosting service (sadly, that will break a lot of sites written by dumb developers), curse sites using Google's Recaptcha service, don't use GMail or Android (and don't email people who do (it wouldn't surprise me if Google sniff through text messages as well)), and, sadly, far too many more.

Remember when people thought that StaSi eavesdropping was the height of evil, and when there was upset at the thought of the UK Government creating an identity database? Mere amateurs…

Nocton wrote:I've used DuckDuckGo for years because I value my privacy. I would thouroughly recommend it unless you like to be bombarded with adverts.

But surely you only see adverts if you don’t run an ad-blocker, and who doesn’t do that?

AF62 wrote:

Nocton wrote:I've used DuckDuckGo for years because I value my privacy. I would thouroughly recommend it unless you like to be bombarded with adverts.

But surely you only see adverts if you don’t run an ad-blocker, and who doesn’t do that?

Yes, but AFIK Google still shows search results which are effectively adverts, i.e. is Google has received money to promote the sites, and there is often extra stuff on the page which look like promotions/adverts. But you are right there is a lot more to it than adverts, as dave559 notes.
If anyone is in doubt about avoiding Google, where possible, have a look at DuckDuckGo's info page: https://duckduckgo.com/spread

Nocton wrote:

AF62 wrote:

Nocton wrote:I've used DuckDuckGo for years because I value my privacy. I would thouroughly recommend it unless you like to be bombarded with adverts.

But surely you only see adverts if you don’t run an ad-blocker, and who doesn’t do that?

Yes, but AFIK Google still shows search results which are effectively adverts, i.e. is Google has received money to promote the sites, and there is often extra stuff on the page which look like promotions/adverts.

There are no Google promoted listings marked "Ad" at the top of the search pages for me (using uBlock Origin).

The only 'extra' stuff which you could consider to be an advert is that if I search for say 'Cineworld' in Google it shows what is showing at my local Cineworld, and which is very helpful to me, whilst DuckDuckGo does not.

Similarly if I search for 'restaurants' in Google it provides a map of local restaurants and the search results are all helpful local results to local to where I live in the UK.

On the other hand, DuckDuckGo's search result for 'restaurants' is terrible in comparison - restaurants in London - nope, not near me.

So why on earth use a second rate service like DuckDuckGo when with a few seconds you can remove the downside of adverts from Google's far superior service?

Additionally if you have the latest versions of Android then things like location tracking can be made conditional, so for instance only when the specific app you need is active will it turn location tracking on.

Like AF62 I find all that Google stuff extremely useful on a daily basis, but I do have alternative 'anonymous' ecosystems (VPN/non ISP DNS, non Chrome browsers/search engines et al) running for when I want to be less tracked.

Infrasonic wrote:Additionally if you have the latest versions of Android then things like location tracking can be made conditional, so for instance only when the specific app you need is active will it turn location tracking on.

Same with IOS - and with IOS 14 Apple is going further by introducing a requirement that users opt-in to be tracked across different web sites - https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=hx ... 1599152522, something which companies like Facebook are NOT happy about.

AF62 wrote:

Nocton wrote:

AF62 wrote:Similarly if I search for 'restaurants' in Google it provides a map of local restaurants and the search results are all helpful local results to local to where I live in the UK.
On the other hand, DuckDuckGo's search result for 'restaurants' is terrible in comparison - restaurants in London - nope, not near me.
So why on earth use a second rate service like DuckDuckGo when with a few seconds you can remove the downside of adverts from Google's far superior service?

I don't know about London, but here in Lincolnshire DuckDuckGo gives a map and list of restaurants just as you describe. Both show three plus TripAdvisor and TimeOut. The list is not exactly the same, but, as I mentioned, I expect some pay to get nearer the top of a search list. As I mentioned and as DuckDuckGo explain, there is much more to Google's attack on one's privacy than adverts. No way would I accept that Google offers a "far superior service", but I am happy to accept that users get used to what they have and don't like to change.