It works with most websites, it syncs my bookmarks across computers, lets me reuse my existing Google account instead of needing to make a new one, and I really don’t care about my data going to Google because I already give up my data in exchange for free services (which feels like a win-win).
Gotta downvote this one. It’s not even close to an unpopular opinion.
On this platform, it absolutely is unpopular.
What’s the scope for “unpopular”?
I see it plastered everywhere, every time I see a post about browsers or websites, people are hating on Chrome (and Chromium-based derivatives) and saying we need to support Firefox. I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t care about the monopoly.
You only need to be loud when you’re trying to change things.
Yeah not caring is why the world is shit. Nice job, kid.
Monopolies sure seem great in the short term. Is older folks have seen the full lifecycle and know what they turn into. See Comcast and AT&T. Duopolies are not any better, most of our food comes from 2ish companies. Early on they promise you everything, then they squeeze you for less and less.
Don’t know if I should upvote when the vast majority of people use chrome, but since it locally is unpopular, it could count as unpopular opinion.
Not caring about your data because you’re already giving it out gives me the vibes of a chain smoker refusing to quit, but in the end it is up to you.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare using Chrome to being a chain smoker. It’s a browser, just a tool, not something that makes me significantly happier while torpedoing my health. I could just as easily rot my brain with memes on Firefox. Yes, it’s not great to foster a monopoly, but there’s not much stopping me from switching if Google messes it up too much.
As for it being popular, I don’t think I’ve seen a single comment on Lemmy praising it besides my own, it’s all hate. Surely if Lemmy is an random sample of users you’d see someone else defending it.
It is detrimental to your privacy, which is why I compare it to chain smoking. You may not care about your privacy that much, because you don’t believe it affects you that much, and chainsmokers tend to downplay the detrimental effects of smoking too, until it finally hits them with disease.
Now what would be the privacy equivalent of disease? Maybe one of the thousands of partners google sends your data to has a giant databreach, and now your entire browsing history is public knowledge. “Big deal” you might say, until you remember when you looked up symptoms of chlamydia to confirm whether or not you might have it, or when you searched for “furry self suck videos real”. Suddenly you also become a victim of identity theft and they use your identity to groom little girls, or scam older people.
This is a worst case scenario, yet it has already happened over and over.
A less worse scenario is you get advertisements for chlamydia treatment, and it makes you slightly uncomfortable. Or maybe you look for vacation spots, and the prices are automatically raised to be just enough for what yout would be willing to pay, but still more than the original price.
Just fyi: your google account can be used to login to mozilla and you can import all your bookmarks and whatever
If you voluntarily use chrome, you are the tool. Just use Firefox for fucks sake.
I do all the same with Firefox. Plus I don’t have to worry about my adblock going away anytime soon (especially in mobile). I still use the Google services for work as well. I just like the FF.
Even if you don’t care about your data, there’s so many better options out there in terms of features and usability. The only benefit of Chrome over anything else is that you’re already using it.
It’s not a bad browser, the reason it’s hated is because Google is using it’s near total market share to push ads and other bad practices onto the entirety of the Internet. The more people aware and fighting back the better. That’s why I personally no longer use chrome even though using Firefox at first was very different and a bit hard to get used to.
Chrome is a good browser, and Firefox is a good browser they’re just different. They both do all those things you mentioned.
The biggest deal is that chrome is closed source, and run by a company who is literally legally required to turn a profit anyway it can because it’s publicly traded. They will do whatever they have to to continue to turn a profit. Quality of the Internet or user experience be damned.
Firefox on the other hand, is made by a company that is not only not publicly traded, but it’s a non-profit. Firefox is also FOSS (free and open source). Mozilla literally wrote the MPL (Mozilla public license) that’s used by several different FOSS apps.
So, the options for modern browsers are:
A. Use a chromium based browser or use chrome, supporting a company who is incentivised to make everything as for profit as they possible can
Or
B. Use Firefox created and maintained by a nonprofit who is trying to push towards a more free and open Internet.
THAT is why chrome is hated.
Your opinion is exactly what they’re aiming for. Just waiting for people to become complacent enough for them to take over without any resistance at all.
Chrome isn’t a bad option because it’s not a good browser. Their goal is to make the best browser possible so that everyone switches to it.
It’s a bad option because if everyone uses a single browser, the developer of that browser owns all decisions about how the internet is allowed to be built. That isn’t a good thing. Not when Microsoft tried to do it, and not while Google is trying to do it.
If Google takes over development of all browsing options (including the ones that depend on it’s base code, like Edge), web-based tech will stagnate due to lack of competition (and so, a lack of the need to innovate), and privacy will disappear (even more than it already has). And good luck blocking ads in a browser that doesn’t allow the addons to function.
Google has proven itself to be a company that doesn’t just kill competition, but also it’s own projects if they don’t perform the way they want. They don’t care about proper copyright protection or enforcement, they don’t care about privacy, and they don’t care about you (no corporation does).
Does it push Google search or does it let you choose your search engine ? Does it push advertisement to you ? Does it let you use ad_blokers ? N.B. : if it makes your dog bark in the coming months, you’ll know that Google Chrome has become the Terminator.
- I use Google by default but it does let me choose a search engine — at my job I even use an internal one.
- No ads, I get more from Edge (which I use as a second browser)
- Yes to adblockers, Ublock Origin hasn’t broken yet
As someone savvy to tmwhats behind it all… I have to give you a painful upvote!
