Chrome removes claim of On-device Al not sending data to Google Servers

avdelazeri

And right after https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48019219 huh

askonomm

I mean to be expected of Google. Even their Google Pay sends data to their servers whenever you use it to make payments, effectively also making it so you can't even use it without service. Apple Pay does not, runs the whole thing on-device, and not only is private, but as a result also enables payments entirely offline.

jcgrillo

They're probably doing some degenerate form of [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_computing

jeffcox

As soon as "don't be evil" became a topic for debate it was over, if you're surprised you haven't been paying attention.

ChrisArchitect

Google weighs in on Chrome's weights.bin controversy https://www.androidauthority.com/google-chrome-weights-bin-f...

greenavocado

Temporary escape hatch: https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium

SunshineTheCat

I know that I'm in a bit of a bubble with this one, but I am surprised there is still anyone using Chrome instead of Brave. I get the dependency on Gmail other Google-specific tools, but the built-in ad blocking and Google-free aspects of it made me switch instantly and haven't look back after years.

ScoobleDoodle

For someone with more knowledge than me: How does this affect other Chromium based browsers? I did some web searches and see Brave has its own AI thing “Leo” that is intended to preserve privacy. But I don’t think that is on device. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I use Firefox myself but have family and friends who use various Chromium based browsers. Thank you.

shevy-java

What we learn: we can not trust Google.

Fairburn

Use anything BUT Chrome or Edge.

arian_

"on-device" is doing a lot of heavy lifting when the device is a thin client to Google's servers wearing a trench coat.

wafflemaker

Since the thread evolved into browser comparisons, I'd like to endorse a better uBlock ('s fork) - AdNausem. It doesn't block ads. It clicks them first, and then blocks them. I don't want websites to loose revenue because of my adnlocker. I want them to make extra money because of it! I'm not affiliated, but would like the project to get more followers. This can stop ads once and for all.

footy

I too am surprised anyone uses Chrome, but I will admit to feeling similarly surprised by how many people use Brave. The company seems so sketchy to me, and I wonder why people who presumably care about web standards are so willing to use Chromium-based anything too.

CrzyLngPwd

It seems to me that adding AI to desktop apps and sending the data back to the mothership for processing is an amazing way to collect data from people who, for the most part, would be completely unaware it's even happening. Heck, most of them think the Internet is Chrome.

akomtu

It's on-device AI spyware, really. It collects intelligence about the user, summarizes it and sends it to Google, all paid by the user's electricity bill. Deviously clever.

squidsoup

Has anyone found a browser with comparably good dev tools to Chrome?

Animats

When Google did that, did they default the "sending data" feature to off? Do I even need to ask?

ubermonkey

I still don't understand why so many people have accepting using an ad company's browser. The motivation vectors exist here to ensure that, over time, Chrome behaves in ways the end user DOES NOT WANT.

cferry

My belief is that the AI business is all about data collection. The value isn't so much in the quality of the models (that's what enterprise customers and developers pay to get), but in the amount of data that comes "for free" to whoever hosts the models. And then it's worth whoever buys it thinks it is, like insurers or advertisers.