and while we had constant outrage from Recall, I assume we'll hear nothing about this from people
this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2026
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Seeing your screen when prompted is not the same as recording your screen
Gemini is already creeping me out with all the personal information Google is injecting into the AI context. So far I've seen my name, location and if I remember right, which vehicle I drive. Who knows what else is in there. I use DDG whenever I can, but sometimes a Google search is the only way to actually find something, so I see the Gemini junk as I'm scrolling down.
Is there any way to have that info deleted and no longer collected or used by Google? Or is that kind of thing only for the lucky people in Europe?
EDIT: Found it here: https://myactivity.google.com/product/gemini?hl=en-US
You can use startpage. It just proxies your searches to google, so you get the same results as a direct google search. I think you can also use !g on DDG.
I'll have to try out !g, thanks a lot!
EDIT: Tried it and it just redirected to google.com. I was hoping it would have kept me on DDG for privacy and just presented a first page of results or something like that.
EDIT 2: Startpage is great! This will be my go-to when DDG doesn't work out.
I use DDG whenever I can, but sometimes a Google search is the only way to actually find something
Do you have an example of something you had to use Google for because you couldn't find it with DDG?
Edited to add, four replies later and no specific examples. I am not trying to shill for DDG or anything here, I'm trying to get real, specific examples.
Not OP, but its true. There have been times I've searched and tweaked like 7 times. Go to google with my original text and its the first link. This is not common though.
I'm really curious where things fall short for people. I haven't used Google for years at this point, and I don't miss it.
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DDG's search is pretty bad
For me, I !g sometimes when I'm searching for specific gifs, and DDG isn't getting me the results I need. For the most part, that's it.
I tried switching to ddg several times over the last decade or so and always gave up because of issues like this, especially with technical or obscure topics. Recently started paying for Kagi and do not have the same issues at all there. The results are good and nicely presented without ads. Of course, on the flip side it’s pretty expensive.
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I’m trying to get real, specific examples.
Asking for unnecessary specifics and details is usually a sign not that the person wants to be helpful but that they disagree and are looking for ammunition to argue and feel superior. Ultimately the exchange becomes a waste of everyone's time, as the person inevitably becomes rude, condescending and argumentative. Basically, some people online think they're smarter than everyone else, or at least want to project that. They believe they have the only valid argument and they're going to prove it to the world and probably think that they've won because they had the last word when in reality everyone left because they realized the person was not arguing in good faith. I'm not claiming you're that type of person, but I suspect that's why nobody is giving you specifics.
Wouldn't have mentioned anything but you did ask.
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If you really want to use Google but without the Gemini junk, &udm=14 is your friend
Thanks! I think I prefer startpage.com (which I only just learned about due to this thread) because it doesn't redirect to google.com. But this is also good to know about just in case.
Every day, I grow happier for having ditched Google's version of Android for GrapheneOS.
Worldwide we need to all build up GrapheneOS to be the new default for all of us
Meh. It's still mainly backed by Google in the end. I'd rather coalesce around mobile Linux. It's not ready yet but that's far preferable.
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It's things like this that got me to start looking at Librewolf.
I used to use WebKit based browsers like w3m and terminal based browsers like lynx. Also used a lot of terminal based apps for things, not really for security but because my netbooks single core atom chip sucked. I noticed though that I essentially avoided cookies, ads, and trackers by accident. I've been thinking of going back to a thermal based life. Now I'm wondering if there are terminal based apps for Lemmy and mastadon.
Now I'm wondering if there are terminal based apps for Lemmy and mastadon.
Mastodon, yes. I've not found one for Lemmy.
I would have to check out the API for Lemmy to see how easy it would be to make a minimal terminal CLI would be to make. I hate making stuff publicly because I usually only want what I need to work, but I could make a repo and see if anyone else is interested in expanding on it.
Anyone still using Chrome deserves it
Maybe innocent people who aren’t as technically literate as you that also happen to be using Chrome don’t deserve for their rights to be infringed upon? If that’s an unpopular thought then so be it I suppose.
That's true.
Anyone in this community that is still using Chrome definitely deserves it, though.
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Not if it's not installed on my Linux laptop....
Now do
Chrome can now suggest you files from your and your friends hard drives
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The headline seems a little inflammatory. It requires the user to explicitly select a region to share.
Google is making Gemini a lot more aware of what's happening inside Chrome. The company has started rolling out a new "Select from screen" feature that lets users highlight specific text or images from a webpage and send them directly to Gemini, making conversations with the AI assistant far more contextual.
It's baffling that over and over and over, every fucking time a corporation does this shit, there's someone willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I like to deal with facts and measured responses instead of being instantly reactionary 🤷
Which is fair, but in the context of the day, and of our history, skepticism is appropriate
At some point, you become a useful idiot.
Don't fall for the trap. These people do not deserve the benefit of the doubt about anything. Stop giving it to them.
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The fact that it can do it in the first place means it can do it at all. Just because they require the selection now, doesn't mean they aren't harvesting telemetry 24/7, and won't "accidentally" enable this feature later.
Or just lie to you it’s not on, they have zero reason to not run this 24/7 they will not be caught
they will not be caught
They would get caught tho, there's always some turbo nerd that has a network monitor up and will notice the traffic being sent out. I do it sometimes when I actually have to use chrome, but that's just my growing distrust of Google.
Now, whether or not they face repercussions is another story.
No, it can definitely read the entire browser window, fill out and click through forms etc etc. i know, I’ve used it.
That might be true, but it sounds like like a completely different feature than what the article is discussing. This is talking about a new feature that requires the user to select a specific section of the page in order to make it visible to the I'm LLM.
I am a little confused though, as to why this new feature would be needed if it could already read the entire screen.
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I get increasingly jaded with every bit of news that basically says "yet another reason to not use Google, integrated/agentic AI etc." When will it be enough to make even IT-illiterates consider?
I mean people still use MicroSlop everyday, so I don't think there will 'ever' be a time.
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what's Chrome?
Shiny reflective metal that blinds you to what's behind it.
Ah, thanks 👍
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I have chrome installed on my phone without my consent
I have Google shit apps installed on my phone without consent.
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