I would like to set Google on fire. All of it.

[Red_Herring4]

Good decision. I was foolish enough to give Google a recovery address for my Lit-related account, and next I knew it was steering anybody who knew the recovery address towards my Lit email.

Minor annoyance for me, but for some people that behaviour could've been very dangerous.

This sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I follow. So you have an email account (let's say a Gmail account) tied to your Lit account. And for that Gmail account you set a recovery address, which may be another Gmail address that has some association with your real life. Do I have that right so far? If so, how was Google steering people who knew your Gmail recovery address/real life address to the Gmail address that you use for Lit?

Forgive my ignorance here. As a fish, I have little need for anonymity (almost no one can tell one herring from another), so the nuances of this topic escape me.

 

[Red_Herring4]

Now I’m curious. Do the rest of you check your Lit-associated email account? I have to admit I don’t. Reading email from people who have read my Lit stories seems kind of creepy. Maybe I’m just weird

I do. In my experience, it's not much different from reading comments posted to your story page. Most emails that I've received have been positive and have provided genuine feedback. I'd wager those who identify as women on their profile page have to deal with a lot of creepy emails, but that hasn't been the case for me. You have a ton of followers and some highly rated stories, so I'll bet you have a fair number of emails sitting in your inbox.

 

[Bramblethorn]

(All names and email addresses in this post falsified, obviously)

This sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I follow. So you have an email account (let's say a Gmail account) tied to your Lit account. And for that Gmail account you set a recovery address, which may be another Gmail address that has some association with your real life. Do I have that right so far? If so, how was Google steering people who knew your Gmail recovery address/real life address to the Gmail address that you use for Lit?

Let's suppose my wallet name is Lois Lane. I had an everyday email account named something like lois.lane@foobar.com.au, where "foobar" is an Australian ISP. This is my main email for friends, family, and colleagues.

Some years later, when I started posting on Lit, I set up a second Gmail account with username ItsMeIAmTheBatman@gmail.com as a contact address for all my Literotica-related activity, with the handle "Batman". I set the recovery address for that one, to lois.lane@foobar.com.au.

Then one of my family members said, "hey, when I try to email you at lois.lane@foobar.com.au from my Gmail account, it shows you as 'Batman <lois.lane@foobar.com.au>'. Why is is calling you 'Batman'?"

And then - this was back when G+ was a thing - some of my partner's family sent G+ connect requests to my Literotica Gmail account. Presumably it had pointed them to that based on the supposedly-secret fact of my recovery email, I'm not aware of any other reason they'd have noticed it.

To this day, any time colleagues try to share files with lois.lane@foobar.com.au via Google Drive, it ends up getting shared with my Literotica Gmail account instead.

I'm not aware of any leakage in the other direction, something that would let somebody who knew my Literotica contact info find my wallet-name info. But it's not exactly confidence-inspiring.

 

[onehitwanda]

But it's not exactly confidence-inspiring.

I've seen the actuality of the sort of systems that link scattered bits of networked data into profiles, and they are scary. It's not just the fact that google, meta, apple etc can and do do it (google's entire raison d'être is to be able to make it efficient to track you and sell you shit) - it's that they sell this information onwards. I don't want anyone to know that Onehitwanda, resident delinquent on these forums, is also Ethel Ramsbottom of 2, the Mews, Nether Scrote, Gloucestershire, CU11 NT4 and that I work for the local NHS trust and that I am a Liberal Democrat who cultivates pineapples and collects plaster ducks. [this is all false, obviously. I'd never collect plaster ducks, except maybe as archery targets]

People are massively judgemental. They'll be active doggers out of hours and pearl-clutching swine in the office. One of the saddest axioms of life is that two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
Hence the compartmentalisation. Is it foolproof? No. Could I be uncovered - probably a lot more easily than I fear.

But once thing this has finally done is got me to kick the gmail habit. If only I could do the same in my "real" life.

 

[TheRedChamber]

(All names and email addresses in this post falsified, obviously)



Let's suppose my wallet name is Lois Lane. I had an everyday email account named something like lois.lane@foobar.com.au, where "foobar" is an Australian ISP. This is my main email for friends, family, and colleagues.

Some years later, when I started posting on Lit, I set up a second Gmail account with username ItsMeIAmTheBatman@gmail.com as a contact address for all my Literotica-related activity, with the handle "Batman". I set the recovery address for that one, to lois.lane@foobar.com.au.

Then one of my family members said, "hey, when I try to email you at lois.lane@foobar.com.au from my Gmail account, it shows you as 'Batman <lois.lane@foobar.com.au>'. Why is is calling you 'Batman'?"

And then - this was back when G+ was a thing - some of my partner's family sent G+ connect requests to my Literotica Gmail account. Presumably it had pointed them to that based on the supposedly-secret fact of my recovery email, I'm not aware of any other reason they'd have noticed it.

To this day, any time colleagues try to share files with lois.lane@foobar.com.au via Google Drive, it ends up getting shared with my Literotica Gmail account instead.

I'm not aware of any leakage in the other direction, something that would let somebody who knew my Literotica contact info find my wallet-name info. But it's not exactly confidence-inspiring.

I get it, but that this would have been easier to follow if you'd have used Bruce Wayne as your original example. This had me scratching my head.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I get it, but that this would have been easier to follow if you'd have used Bruce Wayne as your original example. This had me scratching my head.

Everyone expects Bruce Wayne to be Batman. Lois as Batman is more surprising.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Everyone expects Bruce Wayne to be Batman. Lois as Batman is more surprising.

And Bruce is now Batgirl? There's a Fan fiction story right there...

 

[MrPixel]

I've seen the actuality of the sort of systems that link scattered bits of networked data into profiles, and they are scary.

And thusly we get back to the phone number thing - with number portability (the ability to retain the same cellphone number regardless of where you live), that phone number becomes your unique ID to the business world. Try changing your phone number now and see just how many issues you have dealing with things like customer service. Ugly.

As a developer and database analyst, I was unwittingly participating in this erosion of personal autonomy some 30 years ago. I had designed and built a system for mass optical reading of phone book white pages (some of us remember those), an enormously difficult task given the tech of the day. It was necessary because the phone companies did not sell their data. Even in that minor corner of the personal information world, if I processed subsequent editions of a particular directory, I could identify people who had moved, and designed a post-processing system for just that purpose. And I was merely a minion.

Enter the most evil company you never heard of: Acxiom. They were Google before the internet was a thing. It turned out the people I worked for were selling my work product to these bastards. And it also turned out that the company I worked for two steps down the subsidiary ladder was gearing up for developing a massive database of your employment history, "The Work Number for Everyone". Really invasive stuff. It's been going on for decades, people.

Summary? I don't give my phone number to anybody I do not have a personal relationship with. Period. When demanded, they get 314-159-2654.

 

[Red_Herring4]

To this day, any time colleagues try to share files with lois.lane@foobar.com.au via Google Drive, it ends up getting shared with my Literotica Gmail account instead.

Thanks for explaining. I didn't realize the possible ramifications of setting a recovery address for a Gmail account. Good to know! It's awful that Google would expose your recovery address in those ways.

Like you and onehitwanda, I try to keep my wallet identity completely siloed from anything to do with Lit. I thought about adding a recovery address to the ProtonMail account that I created to use with Lit, but I ultimately decided against it. I want as few connections to my "real" life as possible.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Yeah, and I still remember the first time that I went to youtube and it said that I was logged in even though I've never ever had a youtube account and don't ever want one. Turned out that my gmail was open and so somehow youtube knew that I was logged in to gmail, and hence gmail then knows that I'm surfing youtube and I never authorized one damn bit of any of that! So naturally one has to wonder just what else google knows what you're doing and where you're going on the internet even if you're using the 'evil' open source of Firefox?

Tip of the iceberg to be certain. Repeat after me: google is rot-ten! (and so is apple, and so is microsoft).

 

[stickygirl]

I gather MI5 spies on US citizens for the CIA and vice versa.
I've had to change identity so I'm already familiar with deleting breadcrumbs. My sister had a stalker so we also got advice from the police and it has worked. I'd tell you how, but there's enough shooting already.
Wait till AI puts us all out of jobs, then privacy will be entirely gone.
I left Google behind when it got too smart with G+ and Drive

 

[muddie684]

Zoho is an India-based mail and business suite service. You give them your phone number for two-factor verification, but their privacy practices are way better. Proton Mail, Start Mail, Mail Fence, and other paid services protect your information, as well. I'm not sure how good Yahoo is with privacy. You can use a VPN to reduce tracking online or get a $20/month cell phone and set the phone to not share your location. I tried using Line2, a virtual phone number service, for Google, but they don't allow it. Thumbs down to Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, etc.

 

[MrPixel]

Fuck Google. They've started rejecting all emails from my servers. They seem to raise the bar every week, requiring me to research the problem and make header adjustments with my DNS provider. What a waste of fuckin' time.

To that end, and against everything I stand for (and against!), I created a Gmail account for my non-techie wife just so she could send mail to our kid. I could not believe all the tentacles Google insisted on installing in her iPhone. Now I'm going to be interrupted every 5 minutes to answer questions and solve "problems" as Google throws bunches of unwanted and unrequested crap at her.

Google has redefined intrusive. Leave us fucking alone, you bastards.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

If Eric Adams ever knocks on my door, I'll know how he found me.

But what if it’s Eric Idle?

 

[onehitwanda]

Oh, the allure of innocence. Are there still people who believe that super companies are oblivious to their every move? It extends beyond the realms of Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Technologically advanced nations such as China, Israel, or any country with a robust satellite network hold a wealth of information about each and every one of us. Every phone call, text message, email, and online purchase is instantaneously logged on countless servers scattered across the globe. Privacy has become nothing more than a faded memory. It is high time to awaken, dear.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AshamedSleepyConey-size_restricted.gif

 

[alohadave]

Yeah, and I still remember the first time that I went to youtube and it said that I was logged in even though I've never ever had a youtube account and don't ever want one. Turned out that my gmail was open and so somehow youtube knew that I was logged in to gmail, and hence gmail then knows that I'm surfing youtube and I never authorized one damn bit of any of that! So naturally one has to wonder just what else google knows what you're doing and where you're going on the internet even if you're using the 'evil' open source of Firefox?

Tip of the iceberg to be certain. Repeat after me: google is rot-ten! (and so is apple, and so is microsoft).

Google owns YouTube, so yeah, they know.

A lot of sites can also use your google account to login without creating an account there.

 

[TxRad]

Get a landline and at least make it harder on them.

 

[onehitwanda]

I don't want to alarm you, but there is a possibility that someone could be eavesdropping on the microphone of your smartphone at this very moment, or on the one next to you. Even home cleaning robots are equipped with microphones...

You are a very strange person.

 

[Winter_Fare]

Oh, the allure of innocence. Are there still people who believe that super companies are oblivious to their every move? It extends beyond the realms of Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Technologically advanced nations such as China, Israel, or any country with a robust satellite network hold a wealth of information about each and every one of us. Every phone call, text message, email, and online purchase is instantaneously logged on countless servers scattered across the globe. Privacy has become nothing more than a faded memory. It is high time to awaken, dear.

So you put your phone down and walk away.... And realise there's a ring doorbell on every other house, and every time you pay with your card....

But is it a Bad Thing?

I'm not so sure. We're hard wired to fear progress but I'm sure there are benefits.

 

[MrPixel]

I would like to set Google on fire. All of it.​

Nope. Tactical nukes at this point.

I have spent the past two weeks doing my damnedest to reestablish the ability for my tech-illiterate wife to easily e-mail our kid in Beijing with his G-mail account. Google cut this off about a month ago. Have attempted to: 1) upgrade my DNS parameters to meet Google's e-mail transfer requirements (SPF/DKIM for those in the know), 2) get G-mail access working on my wife's Raspberry Pi's e-mail client, and 3) get G-mail access on her iPad Air 2. Nope. All blocked by Google.

Their thought-police-grade security policy in so many words declares if your computer/OS/e-mail client is older than a couple of years, you cannot play. Period. I don't have a software staff at my beck and call to chase their constant raising-the-bar bullshit, nor am I going to buy a new device every six months for their "mommy may I" crap.

Like I said before, I caved in and created a G-mail account for her. The one device in the household that supports e-mail app access is the iPhone SE we bought her for $50 two years ago on a cell provider deal. Well, there's my MacBook Air that I setup her account on, but she's so over using a Mac. She can certainly get to her account via the G-mail web page, but her and websites... not pretty. Usually tearful.

Alphabet is beyond evil, and is a pox on our society along with Microsoft, "Meta" (what sort of bullcrap is that?), Adobe, Apple, Twitter (muck Fusk) and their ilk. I'm passing the hat around for everyone to drop in a few moles of U235 so I can build something to put them all out of our misery. Good thing we sold our house in Silicon Gulch Valley a while ago.

 

[alohadave]

kid in Beijing with his G-mail account.

Are you aware that mainland China blocks gmail access?

https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/how-to-access-gmail-in-china

 

[MrPixel]

Not that we are aware of. He's been using it every day on his iPhone for at least a year, and at random WiFi locations. He may well have a VPN tool we don't know about.

He happens to be State Department, but that doesn't have anything to do with his private (well, personal... it's China) communications back home. The entire issue I'm dealing with on this end is Google. My servers have been cut off to other G-mail users, as well.