Google accounts have become an integral part of our lives.
They give us access to a wide range of services, from sending emails and watching videos to editing documents, time management and of course the latest addition, Gemini.
In fact, although this article will probably be more useful to Android people, even most Apple devotees will find it difficult to imagine life today without a Google account, especially if they use Google's website management tools, Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Google Business, which are all about digital presence Today cannot exist without them.
services for information
The widespread use of Google accounts began with the launch of the free Gmail service in 2004, which quickly became the most popular email service in the world.
Over the years, Google added more and more services and the value to the user kept growing: YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive and more.
As services were added, the use of Google accounts increased and the audience became captive.
So captive that 20 years later, most of the world's adult population, even those who do not use the Internet or social networks frequently, have one or more Google accounts. Statistically, this includes a great many people who did not realize their part of the deal until it was too late Too much. Now, they are forced to bear the consequences and choose whether to give up the services or the principles.
So we enjoy essential services for free and Google enjoys our personal information.
All in all a good deal, isn't it?
Well, opinions on this matter are divided.
Some would say that Google has too much information about us.
She knows what we search on the Internet, what we watch on YouTube and who we correspond with by email, and she may use this information badly.
Personally, I think it uses information in a responsible way, certainly compared to rivals like Meta and Tiktok who don't see eye to eye.
Google needs this information to personalize its services for us, and also to show us relevant advertisements, but there is no obligation for us to provide it.
All tracking services can be turned off, it simply means that the user experience will be cumbersome, because then we will have to watch advertisements and search results that do not match our preferences, and turn on the location button every time we want to navigate or order food.
I'm explaining this to my mom while she's trying to connect to some app without success.
"It's all the same, they want to take over our consciousness."
The last time we did this we turned off the tracking feature in chrome settings together and now, she's frustrated because it's not as convenient as it used to be.
so what are we doing?
In the Google Chrome settings, you can see exactly what types of information Google collects on you, delete it and stop the tracking at any moment - the price will be paid in a lesser user experience./Screenshot, Google Chrome
Let's talk about technophobia
Technophobia is an extreme avoidance of skillful use of technology and the acquisition of technical skills.
It is often attributed to anxiety about the high-tech world in general, and about the world of computers and computing in particular.
This is a psychological phenomenon that causes an excessive avoidance response that does not fit the situation, to objects and situations involving technology.
It is mainly characteristic of people who did not grow up with technology but may also affect young people of any age.
You must have encountered this phenomenon when you tried to teach someone older, perhaps a parent or a neighbor, to do a very unnatural action for them - for example, talking to a health insurance chat bot.
Every time the subject comes up, my mother repeats the same sentence: "Once you could call and someone would talk to you. Today, everything is robots without a soul."
"Mom, give it time, it's going to be much better soon," I tell her as someone who knows, but my logic and her beliefs are two roads that don't cross.
Considering the amount of confusing chatbots I repeatedly come across, that no one even bothered to check that they work properly, you really can't blame her for not believing me.
But this attitude that opposes everything innovative is a frustrating struggle that will never have an end.
So how do technophobes save passwords?
One of the things that technophobic people are most upset about is the issue of passwords.
On the one hand, they are paranoid about their information and don't trust anyone online.
On the other hand, they can't stand messing with passwords and two-step verification is their worst nightmare.
When they are required to create a password and remember it, they save a file with passwords on the computer or worse, repeat the same password on all sites.
Both of these habits are so dangerous that it's really a good thing those technophobes don't volunteer information online so easily.
In fact, the chance of your computer being hacked is much higher than the chance of someone breaking into Google's password system, which sits behind one of the world's most advanced firewalls.
"Just save passwords on Google," I tell her, but for her there is nothing simple about what I said.
For this she will have to give up her principles, stop opposing progress, put her trust in Google.
It won't happen so soon.
She trusts only in God and in many ways she is right.
But to Google's credit, at least it has known and clear rules, unlike God who always surprises.
Tracking is not always bad: saving passwords in Google Chrome adds them to a database that is constantly checked and if a certain service is hacked, Google will make sure to notify you/screenshot, Google Chrome
At stake: privacy or usefulness?
Along with all the paranoid arguments and as mentioned very justified, there is a practice that says to keep the flow.
Not letting trivial things ruin my day.
It's not that I want to be tracked, but it's much more convenient for me to log in with Google than to keep a million passwords, and if there are passwords, then I'd rather have Google keep them than me.
At least with him everything is orderly and organized and I still haven't overcome my attention disorders.
Eventually, we will be on the radar whether we like it or not.
We really have no way of avoiding this, because even basic services such as the HMO and National Insurance today require a login and password.
The question is not whether to volunteer information but to whom, or rather, whom do we as consumers trust enough so that we can live with ourselves in peace and not feel that we have sold our souls to the devil?
To sum up the matter,
I believe that the day is near when companies like Google will let consumers choose whether to pay for services with money or information.
But until that happens, if you also have technophobes in the family, and you want to make their lives easier so that they don't attack you every time they have a password, here's what they need to know:
Saving passwords on a dedicated server will always be safer than a file on your computer - especially if it's a well-known company like Google.
Apple and Microsoft also fall into this definition.
Connecting using Google (or Facebook or Apple for that matter) will always be faster and easier than entering a username and password, especially if you don't remember them.
Tracking services are not a godsend.
You can cancel them and still enjoy a certain level of service (although not the highest level).
Those who choose to cancel tracking services should not be surprised that things do not work for them.
More on the same topic:
Google
Passwords
Data Security
Literacy
digital
Two-step verification
Tracking