[vbcr]

> Stay evil.

Wow. Google went a full 180 from being a company that promoted itself by saying "Don't be evil" to something evil. Couldn't Google have made its billions still being not evil, without its privacy issues, without its obnoxious desire for tracking everything. Did they turn to this evil for the money or just because they can do it (or if not someone else will).

[romanovcode]

>Couldn't Google have made its billions still being not evil

No. Google is advertising company and advertisement companies need a lot of user data for targeted ads.

[tanqueray]

How does it benefit by keeping data forever though? Of what use is aged data?

[nzp]

Even if they weren't (mainly) an advertising company, even if they charged for all the free things, they'd still need all the data they suck in to provide services they provide.

[thrillgore]

Google is a company that uses algorithms to sell ad space to you. How is a company not evil when you are the product?