Logging into Gmail on Chrome links my Google Account to the browser

[princevegeta89]

This annoying UX issue has been existing for a few years now; why does Google do nothing about it?

I know they're mining data from Google Accounts and get more value if I am logged in. However the UX aspect of it seems to be horrendous. Two scenarios that bother me:

- I link my account to Chrome. If I unlink my account, and simply login to Gmail in the future, it automatically links the account back to Chrome

- I link my account X to Chrome. Later, I sign into another account Y. When I am done with Y, I logout from my Gmail which has "Y", this automatically signs me out of X, and instantly unlinks X. Such an annoying UX.

Is it time to say goodbye to Chrome in favor of Brave, Vivaldi, etc. ?

[tedivm]

This isn't a bug, this is an explicit decision they made. It caused a bit of a stir at the time, but they went through with the change anyways.

Personally for me it was the last straw, and I've since moved to Firefox.

[PurpleFoxy]

Honestly for the average user it makes perfect sense. They said that they found the average user did not understand the difference between logging out of chrome and logging out of google so they would accidentally leave one logged in.

If you don’t trust google with your data then you shouldn’t use chrome at all.

[sk5t]

Firefox, with account containers.

[177tcca]

> This isn't a bug, this is an explicit decision they made. It caused a bit of a stir at the time, but they went through with the change anyways.

> Personally for me it was the last straw, and I've since moved to Firefox.

Your security currently suffers if you choose Firefox over a Chromium variant.

This feels as shitty for me to write as it will to read.

[Graffur]

I also moved away from Chrome around that time

[nwsm]

I find many many websites are broken on firefox.

[bokchoi]

I use Firefox containers with a work and a personal container. Each container can stay logged into separate google accounts, github accounts, etc. and keep them separated. It works pretty well.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account...

[abstract_put]

I started using this, but my impression of the usability is poor. E.g. I use GitHub both personally and for work, on the one hand containers are awesome because it handles the "staying logged in" really well, but on the other hand opening tabs and links is a nightmare that ends up with me duplicating every tab in the right container. I'd love it if I could say "this window is my work window, all tabs should open in work".

Have you found any way to deal with that?

[MarkSweep]

Does anyone know if the privacy.firstparty.isolate setting is any less effective than containers? It certainly is easier to use, since you don’t have to make choices about what goes in each container.

[princevegeta89]

This is great. Is there any other browser that supports this sort of isolation as well? Not saying I can't use Firefox, but just wanted to know!

[quesera]

"Doctor, it hurts when I do this!"

https://www.rogerebert.com/features/henny-youngman-doctor-it...

In all seriousness, I recommend a browser that takes privacy seriously. It's a spectrum -- but for me, Firefox is the right answer.

Compartmentalization via containers and/or profiles (and content filtering with uBlock Origin) is the only way to browse the modern web.

[princevegeta89]

Any idea about brave/vivaldi?

[Wowfunhappy]

To make Chrome stop doing this, go to "Settings" > "Sync & Google Services", then switch off "Allow Chrome Sign-In".

[beervirus]

Or delete chrome and install Firefox.

[ecf]

There is a non-zero chance that out there somewhere is a Google team using the number of times someone clicked that setting off as a drinking game.

[ggm]

Google Chrome supports "people" as an identity, a set of discrete logged in or not logged in runtime instances. I run three all the time: me@gmail, me@personaldomain and me@work.

The cost is pane switching. The upside is, having chrome logged in means I get persisting clean history when I want it.

[princevegeta89]

Not sure I follow fully. I agree with the clean history but what if, as a user, I have multiple Google accounts and I simply login to my other accounts from time to time to check on things? Google "adds" that other account, and the process of removing it is really confusing. I don't recall doing it successfully without logging out first.

This seems to be a very common use case among my friends as well - they all have at least 3 Google accounts out of which they only use one account for chrome linking.

[Wolfenstein98k]

This is exactly what I would expect to happen - and if you imagine being a typical user, what they would expect too.

I used incognito windows to log into Google services back when I used Chrome.

Now I use Brave, and it has a feature that prevents logging in browser-wide just because you signed in to a given Google service, IIRC.

(I still use incognito though, mostly out of habit and an obsessive desire to manage my "history" - I do all fresh searches and follow all links through incognito and only move things into the normal window when I want it to be in my history / findable later)

[geofft]

Do you remember the class-action lawsuit recently where people claimed that Google still tracks you in incognito mode - meaning that Chrome's incognito mode worked exactly as you or I would expect, but if you happen to visit sites with Google Analytics or Google Ads in a single incognito session, those products will leave cookies in that session exactly as you or I would expect?

The average person does not draw a meaningful distinction between a Google login button in the browser and a Google login button on a website. The least confusing UX actually is to avoid the situation where you log into your Google account for e.g. Gmail and then Chrome says "You're logged out."

As others have mentioned, Firefox container tabs are fantastic for solving this (I have a separate "Google" tab, so my normal browsing remains logged out), and I think those of us who care about these things owe it to the world to use Firefox.

[just_steve_h]

"Why hasn't Google 'fixed' this 'bug' that gives them access to so much more of my valuable data?"

[princevegeta89]

I'm already logged in through one account, not sure if there is any value in tracking other accounts there are used so rarely anyway.

[nashashmi]

The time to abandon chrome was when they took steps to hurt ublock.

This is a step (of transparency) the browser takes to reflect a google login happening. On any website. Including gmail. Including stackoverflow. It doesn’t transmit browser data.

Next step once people are used to this is to upload browser data. With excuses like that is what the user understands already.

[millstone]

You should consider leaving Gmail instead. I have been migrated most of my stuff away from Gmail to Fastmail. What I like about Fastmail is that its custom domain and IMAP support is first-class instead of an afterthought, it doesn't mine my email for purchases/trips/other, its web UI really is better, and I don't worry about my account being cancelled with no recourse. (No association, just a happily paying customer).

[solution-finder]

Surprised no one mentioned Microsoft’s new Edge browser. It’s based on Chromium engine but without a lot of those recently annoying features of Chrome

[MeinBlutIstBlau]

It's a good browser that's for sure. But the lack of google integration the way chrome does it kinda kills it for me. Might as well just use chrome.

[zelon88]

This has been a feature ever since 69 I believe. I also believe that 71 introduced a setting to disable.

That's when I switched most of my devices to Firefox.

[stephc_int13]

I stopped using Chrome a while ago precisely because I was bothered with this "feature".

In a more general way, I don't think that a company should be allowed to own such a large part of the internet (Android + Google + Youtube + Gmail + Maps + Chrome etc.) that is waaay too much.

[calvinmorrison]

Remember when microsoft had antitrust suits for the mere bundling of explorer? And how how much less nefarious that was!

[wlesieutre]

> Is it time to say goodbye to Chrome in favor of [other frontends for Blink where you can keep helping Google shore up their ability railroad the web standards process]?

For real, how is Firefox not on the list of browser options?

[2Gkashmiri]

look. I have been using an internet browser since 2005. Each an every day. Then since 2008, i have used an iphone and for the past 4 years used an android because i couldnt afford apple. Never in these years i have had the desire to "keep my bookmarks in sync". Absolutely never. I just don't get the appeal of the "sync" features. I remember apple introducing it long time ago with "your open tabs are available everywhere" and i was like "why would i even want that".

Same for passwords. i have been using a keepass file to keep everything in one place and its not like i have to change every password every day that it needs to be in sync 24x7.

Just so you know, i spend almost 90 hours a week infront of my desktop/laptop/phone so i use a browser a lot, just not "connected" features.

I personally see this as a solution to a problem that doesnt exist. Look, why should a person who has only one phone need a syncing tool? to sync to what? I have my phone which is using firefox focus so that is that but i also have regular firefox but it is just another dumb browser. I use kdeconnect which gets me everything i need.

I last time asked why don't these newfang browser makes not adopt firefox as their codebase instead of chrome and the general consensus was "yada yada yada its too difficult, oh chrome so fun and easy" and then you have yesterdays' brave tor dns leak news which tells me exactly why the tor project chose firefox instead of "chromium".

[throw_away892]

Just because you (unique use case) don't see the problem doesn't mean it does not exist (for the common average user). The whole browser "sync" you get with Chrome is much more than keeping your bookmarks. It is a feature that now includes Google's ecosystem and for its users, the majority of people, it allows them to pick up where they left from. A major advantage in user experience.

Firefox has a long way to catch up to the polish & convenience of Chromium-based browsers. This is just a sad fact.

As for Brave, I won't give divulge too much to the recent tor dns leak news. Anyone knowledgeable enough to be using Tor knows the dangers of using a different browser from Tor and it's consequences.

[sarcasmatwork]

Try the Brave browser

[vehemenz]

There are people out there that only have one Google account and don't care too much about data collection, but for the rest of us, there is no reason that bookmarks should be tied to Gmail, Google Analytics, and YouTube.

This, and the lack of temporary container browsing makes Chrome a pretty tough sell for power users.

> Is it time to say goodbye to Chrome in favor of Brave, Vivaldi, etc. ?

Yes.

[MeinBlutIstBlau]

I gave up. I really did try. I did firefox. I did containers. I had no script. I had adblock. You name it.

My browsing experience and pleasure of using the internet significantly improved because I didn't need to screw around with some setting somewhere to the site to work. You know what? They won. There is absolutely nothing we can do about it.

I really wish we could but i just can't stand having to increase the maintenance of my life just because I I'm afraid me, among the myriad of billions whom do the same, is somehow special to being tracked.

[MilnerRoute]

I've been using a separate browser for sites that I log into -- like Gmail, Twitter, etc.

It's not foolproof, but it separates at least some of my identity from my browsing history.

[perryizgr8]

I have up on chrome and now use edge. It works on all os and doesn't contain Google tracking.

[pid_0]

If you care about your privacy, why are you using google products?