this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
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Google Pixel

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Whoever decided to use dark patterns at @googlepixel to trick users into activating backup on photos while just trying to browse their Pixel just added to my chaos pile today.

Oh, yeah, I turned off the backup feature a year ago when I decided to go crazy with videos and one little push of the backup button would shut down my quota instantly.

Hand phone to child to view photos. Miss them hitting the backup all button. Quota destroyed.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (3 children)

As a selling point, photo backup used to not count against Pixel owners' Google account data storage maximum... then Google apparently sold enough Pixels to rescind the offer.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

The first few generations that were sold with the promise of unlimited photo backups still get that deal - if you find an old Pixel / Pixel XL and use it to upload your photos, they will not count towards your storage. A few more models then get unlimited uploads in "high" quality, and everything since I think Pixel 5 is completely out of luck.

[–] toynbee 1 points 2 months ago

What happens if I press alt while I read your name?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

@f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4 yup, I'm glad to have received a refurbished Pixel 5 after my first one started to having a swelling battery issue recently. Those models continue to enjoy effectively infinite storage.

Also have a newer model which lost that benefit, the source of today's kvetching.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Gallery on GrapheneOS would never do this to you 🙃.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I use GOS to disable network connection on Google Photos so it couldn't upload it even if I intentionally tried!

[–] shertson 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I use the Fossify Gallery app for just that reason.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

@shertson thank you for the suggestion I have just installed it and like what I see.

What a delightful bonus holiday present!

I like how it had its own recycle bin. Seems much snappier than Google Photos too!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

@googlepixel and sorry Lemmy account I know you're not actually Google but then, I didn't want to press backup either. I'm wildly mashing buttons today.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah good point.

Yeah good point.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

You got Mastodon in my Lemmy!

You got Lemmy in my Mastodon!

I still don't understand the logic behind tagging Lemmy communities in Mastodon posts. It never seems to be intentional when I see it. Should this be considered a Lemmy bug?

I'm also not sure if this comment will be visible on Mastodon. If so...uh, sorry?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Pixels are rapidly enshittifying

[–] ohwhatfollyisman 4 points 2 months ago

well obviously you were supposed to akready be on a paid tier with a higher range of storage capacity!

it's not a bug. it's a feature.

[–] bokherif 4 points 2 months ago

I really liked where Google was heading with the pixels as a smartphone, but then I keep remembering that Google is a shallow cunt hungry for data.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What's a dark pattern in this context?

[–] CrayonRosary 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Even if you've already said "no backups" before, they sometimes prompt you the instant you open Photos with this pop-in. It defaults to "yes" and provides one button. Very easy to hit the button thinking you're just dismissing something.

In the end, it's one tap to enable, but FOUR taps to say no. That's the real dark pattern here.

You have to toggle the switch off, then tap the button, and then it nags you again! You have to tap "no" again, and then you have to press the original "no" button a second time. (The toggle will stay off, though.)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Anytime I see a toggle, I disable it. Don't give a damn what it's for, if the phones asking it's probably trash

[–] warmaster 4 points 2 months ago

Do you want to avoid buying Google Photo Backup?

Toggle off

Thank you for your purchasing at our Darkest Pattern Store

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Wow. I never realized it was this bad for the backups.

This UI design and behavior is clearly predatory.

[–] Lordran_Hollow 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And when it happens, you can't remove the photos from your backup without deleting it from all of your devices, forcing you to keep the backup if it's a photo you like.

I'm not pleased. I did the same thing too not too long ago and now I'm sitting at 90% capacity

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

@Lordran_Hollow yeah, I had to do a google takeout to save a month to travel photos, that got accidentally removed from device, save those with multiple backups using my own personal backup protocol (as one should), then I was finally able to release the images from using up the free 15 GB allotment

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What is quota in this context?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The free storage limit in Google Drive

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Isn't that the inverse of a quota?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I'm not a native English speaker so 🤷‍♂️, but the term disk quota is commonly used to refer to this kind of limit.