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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[–] bokherif 4 points 6 days 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] 4 points 6 days ago

Pixels are rapidly enshittifying

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 week ago (2 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 6 days 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 5 days ago

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

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

Gallery on GrapheneOS would never do this to you 🙃.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

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

[–] shertson 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I use the Fossify Gallery app for just that reason.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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 1 week 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 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah good point.

Yeah good point.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week 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?

[–] ohwhatfollyisman 4 points 1 week 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.

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

What's a dark pattern in this context?

[–] CrayonRosary 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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 1 week 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 1 week 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 1 week ago

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

This UI design and behavior is clearly predatory.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

@clergyman @googlepixel thank you for the suggestion, just installed

Now I have a competition between Fossify and Aves happening :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

@krupo @googlepixel I have Aves and https://ente.io which is open source Google Photos replacement. *(I'm currently in the process of moving from Google Photos to Ente) *

[–] Lordran_Hollow 1 points 1 week 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] 1 points 6 days 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 1 week ago (1 children)

What is quota in this context?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The free storage limit in Google Drive

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Isn't that the inverse of a quota?

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

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