News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on EU age verification app to ban any Android system not licensed by Google. Parent comment

Re:EU age verification app to ban any Android system not lic... by somenameforme on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:10AM (#44707163)
People often say things like this, but it's not supported by polling (or my own extensive anecdotal evidence) whatsoever. [1] For instance 81% believe the risks outweigh the benefits of corporate data collection, and 66% believe the same of government data collection.

64% would be uncomfortable with companies sharing their personal data with outside groups doing research that "might help them improve society", which is great because it shows people understand that such phrases aren't just about sitting around and singing kumbaya.

[1] - https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-an...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:EU age verification app to ban any Android system not lic... by userbinator on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:20AM (#44707211)
What people say in polling is different from what they will actually do.

IMHO "would be uncomfortable" is not a strong opinion. "Oppose and actively seek to prevent" is a strong opinion. In my experience the majority just have a sense of learned helplessness.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:EU age verification app to ban any Android system not lic... by somenameforme on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:31AM (#44707249)
I agree in general, but the person I was responding to was implying the equal but opposite in that claiming he "often" faced the argument of "why are you railing against this, you have no privacy anymore anyway."

People are usually quite interested to learn about ways to can work against the dystopia to some degree. For a specific example I've converted numerous of people to Brave users just by demoing the ad-block and privacy features. People who have never used ad-block are often in borderline disbelief. Not once has a person ever been like 'oh why bother.' That is just literally unbelievable.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:EU age verification app to ban any Android system not lic... by Zak on Monday July 28, 2025 @06:43AM (#44709407)
I actually did have a relative refuse adblocking via DNS after I demonstrated it on their iPhone; it kept them from watching ads for free stuff in a game, and it's not easy to toggle on the iPhone.

That's one out of dozens though. Most people are thrilled by the improved experience.

[ Parent | on HN ]