Are they admitting defeat, or are they simply removing another bit of their business that can’t be profitable without exploiting privacy?
To me it seems like google is forcing more and more on selling services rather than user information.
To me it seems like google is forcing more and more on selling services rather than user information.
#1, they're shutting it down to avoid a massive backlash after being hacked, because otherwise they might steal the crown of "most disreputable Big Tech co" from Facebook, which could begin to affect their stock price much like it has Facebook's.
#2, they are making inroads in every other part of their business sacrificing user privacy for nebulous features/benefits. See the recent debacle over Chrome auto-sign in. They basically tried to change the definition of Chrome from "it's a browser" to "it's Google" without anybody noticing.
Not particularly consistent with a company ostensibly moving away from a business model relying on targeted advertising.