Hacker News Reader

> They use their products to steal your information.

They aren’t stealing from me. I get to watch YouTube videos, store my files in Drive, and use gmail — all things that I like quite a lot. Yes there are alternatives to gmail and Drive, none of which are good enough for the hassle of switching. There is no YouTube alternative.

View on HN

A lot of people aren't aware of the data collection. In those cases I think calling it stealing is fair.

Why exactly? You’re not getting a better deal on milk if you understand the economics and logistics of the dairy industry.

Sure but people understand the basic transaction (give money -> get milk). If on the other hand they gave you free milk but tracked your milk usage without telling you, I'd argue that's a non-consensual transaction and falls under stealing (roughly).

What about if someone gives you a free lunch but doesn’t tell you that they’re going to film you eating? Is that stealing?

> What about if someone gives you a free lunch but doesn’t tell you that they’re going to film you eating? Is that stealing?

More sinister than actually, "film you taking a shit and then sell it". As perverse as it sounds, but you won't even know it.

> film you taking a shit and then sell it

I actually got rejected from YC Summer 2019 with this idea. Demo Day would’ve been one to remember.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com