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Annoying news and ads from Google app

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  Annoying news and ads from Google app Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> - 2024-12-08 07:16 -0800
    Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> - 2024-12-08 07:35 -0800
      Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-08 18:09 +0000
        Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-12-08 22:27 +0100
          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-09 00:12 +0000
            Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-09 09:02 +0000
              Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-09 22:21 +0000
            Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-12-09 14:56 +0100
              Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-09 14:37 +0000
                Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-09 15:32 +0000
                  Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-09 15:53 +0000
                    Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-09 17:24 +0000
                      Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-09 22:22 +0000
                        Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-09 22:42 +0000
                          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-09 23:06 +0000
                            Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2024-12-10 05:17 +0200
                          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-09 16:55 -0700
                        Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-09 16:55 -0700
                          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-10 05:37 +0000
                            Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-09 23:46 -0700
                              Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-12-10 13:08 +0100
                                Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-10 08:51 -0700
                              Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-11 01:47 +0000
                      Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2024-12-10 13:37 +0000
                        Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2024-12-10 08:51 -0700
                Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-12-09 16:50 +0100
      Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Nil <rednoise9@rednoise9.invalid> - 2024-12-08 13:26 -0500
        Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-08 18:54 +0000
          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Nil <rednoise9@rednoise9.invalid> - 2024-12-08 19:27 -0500
            Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-12-09 09:18 +0000
          Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Andrew <andys@nospam.com> - 2024-12-09 02:31 +0000
      Re: Annoying news and ads from Google app Jörg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.net> - 2024-12-08 22:37 +0100

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#145136

On 2024-12-10 07:46, AJL wrote:
> I'm on plain old Amazon. I didn't even know that Amazon Vine existed. I
> had to Google it.

You just have to type the url. I tried on my local one: 
https://www.amazon.es/vine

It asked for my login, then it explained what it is and that you enter 
by invitation.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#145146

On 12/10/2024 5:08 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2024-12-10 07:46, AJL wrote:
>> I'm on plain old Amazon. I didn't even know that Amazon Vine
>> existed. I had to Google it.
>
> You just have to type the url. I tried on my local one:
> https://www.amazon.es/vine
>
> It asked for my login, then it explained what it is and that you
> enter by invitation.

Thanks. Andrew's link in his last post <https://amazon.com/vine/about>
pretty well explained it for me. Probably good cause your link gave me a
Spanish page and besides English the only other language I speak is Pig
Latin. Do they have Pig Latin in Spain? I used to have fun with it as a
kid but now my great-grandkids look at me like I'm nuts when I try to
get them to learn to converse in it...  :-/

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#145150

AJL wrote on Mon, 9 Dec 2024 23:46:30 -0700 :

>>> How many reviews do you do a month?
> 
>> I order three items a day, every day, from Amazon Vine, which is
>> about 90 reviews per month. Amazon has rated me as one of their best
>> reviewers.
> 
> Do you get to choose what stuff you review or does Amazon? If you order
> it, it sounds like you do.

I can tell from that question that you didn't click on any of the links.
Suffice to say, of course YOU choose the stuff to receive for free.

You don't even have to review any of the items that you chose.
But they kick you off the program after 6 months if you don't.

This is the first question everyone asks about it & it's all here:
 <https://amazon.com/vine/about>

>> But remember, this is all free stuff (up to $100 each) that NEEDS
>> reviews. They don't give you free stuff that doesn't need a review.
> 
> But that sounds like Amazon decides what to send you?

Again, you didn't click on any of the links so I'm explaining extremely
basic stuff that is already explained in all the links you didn't read.

Suffice to say that you get offered a different batch of over one hundred
thousand Amazon items (EVERY ONE is also on Amazon!) sellers want reviewed.

So what's offered is whatever some seller thinks needs more reviews.
Amazon doesn't choose what to offer. The sellers do. 

There are a hundred thousand items every day that you can get for free.

The sellers give the product to Amazon and the sellers pay for shipping.
Amazon just facilitates the sellers because it's good business for them.

>> Funny thing about Amazon Vine is you can't return anything. It's
>> yours. <https://amazon.com/vine/about>
> 
> What do you do with the stuff you don't need? Yard sale?

Amazon says you have to keep it for six months and then you can do whatever
you want with it. In truth, your friends & family get lots of free stuff.

You get things you need for yourself, like computers and generators and
solar panels and outdoor cameras and pool equipment and yard tools, etc.

My wife gets jewelry & pots and pans and dishes and rugs and clothes.
My male children get camping gear and jeans and hats and backpacks.
My female children get purses and watches and shoes and decorations.
My grandkids get baby clothes and basinets and cribs and diapers.

There's something for everyone.

>>> Are you on Amazon (amazon.com) or Amazon Vine (amazon.com/vine)?
> 
> I'm on plain old Amazon. 
> I didn't even know that Amazon Vine existed. '
> I had to Google it.

Yup. I never heard of it until one day Amazon wrote to me inviting me.

>> Here's more information about getting 3 items a day for free from
>> Amazon.
> 
> Dunno where I'd put all that extra stuff. I've been retired 32 years now
> and would hate going back to work.

The kind of stuff I get is bluetooth receivers and wireless keyboards and
wireless mice and USB bricks and USB cables and cases for tablets and
phones and screen coverings and phone tripods and selfie sticks, etc.

My wife gets stuff for the kitchen and home such as an induction cooker, an
air fryer, an induction pot set, special utensils such as garlic peelers,
nutmilk makers, blenders, nut cracking tools, spatulas, wooden bowls, etc.

>> Each item can be up to $100 so that's up to $300 per day if you max
>> out. In one year, for example, that's $300x365 = about a
>> hundred-thousand bucks!
>> <https://duckduckgo.com/&q=what+is+amazon+vine>
> 
> Sounds lucrative. Also sounds like a lot of work.

You can do it for six months with ZERO work as you are never committed to
doing a review. You only do the review as a public service to mankind.

That's the kind of kind-hearted people they select (they're not stupid).

Somewhere I saw a statistic that they only invite one out of every hundred
thousand people so they *must* have some sort of algorithm for that since
they're risking up to a hundred thousand dollars a year.

Actually, if you do the math, they only risk half that $100K because at the
half-year mark, they evaluate if you should still be kept in the program.

> 
>> I'm only Silver but if I get gold, then it's 8 items a day of any
>> price. Completely free of initial cost, sales tax, and shipping.
> 
> Is it even possible use 8 items long enough to review them each day?
> Perhaps I'm missing something...

The average is 22 days that people hold onto the items before reviewing
them, but you can hold onto it for six months before reviewing them.

Remember, you do NOT have to review them. There is no contract for that.
If you review fewer than 90% of them though, you don't get any more.

So you can do it for six months and be happy and never be invited back.
Then you're no worse for the wear (& you have up to $50K of free stuff).

Remember, Amazon isn't stupid. They only invite people *they* picked.
If a normal person goes to amazon.com/vine they will not see what I do.

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#145137

AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:
[...]
> Out of curiosity I installed the Google app on my Fire 8+ tablet (Android
>  fork OS) and the Discovery search page looks pretty much the same as the
>  Chrome browser. Google claims to make the articles interesting to me by
>  monitoring my usage. Scary for the paranoid, huh.

  I had never used the 'Google' app, nor the 'Discover' part within
Chrome. This thread triggered me to try the 'Google' app and the funny
thing is that the kind of articles Google presents to me, seems to be
largely, but not solely, based of my activity on *Microsoft*'s *MSN* in
the *Edge* browser. So different company, different news platform and
different app/browser, but they seem to be 'linked' anyway. *Double*
scary for the paranoid! :-)

[...]

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#145145

On 12/10/2024 6:37 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote: [...]
>> Out of curiosity I installed the Google app on my Fire 8+ tablet
>> (Android fork OS) and the Discovery search page looks pretty much
>> the same as the Chrome browser. Google claims to make the articles
>> interesting to me by monitoring my usage. Scary for the paranoid,
>> huh.
>
> I had never used the 'Google' app, nor the 'Discover' part within
> Chrome. This thread triggered me to try the 'Google' app and the
> funny thing is that the kind of articles Google presents to me, seems
> to be largely, but not solely, based of my activity on *Microsoft*'s
> *MSN* in the *Edge* browser. So different company, different news
> platform and different app/browser, but they seem to be 'linked'
> anyway. *Double* scary for the paranoid! :-)

And I suspect things will only get worse (better?) with evolving AI...

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#145095

On 2024-12-09 15:37, Andy Burns wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
> 
>> I am talking of "Discover".
> 
> I don't have anything by that name ...

Try searching for it in the system setup.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#145074

On 08 Dec 2024, Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in
comp.mobile.android: 

> On Sun, 8 Dec 2024 07:16:45 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:
>> 
>> Pixel 8a, Android 15
>> 
>> More than once, I've swiped left or right on a screen and been
>> dumped into a page with the Google header and a bunch of ads and
>> clickbait news items, none of which I want. It appears to be the
>> Google app, not Chrome, though I'm not 100% sure of that. 
>> 
>> Is there some way to turn that off?
> 
> Sorry, I should have Googled (!) before posting. It's called 
> Discover, and it can be turned off in the Google app's own
> Settings menu.
> 
> https://www.androidpolice.com/disable-google-discover-android/

Thank you! That has been annoying me for some time now. I've learned to 
mostly avoid triggering it but it still happens sometimes. I don't need 
or want it. Now gone!

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#145076

Nil wrote:

> That has been annoying me for some time now. I've learned to
> mostly avoid triggering it but it still happens sometimes.

If you don't like/want it, fair  enough.  But it's difficult to see why 
it's a mystery how it gets invoked ... just swipe left from the home screen.

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#145084

On 08 Dec 2024, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote in
comp.mobile.android: 

> Nil wrote:
> 
>> That has been annoying me for some time now. I've learned to
>> mostly avoid triggering it but it still happens sometimes.
> 
> If you don't like/want it, fair  enough.  But it's difficult to
> see why it's a mystery how it gets invoked ... just swipe left
> from the home screen. 

On my Pixel 6a you swipe from the bottom. It would often get triggered 
just by handling the phone or while doing something else in that area.

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#145090

Nil wrote:

> Andy Burns wrote:
> 
>> it's difficult to see why it's a mystery how it gets invoked ...
>> just swipe left from the home screen.
> 
> On my Pixel 6a you swipe from the bottom. It would often get triggered
> just by handling the phone or while doing something else in that area.

Swiping up from the bottom gives me the home screen

Swiping up from the bottom, but stopping short, gives me the app 
switcher/killer

Swiping up from slightly above the bottom gives me the app drawer

It's been like that on pixel3, pixel5a and pixel8a, maybe it varies 
depending whether you have gesture navigation enabled or the 3-button 
bar?  I have gestures ... I don't think I used gestures on the nexus5x

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#145085

Andy Burns wrote on Sun, 8 Dec 2024 18:54:25 +0000 :

> If you don't like/want it, fair  enough.  But it's difficult to see why 
> it's a mystery how it gets invoked ... just swipe left from the home screen.

I just tried swiping left from "my" home screen, and it just goes to
another home screen (in a circular fashion) so I think the launcher matters
(as likely does your settings for how you want the basic UI to work).

BTW, swiping right does the same thing - only in the other direction. :)

Swiping down brings up the tile menu and notifications.
Swiping up brings up an App Drawer app of some sort.

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#145078

On 08.12.24 16:35, Stan Brown wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Dec 2024 07:16:45 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:
>>
>> Pixel 8a, Android 15
>>
>> More than once, I've swiped left or right on a screen and been dumped 
>> into a page with the Google header and a bunch of ads and clickbait 
>> news items, none of which I want. It appears to be the Google app, 
>> not Chrome, though I'm not 100% sure of that. 
>>
>> Is there some way to turn that off?
> 
> Sorry, I should have Googled (!) before posting. It's called 
> Discover, and it can be turned off in the Google app's own Settings 
> menu.
> 
> https://www.androidpolice.com/disable-google-discover-android/

Thanks! One PITA less on my Pixel!


-- 
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

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