Saw this today and now I’m reconsidering if Boost is right for me. I’m really hoping this is shitty boiler plate that was accidentally copied and over looked because that is some bullshit to say “unless we decide we want to use your personal data for whatever we want”.
I know “legitimate interest” is a phrase from the cookies law but there is no legitimate interest justification for this. My data is my data and I decide who has a legitimate interest in it so advertisers can fuck off, as can Boost if this the direction it’s going.
Edit to say this blew up. I didn’t realise I was kicking as big a hornet’s nest and haven’t read all the comments yet.
To be clear, what I don’t like about this and other provisions in the terms is the language and implications around data use. I’ve no problem with ads being shown - I want developers to get paid for the work they do and that makes it possible for users to have “free” access to software if they can’t afford to purchase.
I also want to add the response from Boost’s dev below to make sure it’s visible. You’ll see that it is boilerplate but required by Google and was present in Boost for reddit. I just hadn’t seen it because I purchased it immediately based on a recommendation. It doesn’t make me happy about it but does remove some doubts I was having about the direction Boost is heading.
I will be purchasing the app to support the dev because I do like Boost but I understand not everyone can afford everything so you’ll see some other suggestions in the comments below that don’t have any ads if you’re not happy with the free version and ads with their associated loss of data privacy.
Dev here.
The dialog and its content is not created by me, it is a standard solution from Google to comply with GDPR and other laws. More info here: https://support.google.com/admob/answer/10114014?hl=en
The consent dialog is also required by Google AdMob to show ads, and it is shown when the ad network is initialized.
When the app launches, first it checks for the remove ads purchase, and if it is not present, it will initialize the ads sdk. The ad network is not initialized if the remove ads purchase is detected.
Boost for Reddit was using the very same ad networks and consent dialog.
It’s honestly a huge turn off to Lemmy writ large. Look at what happened when Dawson released Sync.
A few weeks ago someone posted to c/techsupport with an issue with their Office install. Every. Single. Comment. was "uSe LiBrEoFfIcE” or something to that effect, some going as far as to insult the OP for asking a tech support question in the tech support forum, because MiCrOsOfT bAaAaAd.
I was the only one to offer a real solution. If I were that OP, I wouldn’t come back to Lemmy.
Damn, that’s really frustrating, and literally doesn’t help one bit. Even if OP wanted to switch.
I use LibreOffice because I keep spreadsheets of my vehicle kilometres and whatnot, but my girlfriend, who works in a professional setting, would never be able to use anything other than Microsoft Office. The compatibility, features, etc. make nothing else a viable alternative, unless you’re keeping stupid at home spreadsheets like I am.
Meanwhile I work for a HUGE fortune 500 company that uses libreoffice on work laptops.
So weird that there’s so many down votes for this comment.
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You’re assuming a negative connotation without any proof of such.
Not everything said is always a virtue signal. Sometimes someone just truly believe in what they’re saying and they know it from their own life experiences and perspective.
As far as the subject goes, I’m just repeating myself at this point, but …
I’ve seen it done before.
Usually how it’s done is that you install LibreOffice in parallel to Microsoft Office, and then you transition people over, over time.
Not that hard to do.
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If the product you’re using is not working, and you ask others for advice about that product, them telling you that there’s another product that’s a much better fit for you is a valid piece of advice, it is helpful.
It’s just not advice that you want to hear, because it then validates that you made a wrong decision purchasing the old product, and humans are not good at admitting fault.
Again, you are assuming with facts not in evidence, and that is wrong, and not something you would want somebody to do to you.
It is not virtue signaling to believe in open source products and all the benefits that come with them, and wanting to share that belief with others, especially when you see them having issues with their closed source products. It’s just someone informing/advising based on their own perspective.
Y’know what, you’re right. I’m going to delete my old comments. I think I was just having an off day and something about that post just set me off.
Thanks friend.
I wasn’t virtue signaling at all you moron, I was commenting on a fortune 500 company being such cheap penny pinchers they would rather use an inferior product. I would much prefer they use office.
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That’s because context matters, maybe read the comment I replied to. I called you a moron because you attacked my comment without any merit or proof of my position and accused me of shilling for freeware.
I’m sorry, I was in the wrong. Idk where my head was at yesterday, but I’ve deleted my prior comments. Happy Lemmy-ing.
Because its most likely a lie since most companies on the fortune 500 list are older then libreoffice itself. No company that size could change its entire office suite without essentially stopping all office work for a few months.
I’ve seen it done before.
Usually how it’s done is that you install LibreOffice in parallel to Microsoft Office, and then you transition people over, over time.
Not that hard to do.
My company is currently #79 on the list and I can screen my work laptop right now if you like. They did it because a Libreoffice license is $50 per computer while office is $300+.
Have they done that mandatory for all users without exception?
No employees in accounting, finance, sales still using Excel?
I have no clue as I don’t work in those departments. But it sure seems silly to use Office in one department and Libre in others. I just know IT said it was done as a cost cutting measure and they figured since both software suites are technically compatible as long as you save all your files in office format it should be fine. (It’s not)
In that case you have no clue just how absurdly versatile Excel is.
You only want to make some tables and perform some basic operations once a day then sure, any alternative would work. But there are some things that can be done only via Excel.
Why would you need to license something that is free and open source in the first place?
Libreoffice is only free for home use, they charge license fees for business use.
It’s not true though? .What’s your source?
Because it’s free, not gratis. It still costs money to buy a license. But once you do, it’s free software.
According to this you do not need to buy licenses of any kind to use LibreOffice in a business.
Sure you do.
#79 on the list, would you like to see my installed software on my company laptop? They are cheap bastards, not sure why since they make a ton of money by gouging customers on the regular.
LibreOffice is great for random at home spreadsheets, but no fortune 500 company is using it. Fortune 500 companies require perfect compatibility with all of the other people they work with and for, you know, the reason they achieved the fortune 500 status.
Not to mention when you’re a large company, you’re using Microsoft Volume Licensing, which dramatically reduces the cost.
I just can’t believe the fortune 500 company you work for is using libre office.
Well believe it, I’ve been complaining about how crap it is for business use for years but they don’t care since they are saving a ton of money on licensing fees.
We’re gonna start banning these gatekeepers. First from communities they don’t behave in and if they keep it up they get a nice permaban.
Glad to hear, thank you for this!