Re: “Cloud” means “somebody else’s computer”
I'll bite.
"It's not 'spyware', they're completely open about their data gathering."
No, they're not. They're completely open that they collect data, but what and how and what you get a choice about, they're not clear at all. They've gone to lengths to hide their data collection and circumvent or ignore methods users use to block them, including methods Google put in. For example, the fact that they included switches for location tracking to imply you could turn it off but only respected them if you turned off all the ones in different places.
"And, obviously, there's nothing wrong with giving them the data that means you get a much better experience."
What better experience? I don't get more useful search results. I do get ads tailored to something they think I want, which just means that I get the same unwanted advert instead of different ones. The only thing I can claim to get is free or cheaper software, and I don't buy that in many cases, such as when they put Android on phones and get paid well by the manufacturer for their API licenses.
"What on earth is the downside?"
The downside is that I don't want them to have and sell it and I don't want others to. These are separate issues. If they have it, there is the possibility for them to get breached and then others have data I didn't want to have. Not giving it to them prevents that option. I also don't appreciate information about me being sold to other companies who might have other motives for having it, and none of which I agreed to. Even if they don't use it at all, I just don't want them to have all this information they don't need, for the same reason that you'd probably get a bit annoyed if I stood in front of your house filming it and taking pictures of you every time you left the front door. Sure, it's not doing any harm as far as you know, but it's creepy.
"It's a bit like complaining about your accountant wanting all the details of your earnings and expenses: they can't do the job you employ them for without it."
No, because as you pointed out, they need that to do what I asked them to do. Google does not need my browsing history to perform searches and show me ads, but nevertheless they will collect it if I let them. Since I don't even use Google search, they don't need my data for anything, but nevertheless they try to collect it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
