This is a big story. In a way the idea of a antivirus company or a browser company actively gathering user data for marketing purposes just feels so foreign, but still it is far too normal.
Most of the largest browser companies are also ad companies.
My great grandfather was a composer in Iceland, Sigvaldi Kaldalóns. When I was a kid, that was what I wanted to do as well, but lack of talent was an issue. 😀
I wanted to share with you this music video with Víkingur Ólafsson. It is one of my great grandfathers songs. Pretty great scenery as well!
Question : Do you know how Norwegians fill out their tax returns? Answer : They don´t.
Then the survey: Does your country provide you with a pre-filled tax return for you to rectify and modify?
45% yes. 55% no.
This was, however, not the full story. There was a lot of people that then gave me more details, which was very interesting.
Countries that have a pre-filled tax return, based on replies:
- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Greece, UK, Romania, Portugal, Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa
Countries that do not have a pre-filled tax return:
- USA - Canada
People that have pre-filled tax returns seem really happy about it! What a big surprise...😀
People that have to do the hard work to fill out their tax return seem generally unhappy about it and wish they did not have to and it was automatic.
Some of those having to fill out their tax returns made the case that the automatic system is easy in a small country, but it seems like it is possible in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain and India and I think most would agree that those are large countries with plenty of complexities to deal with!
Lets hope things improve soon in the US and Canada!
@joeblubaugh , the US government knows just as much or even more. The only difference is whether the government tells you what it knows, so you can save time. That is all.
Instead you fill in any blanks as needed, but for most there are no blanks to fill in. You select to do the standard deductions instead of itemized, and you are done.
Question : Do you know how Norwegians fill out their tax returns? Answer : They don´t.
This is an oversimplification, but years ago Norwegians started to get pre-filled tax returns in the mail. Later they stopped getting them, but instead had to do an OK online. Now even that is not needed. No comment means it is is OK. You can rectify and modify details online, if needed.
The reality is that the government already had most of the data needed for most individuals. Your salary is reported by the company you work for. Your bank details, including anything you have in your accounts, any loans, stocks, bonds, etc., is reported as well. Your kids are known as well. There might be details to add, but most is known. Why waste people´s time filling out details that are already known and risk people making mistakes?
We believe in choice. Thus we are thrilled that there will be a browser choice screen on mobile phones in Europe. It is better when there is choice and competition and luckily there is a fair amount of browsers to choose from at this time.
Microsoft is trying to convince you that you should not try other browsers, that Edge is good enough. They are sadly not the only ones.
IMHO all major OS should provide a browser choice. Clearly Windows should and IMHO MacOS should as well and all iOS based devices, not just phones.
The DMA is having an impact and the choice screen is coming! Soon you will be asked to select your browser of choice, when setting up a new phone or updating it. This only applies in the EU and Europe, at this time.
A former goal keeper of my home team in Iceland, Grótta, has joined Brentford in the English Premier League.
It shows the progress that Grótta has been making, but also just how good Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson is in goal. He is just 22 and last year he was chosen as the best goal keeper in Sweden!
Soon it will be possible to run browsers on iOS that are not using Webkit. That is a big deal.
Apple is trying to frame it as dangerous.
Sadly it will only possible to run those browsers in the EU and browser makers need then to provide different browsers in the EU and outside. This requires more resources, which makes it harder for smaller developers.
Apple also wants developers to pay for the right to provide downloads from other app stores, which now become possible in the EU, and directly.
IMHO every user on an iPhone, as well as on any other device, should be allowed to run the browser of their choice!
So as part of the Reddit AMA, I got questions about which browser I would use if I did not use @Vivaldi. The point is that the reason for building Vivaldi in the first place, after already having built Opera, was that there was no browser like Vivaldi out there!
What other browsers have: - Single key keyboard shortcuts. - Mouse gestures. - Work spaces, tab stacks and tab tiles. - Web panels. - Quick commands. - Custom themes, including custom buttons. - Mail client, calendar and feed reader.
This is just to name a few items and for me those things are not optional.
Similarly I would not like to use a browser that does user profiling, including locally, and crypto. I would also not like to use a browser from a company that is also an ad company. These things are for me not negotiable.
I have been working with Web technologies since 1992. I have co-founded two browser companies, Opera Software and Vivaldi Technologies. I was CEO at Opera and I am CEO at Vivaldi.I am a strong proponent of open standards. I believe in building feature rich products that can be adapted to the needs of users without collecting information about usage. I believe no company has the right to profile their users.