Every time I update Google Photos on Android, it asks me "Photos backup is turned off! Turn it on? [so you use up your 15 GB included storage and buy more for a subscription fee?]".

Every time I open Google Photos, it does this. Every single time. It's insanely hostile.

My iPhone has a permanent red badge counter trying to get me to upgrade to iCloud. I've moved the settings icon so I don't see it normally, but it is nagging. There's other dark patterns used by Apple to try and increase their income by "asking" me to pay more.

What's even worse is that every time you sign into a google account without a phone number or home address associated with it, it screams at you to add them for sECurItY

Every time you update? How about Maps asking if you want to use advanced location every time you open it?

Yeah, if YouTube Shorts or Games are any indication, it'll be back soon! The AI Mode in Google Search comes up nearly every time I use it no matter how many times I hit "No"

YouTube shorts is an abomination... I'm so sick of the movie clips everywhere... Not to mention the AI slop in the general YouTube results... I like historical content, but the garbage content just pisses me off to no end.

Depends; in the EU and selected countries that setting was always opt-in (i.e. it was never enabled for you). Elsewhere I guess the user has to periodically check their settings, or privacy policies, etc, which in practice sounds impossible.

> Important: By default, smart feature settings are off if you live in: The European Economic Area, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom

(same source as in grandparent comment).

Then no, I can't use a google product without being harassed, unless I live in a limited selection of blessed countries.

Note that these countries blessed themselves via legal steps (EU ones at least) and are not blessed by Google.

welcome to not being a passport bro for a change. Thats how mostbof the world feels when another cool thing happens, but the other way around

guess we'll see in a month