goose's recent activity

  1. Fighting with Fitbit's tech support

    ~tech Ask (advice)
    I doubt I'll find any new ideas, but maybe someone here has one. I'm running out of places to turn, with no solution. I have been in a fight with Fitbit support for a few weeks now over their push...

    I doubt I'll find any new ideas, but maybe someone here has one. I'm running out of places to turn, with no solution.

    I have been in a fight with Fitbit support for a few weeks now over their push to migrate everyone to a Google-linked Fitbit account. I'm pretty sure what I've found is a rare edge case of a bug, or rather, an unaccounted for set of conditions when trying to migrate.

    A long time ago, 2017 I think, I created a Google-linked Fitbit Account (via oauth, "Login with Google"). I used it briefly and then stopped, and completely forgot about its existence.

    In 2022, I got a Pixel Watch and created a new/second Fitbit Account with a different email address, as I did not remember I had a Fitbit account already and I wanted to use a masked email address through my personal domain.

    With the push to migrate all Fitbit accounts to Google accounts, I decided to try to do so last month. When I attempted to migrate my second account to a Google account, I got an error that I already had an account registered under my Google account. So I logged in to that old 2017 Google account and initiated its deletion. It told it me would take 30 days to delete it, so I waited 31 days.

    31 days later, I tried to migrate my second account to a Google account. When I try to do so, I get an error:

    Can't use Fitbit with this Google Account
This could be because you're using a Google Workspace account, or because your account is supervised.

    My account is neither a child account, nor a Workspace account, it's a standard (adult) account I've had for something like 16 years.

    So I tried to see if my old Google account was perhaps not deleted after all. I tried to log in to my old account via oauth (Sign In > Continue with Google), and I get a different error:

    Sign in again to continue
Since you deleted Fitbit from your Google Account, you’ll need to sign in again as a new user.

    I suspect that what happens when I deleted my old/original Google account is that it wasn't actually deleted, but made inactive with some "deleted" flag, but the account hasn't been purged. As a result, I'm unable to migrate my new account to the same email address I used for my old Google account.

    Reaching out to Fitbit, they continually put the blame on Google for reporting my account as a workspace/supervised account, and the only solution they'll offer me is "You should create a new Google account". Google has also been unable to help, but that doesn't surprise me, as I don't think it's an issue on their end. Requests to Fitbit to escalate my case to a higher tier of support and/or someone from some type of database team have been stonewalled, and I think that Fitbit support has now just stopped responding to me entirely.

    Does anyone have any idea where I could turn?

    14 votes

  2. Comment on Marketing company claims that it actually is listening to your phone and smart speakers to target ads in ~tech

    goose
    Link Parent
    That would be a compelling argument, but I counter that Google has already shown their devices to rely on cloud computing, not on-device computing. There's been a few experiments that have...

    That would be a compelling argument, but I counter that Google has already shown their devices to rely on cloud computing, not on-device computing. There's been a few experiments that have verified this behavior. I remember reading one extensive write-up on Reddit a few years ago of a user who tested it very thoroughly and objectively, and found that the device was entirely dependent on cloud-computing of user input.

    Checking the DNS records, it seems that the request most frequently being made on my own idle speakers is to connectivitycheck.gstatic.com. There's an uptick in requests for play.googleapis.com when I interact with it, but not much otherwise. Also, when comparing the speaker in my office (which I rarely address, but do sit next to during the day) versus the one in the basement (very rarely used, I really just put it down there so I can should "Hey Google, add milk to my shopping list" when I pull the spare milk out of the basement fridge). Their 24 hour data usage is essentially identical, 16 kB vs 18 kB.

    I suppose I could install WireShark on my UDM-Pro and more invasively inspect the traffic to/from my smart speaker, but to be honest, I don't have the motivation. One of the best things I did for my privacy was switch to Firefox, started using Containers with containerise and Cookie-AutoDelete, and I found that my targeted advertising went waaaaaaaay down.

    14 votes

  3. Comment on New extensions you’ll love now available on Firefox for Android in ~tech

  4. Comment on Marketing company claims that it actually is listening to your phone and smart speakers to target ads in ~tech

    goose
    Link
    I know this has been talked about for years, but I'm skeptical to the opt-in requirements for it. I've got a few Google smart speakers, but I also have a pretty good router and network setup that...

    I know this has been talked about for years, but I'm skeptical to the opt-in requirements for it. I've got a few Google smart speakers, but I also have a pretty good router and network setup that allows me to see where/when my devices are interacting with. When looking at my smart speakers, their data use is extremely minimal when not in-use. The only DNS requests they make are connectivity checks, and they don't send/receive more than a few kB per hour when not being used. There are occasional larger data exchanges in the night, I assume updates, but I haven't taken the effort to correlate the times those data exchanges are happening with the DNS requests they make at those time periods. But overall, I've never seen any behavior that would make me suspicious that my devices are passively spying on me. I do, however, have infrequent issues with the smart speakers mistakenly understanding something for their "Hey Google" activation phrase, and then listening and/or responding inappropriately. But I would describe that as a separate issue from what the article writes about.

    23 votes

  5. Comment on Halo - Season 1 in ~tv

    goose
    Link
    I think I could have really liked this show, if they didn't name it "Halo". I appreciated the action scenes, and the use of classic sound bytes and effects, but that was largely it. Such a...

    I think I could have really liked this show, if they didn't name it "Halo". I appreciated the action scenes, and the use of classic sound bytes and effects, but that was largely it. Such a disservice to the games that played such an iconic role in my childhood.

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Do you have or know of fun domain names? Do you think it's worth having them? in ~tech

    goose
    Link Parent
    Nice! Who do you use for registrar? I just swapped to DirectNIC after my old one turned their prices way up. They're fine, don't love them, don't hate them. Always looking for better options, though.

    Nice! Who do you use for registrar? I just swapped to DirectNIC after my old one turned their prices way up. They're fine, don't love them, don't hate them. Always looking for better options, though.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Portal: Revolution | Trailer in ~games

    goose
    Link Parent
    Don't forget Portal Stories: Mel! While the writing of P1/P2 are near unbeatable, the fan made mod that is Mel has my favorite gameplay, incredible voice acting and music, and a very solid plot...

    Don't forget Portal Stories: Mel! While the writing of P1/P2 are near unbeatable, the fan made mod that is Mel has my favorite gameplay, incredible voice acting and music, and a very solid plot line. For these reasons, I favor it even slightly more than the originals. For the low low price of free.

    4 votes

  8. Comment on Do you have or know of fun domain names? Do you think it's worth having them? in ~tech

    goose
    Link Parent
    Heh, throwback for me, forgot I put that at the base domain. Almost all of my projects are at subdomains. Thanks for stopping by though!

    Heh, throwback for me, forgot I put that at the base domain. Almost all of my projects are at subdomains. Thanks for stopping by though!

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Do you have or know of fun domain names? Do you think it's worth having them? in ~tech

    goose
    Link
    My long time nickname is "goose", given to me by an old boss back in 2007. It caught on quickly and my friends started using it too, so I leaned into it. A few years ago I got goose.ws and I've...

    My long time nickname is "goose", given to me by an old boss back in 2007. It caught on quickly and my friends started using it too, so I leaned into it.

    A few years ago I got goose.ws and I've been happy with it. I wanted a short domain, and there were only a few two letters TLD's where "goose" was available.

    I would love to trade it out for goo.se but that'll never happen, someone else already has it, and domains that short are a rare commodity.

    7 votes

  10. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    goose
    Link
    It's not "real programming", but I've been working on polishing up a bash script that uses API calls and docker exec commands to Sonarr and Plex to update metadata for items in my library that are...

    It's not "real programming", but I've been working on polishing up a bash script that uses API calls and docker exec commands to Sonarr and Plex to update metadata for items in my library that are imported under "TBA" and don't have metadata at the time of import. So that's helpful (to me, anyways).

    9 votes

  11. Comment on Atlanta trip report - Thanks to everyone who gave advice in ~travel

    goose
    Link
    Local ATLien here! So sorry I missed your original post, but so glad you enjoyed your trip! This summer has been brutally hot, but if you're ever planning another trip, I can't recommend coming in...

    Local ATLien here! So sorry I missed your original post, but so glad you enjoyed your trip! This summer has been brutally hot, but if you're ever planning another trip, I can't recommend coming in the fall enough. It's the most beautiful time of the year when all the trees are changing. In any case, thanks for stopping by!

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Looking for recommendations on a portable, high performance laptop in ~comp

    goose
    Link Parent
    I've been very happy with my XPS 15 running on 4 years now. My wife's XPS 13 was DoA, but Dell overnighted a replacement and the replacement has been running great for 3 years now. Went with the...

    I've been very happy with my XPS 15 running on 4 years now. My wife's XPS 13 was DoA, but Dell overnighted a replacement and the replacement has been running great for 3 years now. Went with the XPS after it was recommended by a friend who has been doing DevOps for 15 years now, and wanted something that could dual boot *nix with decent driver support. I don't run Linux on my laptop, so can't speak to that, but I've been very happy with it.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What to do if I've lost my 2FA? in ~tildes

    goose
    Link
    Speaking entirely unofficially, as I am not Tildes staff/moderator/etc. But the way MFA is typically set up, it will be generally impossible to authenticate to a new session without it. That said,...

    Speaking entirely unofficially, as I am not Tildes staff/moderator/etc. But the way MFA is typically set up, it will be generally impossible to authenticate to a new session without it. That said, if you are already authenticated elsewhere, you may be able to get in to your account settings and disable MFA/re-enable MFA there. I'm not sure if it will ask for your MFA code to disable MFA.

    For what it's worth, there's a fair amount of "global"/"cloud" MFA applications that may help you avoid this in the future. I run all my MFA through my self hosted VaultWarden. On the one hand, that means my MFA codes are in the same place my passwords are, so if my password vault is exploited/opened, someone has access to both my passwords and my MFA codes. On the other hand, I see my personal risk for that situation as being very low, and it's very convenient to have my MFA available on all my devices. Just food for thought!

    // Edit: MFA is required to disable MFA, and/or to reset backup codes, so that's out. Perhaps someone from Tildes staff can come along and verify you another way. Best of luck!

    7 votes

  14. Comment on Loki | Season 2 trailer in ~tv

    goose
    Link
    Looking forward to the next season, I really enjoyed the entertainment value of the first one, more than much of the other stuff Marvel has put out recently.

    Looking forward to the next season, I really enjoyed the entertainment value of the first one, more than much of the other stuff Marvel has put out recently.

    14 votes

  16. Comment on What is everyone using for managing their contacts? in ~tech

    goose
    Link Parent
    I've been very pleased with their email service, particularly with the API integration allowing me to generate masked email addresses quickly and easily via BitWarden/VaultWarden.

    I've been very pleased with their email service, particularly with the API integration allowing me to generate masked email addresses quickly and easily via BitWarden/VaultWarden.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on How do you hang stuff—from the walls or ceilings—around your house when you're decorating? in ~life.home_improvement

    goose
    Link Parent
    Glad it can work for you! Enjoy!

    Glad it can work for you! Enjoy!

    1 vote

  18. Comment on First religious charter school in the US faces legal challenge in ~life

    goose
    Link
    With the fading of the line that separates church and state, and the conservative super majority in SCOTUS, I don't think it's an unreasonable fear that this is not overturned, and a scary...

    With the fading of the line that separates church and state, and the conservative super majority in SCOTUS, I don't think it's an unreasonable fear that this is not overturned, and a scary precedent is set wherein public funds are used to fund religious schools. I was listening to the NPR report on this story this morning, and I'm very hopeful that discrimination against those of other faiths successfully upholds the injunction. But I have no doubt this will end up in SCOTUS.

    11 votes

  19. Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (August 2023) in ~health.mental

    goose
    Link Parent
    Only half of my family is part of the cult of maga, but it's definitely strained things for me too. I can't pretend to know how much of an impact it's had on your life. But I can empathetically be...

    Only half of my family is part of the cult of maga, but it's definitely strained things for me too. I can't pretend to know how much of an impact it's had on your life. But I can empathetically be there with you, it can feel really shitty straining or losing friends and/or family in that way.

    Hang in there, though. The dark times give us a better appreciation for the bright times.

    10 votes

  20. Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (August 2023) in ~health.mental

    goose
    Link
    I'm okay. Feeling like I'm carrying a lot around, but holding it together. My wife is 16ish weeks pregnant, after we lost a pregnancy to acrania last winter. We're past that stage, this baby is...

    I'm okay. Feeling like I'm carrying a lot around, but holding it together. My wife is 16ish weeks pregnant, after we lost a pregnancy to acrania last winter. We're past that stage, this baby is safe from acrania and the OB doesn't see any concerns with this pregnancy. But my wife is still harboring a lot of angst and anxiety about it. So doing my best to support her through those feelings. Meanwhile I'm orienting to a new job that I'll begin working on my own in 5 weeks with an overnight shift. Trying to study for the MCAT I'm taking again late this month because I really half assed my studying the first time and got a very poor grade. I'm really putting an effort in this time, but if I can't do significantly better, I don't think I'm gonna keep trying to chase down this medical school career path I've spent the last 4 years working on. So, we'll see.

    How are you?

    13 votes