> "Personally, I like this feature because some of my friends are fiercely anti-Google and this still allows me to share photos with them seamlessly."
I am fiercely anti-Google and I wouldn't touch a Google link for any reason, even if a friend sent it. If it's so important you need me to see it right away, send it via Telegram or MMS.
That said, I don't think this is malicious on Google's part, it's just lazy. Allowing sharing of private content is difficult to get right, but if Dropbox can do it I know Google can. Hell, they are smart enough to do it better, which is why this screams laziness or just a plain "we don't care" attitude.
First, either is more secure than clicking a random HTTP link from Google.
Second, the author was speaking of sharing a random photo with a friend, not national security secrets. I don't want Google seeing what I see, and using a third party messenger or a carrier service like MMS accomplishes this. If I need it to be encrypted, I'll use an encrypted service, but I wasn't talking about that and you're moving the goalposts to make what point exactly?
I am fiercely anti-Google and I wouldn't touch a Google link for any reason, even if a friend sent it. If it's so important you need me to see it right away, send it via Telegram or MMS.
That said, I don't think this is malicious on Google's part, it's just lazy. Allowing sharing of private content is difficult to get right, but if Dropbox can do it I know Google can. Hell, they are smart enough to do it better, which is why this screams laziness or just a plain "we don't care" attitude.