Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
&gt; I bought him a Chromebook for schoolwork, but also for other private things. When we logged in...<p>This is why you need to pay attention to the technology choices that you make, and that your schools make. Chromebooks are designed from the ground up to be locked-down dystopian spyware once you &quot;log in&quot; to them with a specific Google account. For heaven&#x27;s sake stop buying any more Chromebooks.<p>The correct solution here is not technological at all. Call into the school&#x27;s board meeting during public comment, and make it loud and clear that the school is installing spyware on students&#x27; Chromebooks. Share your technical credentials and the method by which you found this. Emphasize stories of previous data breaches involving educational companies [1], and show officials that they are putting students&#x27; sensitive data at risk. (Edit: See the important point in the reply from &#x27;n8cpdx below about the correct tone to use in your comments – don&#x27;t repeat my words verbatim!)<p>The technical details don&#x27;t matter too much to educational officials – as soon as the &quot;Chromebook = bad spyware&quot; label sticks and they think that a fuck-up here could cost them them bad press, they will allow their IT department to make more privacy-respecting technology choices even when those choices cost a little more. If no one speaks up, it&#x27;s a race to the bottom driving us closer to the fiction in <i>The Right to Read</i> [2].<p>----------------------------------------<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techcrunch.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;11&#x2F;22&#x2F;smarterselect-exposed-millions-student-data&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techcrunch.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;11&#x2F;22&#x2F;smarterselect-exposed-mill...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gnu.org&#x2F;philosophy&#x2F;right-to-read.en.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gnu.org&#x2F;philosophy&#x2F;right-to-read.en.html</a>