@davidoclubb Not sure about alternatives (thoughts, @feditips?) But about the other question, it’s by Google; of course it‘s exploitative :)
Don't know much about it, but seems to be convenience & monetisation at expense of user privacy?
If Google is involved, this is nearly always the case.
Nearest alternative on Fedi is @pixelfed is doing stories feature? Guessing this is a bit different though.
@feditips @aral @davidoclubb @pixelfed
I thought is was in beta. @dansup ?