More concerning to me was the fairly recent removal of non-phone-app setup. It used to be that a chromecast would display a 4 character code on screen, which could be used to activate it from the browser.<p>Now, they require that it be managed with the google Home app, and have discontinued the method that allowed chromecast use without installing additional google software on your phone.<p>This made for a really disheartening christmas experience, when I first assured my mother that no, we could skip this stuff with your phone, only to find out that no, she would indeed have to make that sacrifice.<p>Especially frustrating is that my same devices, validated with the old method, continue to function just fine.<p>Does anyone with more knowledge than I have know of a reason for this that isn't data-greedy or consumer-hostile? From my perspective, "Don't be evil" has been dead long enough that the bones are sunbleached.