Have they since reduced their dependency on Bing for search results? I feel that, while that's the case, there is no point in switching.

I feel sorry for the apps that are trying hard to fit in and "appear" unsensitive. They probably still get snooped. That must really hurt their feelings.

Brilliant. Oh the irony... I had to receive a code via SMS just to be able to sign in and leave a comment on that blog.

That actually shows that Google has privacy policies that are to be taken seriously by their own employees

Correct! This is the main source of external Google HR issues. When there is a certain stretched goal to hire X number of people, this sort of situation tends to happen.