I am not so worried about it. I think Google Allo will get about as many users as Google Plus.
If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
81–90 of 153 posts
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is the most important to me. On Android, this is only the second app that is likely to have a large userbase and e2e encryption for chats. The fact that its opt-in is a non issue to me. Didn't know WhatsApp had default e2e encryption. Might install it and check it out. I imagine it sends some sort of personal information back to the facebook mothership, though.
It doesn't send any personal data back to WhatsApp/Facebook, all it needs to work is a phone number.
Except… WhatsApp definitely gets a copy of your address book: https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20971813 “During this entire process, only phone numbers are sent to WhatsApp for lookup, securely, over an encrypted connection.”
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#83This is the usual privacy hysteria knee-jerk reaction: "Watch out, the big companies are going to get data on you!". And people are going to react exactly like they've done before: if the service is worth it, they'll be happy to trade a few bits of privacy about themselves in exchange for the benefits. Also, I'm not sure the author of this piece understands what encryption is about since he laments that most people d…
Of course you have to send Google search queries. Of course it would be a whole lot more elegant on their part to have a simple SLA: "We use the search queries for the express purpose of answering your queries. We do not hold on your personal information for more than XX minutes, neither in personalized nor in aggregated form." It's not that hard, a 30 people organization can pull it off, https://duckduckgo.com/about…
But most people don't want such a feature, and prefer that Google store the history. And there is already a great mechanism for providing different options, as you yourself use: the market. There are different products, one of which people who want this feature can use instead of Google. Why would we need to bring the government into this?
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#84I very much agree with the principle of restricting and monitoring the access law enforcement has to communications. In practice, I weep for a third party that has to read the dumb shit I chat about. If we do succeed in building a hell where a preference for Metallica in 1997 is grounds for any sort of consequences at all, I'm not going to blame my past self for foolishly broadcasting that preference, I'm going to bl…
> In practice, I weep for a third party that has to read the dumb shit I chat about.
I weep for my future, because there is a growing majority of people who give out their dumb shit data to everyone who makes a fancy app with smart AI to tell them where to spend money a second faster.
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is the most important to me. On Android, this is only the second app that is likely to have a large userbase and e2e encryption for chats. The fact that its opt-in is a non issue to me. Didn't know WhatsApp had default e2e encryption. Might install it and check it out. I imagine it sends some sort of personal information back to the facebook mothership, though.
WhatsApp doesn't just have e2e encryption by default; they actually hired (or just contracted?) Moxie to implement the signal protocol: Over the past year, we've been progressively rolling out Signal Protocol support for all WhatsApp communication across all WhatsApp clients. This includes chats, group chats, attachments, voice notes, and voice calls across Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Nokia S40, Nokia S60, Blackb…
So did Google for Allo.
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't send any personal data back to WhatsApp/Facebook, all it needs to work is a phone number.
Except… WhatsApp definitely gets a copy of your address book: https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20971813 “During this entire process, only phone numbers are sent to WhatsApp for lookup, securely, over an encrypted connection.”
Whatsapp also gets the metadata about the message: sender, receiver, time and probably location.
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#87"Let that sink in for a moment: The selling point of this app is that Google will read your messages, for your convenience." If that's the author's objection, it's like the author never heard of Gmail. https://developers.google.com/schemas/tutorials/google-now-c...
Gmail? What about Google Search? It knows more about a man than his wife, doctor and lawyer combined. But Google convinced us to happily give up our privacy, for the amazing advantage (no sarcasm) of searching the internet. Maybe it was worth it, but Alo doesn't offer any ground breaking service.
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
People, he's being facetious. But also specious.
There's nothing here to indicate that; not retroactive commentary at the end, nothing. If (s)he's trying to make a joke to make a point, (s)he's doing neither.
Unrelated... Would 'they' have really been more awkward than '(s)he'?
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, come on. > Voter registration is unfortunately a front for other malicious activities - such as jury duty, a state-mandated intrusion into my most private information and thoughts How can you get to that point and not immediately understand that it's obviously satire?
> How can you get to that point and not immediately understand that it's obviously satire? By having encountered people who express exactly that sentiment and are deadly serious about it.
And you should treat those people as satire, too. The insistence on taking everyone seriously all the time only creates friction. It is not your job to take someone seriously, it is their job to make you take them seriously.
Re: If you care about privacy, you should not use Google Allo
#90I pay cash for all my transactions. I don't own a car because I fear that the registration systems for licensing and taxes will gather information about me and we know that those government data systems are most vulnerable to attack. When I travel, it's by bus only - requiring a form of identification at the airport is a front to government spying. Unfortunately, the bus systems are starting to require too much infor…
Why do you do (or don't do) all the stuff? Sounds completely nutty.