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Google collects metadata from Android phones

borncity.com

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Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#171

Post by gvurrdon »

616c wrote: post #51

I don't care what people say, the ethics, or legality, you should consider dumping fake identifying info. http://xposed.info/ http://xprivacy.eu/ Use apps from other app stores, in my case F-Droid.

The functions of which xprivacy is capable seem excellent. Unfortunately, when I tried it I found it to be an enormous hassle to use. The UI was bad enough but upgrading Cyanogenmod with xposed and xprivacy was more of a nuisance.

Cyanogenmod's Privacy Guard is easy enough to use though its protections don't go as far as I'd like. Pdroid seemed to be a reasonable compromise in ease of use and protection between the two, though that seems no longer to be available.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#172

Post by gvurrdon »

ironsides wrote: post #61
api wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cyanogen?

Seconded. Does anyone know if the phone home "feature" has been removed from CyanogenMod?

Presumably any of Google's data gathering will use Google Play Services, and so using Cyanogenmod would be no protection against it if the gapps package has also been installed.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#173

Post by Spivak »

tdkl wrote: post #138
jeromeflipo wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disabled every control on this page months ago. Unfortunately, the Google Maps app won't remember searches unless you're logged in and share your entire location history. There's just no way to keep a local history of places in Maps. I'll get rid of Google Maps as soon as Maps.me let me stream OSM maps instead of downloading packages one-by-one.

I voted with my wallet, bought an offline navigation app and disabled Maps.

I'm interested, what app?

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#174

Post by Spivak »

userbinator wrote: post #81
JTenerife wrote: post #76

And people freak out about some Microsoft telemetry collection.

Until very recently, Microsoft's business model had not been about profiting off collecting user information. They were one of the last remaining companies who didn't attempt to monetise the crap out of their users.

> who didn't attempt to monetise the crap out of their users.

* By using and selling user data and profiles.

There's a reason people still refer to them as M$.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#175

Post by Zigurd »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #144
Zigurd wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's open enough that direct competitors, like Amazon, for example, can base their own OSs that have their own ecosystems on AOSP. Google could be more open. But there isn't any evidence the parts of Android that are not open are not open in order to stop open or even competitive semi-closed Android derivatives. They are open enough enable competitors to use the same technology platform, including some very valuable…

No, it's actually so closed that only Amazon-scale competitors can make viable forks. Samsung is maybe the only other company with the scale and scope to accomplish that, which is why Google has entered into some special arrangements with them.

Viable platforms require viable ecosystems. I don't see how you can get around that fact. That's what sets the lower bound for scale. If you do not have a an ecosystem that's comparable or, alternatively, sufficiently non-overlapping then you can't compete. Amazon's OS crew is relatively small.

Samsung can't compete because there is no viable Samsung ecosystem, and Samsung has not aligned with an ecosystem partner other than Google.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#177

Post by 794CD01 »

x0x0 wrote: post #114
delroth wrote: post #82

The article seems to imply that this is a recent addition to the privacy policy. Google keeps archived versions of their privacy policies ( https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/archive/ ), and you can easily see that the "telephony log information" was added in the March 1st 2012 revision of the Google privacy policy. You can see a summary on https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/what-actually-changed-... A…

Yeah, it was so well announced that multiple HN readers -- including me -- who strongly tend towards the privacy sensitive are shocked that they're doing it.

All that says is that privacy-sensitive people are out of touch with reality.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#178

Post by jevinskie »

throwanem wrote: post #103
dublinben wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative is a physically distinct work and personal device. This has been the solution for many years. Only recently have people wanted to "BYOD" and use their personal device for work purposes.

On that point, I very recently discovered [1] that connecting an iOS device to an Exchange account via ActiveSync enables the organization's Exchange administrators to remotely wipe the entire contents of the device - not just the content actually provided via the account, but everything . I am astonished and disappointed that Apple saw fit not to warn the user this could happen. Even Google gets this right; when you…

It is news to me. I thought iOS simply didn't implement that functionality without being enrolled in MDM. With Android I knew about it and was able to build a custom firmware with that functionality disabled. I wonder if you can make an Exchange proxy that frees your iOS device via filtering.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#179

Post by retox »

delroth wrote: post #82

The article seems to imply that this is a recent addition to the privacy policy. Google keeps archived versions of their privacy policies ( https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/archive/ ), and you can easily see that the "telephony log information" was added in the March 1st 2012 revision of the Google privacy policy. You can see a summary on https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/what-actually-changed-... A…

This account belongs to a Google eng.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#180

Post by KirinDave »

retox wrote: post #179
delroth wrote: post #82

The article seems to imply that this is a recent addition to the privacy policy. Google keeps archived versions of their privacy policies ( https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/archive/ ), and you can easily see that the "telephony log information" was added in the March 1st 2012 revision of the Google privacy policy. You can see a summary on https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/what-actually-changed-... A…

This account belongs to a Google eng.

So what? He stated that, noted the sources for what he said. Genetic fallacy is a tired thing.
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