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Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

latimes.com

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Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#141

Post by codedokode »

hagakure0c wrote: post #125
evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

Sooner or later people will start to revolt and either go back to use semi-anonymous cash or truly anonymous payment systems like bitcoin. Google and advertising will then be in the dark.

Would not it be easier to make a law forbidding transferring personal information without a person's consent? Not opt-out, but rather opt-in scheme. Companies like Google just exploit a lack of regulation.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#142

Post by hvidgaard »

mirimir wrote: post #134
tintor wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin is not "truly anonymous" by default. All transactions are public and can be traced back to you, unless you use non-logging bitcoin mixers for every single transaction.

No, you just mix a bunch, and then use them. But you must use VPNs and/or Tor, to avoid linkage by IP address. If you want compartmentalization, just mix into separate wallets. And if you want strong compartmentalization, do everything via Tor, and put those wallets in separate VMs (such as Whonix).

Indeed, Bitcoin can be anonymous if there is enough critical mass. But that requires far more involment than the average person is willing to do. Cash is easy and simple.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#143

Post by speedplane »

gub09 wrote: post #66

This is probably an unusual opinion, but for me privacy is similar to freedom. Freedom is usually defined as a negative: people are free of oppression, have freedom of speech (freedom from speech being constrained), freedom of movement (not forced to stay in one place), religious freedom (freedom to believe what one will and not be limited in practice or assembly), etc. Privacy is the freedom from being watched, from…

Privacy and freedom are very intricately related, but rather than saying privacy is a "type" of freedom, I would say that privacy is a requirement for freedom. Perhaps our most basic freedom (more than travel or speech), is the freedom to think. This is possible solely because our thoughts are private.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#144

Post by Freak_NL »

Moru wrote: post #101
waibelp wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's quite normal here in Germany. A lot of people I know still only pay with cash because most of the people are skeptical about data that may be used against them. Sure, there are a lot of young people (born >=2000) sharing everything and paying everything with card but the older ones still care about their privacy. That means a safe way I and a lot of people prefer is to get a bunch of cash from a cashpoint and…

Germany is one of the few countries that has recently seen the reality of what tracking can lead to if the wrong people end up in power. So the question is, do you trust Trump or whoever comes after him? My main gripe with shopping in Germany is everyone is standing there at the cash-register trying to find the correct ammount of cash to pay. There is a large amount of different coins you have to sorth through and th…

> There is a large amount of different coins you have to sorth through and they all look similar to me.

Only a problem for non-Eurozone visitors really.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#145

Post by jansho »

wiz21c wrote: post #99
syphilis2 wrote: post #70

I'm interested to read about where people believe this progression of technology will take us in the near and far future. Are there thought out considerations of what type of world we are heading towards? Has Google revealed their vision of advertising for 2032? I don't mean this rhetorically, I genuinely want to know what vision there is for advertising in the future because I believe it's something we really ought…

I love this question too. I think we're heading for a full blown "société de contrôle" (see Wikipedia). So the locus of power is changing. Before it was repression, now it is control. It's not inhernetly good or bad. But my gut feelings says that we're transtionning to that society. And while we're transitionning, the first movers, the fastest movers (Google, FaceBook, etc) have an advantage and therefore may look da…

> what are the forces that are here to balance the powers.

Well there's no chance of a David vs Goliath so the only one I can think of is governments. Yeah...

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#146

Post by speedplane »

AznHisoka wrote: post #13
thinkling wrote: post #4

FTA: "Google says it has access to roughly 70% of U.S. credit and debit card transactions through partnerships with companies that track that data." Wow.

MasterCard and Visa not only make money from each credit card transaction but to add insult to injury, they make money selling that transaction data as well! That's what I call a ludicrous business.

I've heard that this is not a very big business for Visa/Mastercard. That's because the credit card processors don't get many details on the purchase, they just know the amount, the user, and the bank they are sending the money to.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#147

Post by speedplane »

adjkant wrote: post #36
__david__ wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I think it's easier than you make it out to be. I don't use gmail, I have Duck Duck Go as my main search engine, I don't log into Google in my main browser. I just don't use anything on a regular basis that needs a google login. When I do, I open Chrome and log in there, so it doesn't taint my main browser. It hasn't affected my life or my career negatively (or at all, really).

That's a fair answer, and I'm sure one that many share. Thanks for addressing the question directly - I see how for a minority of users, the switch makes sense. I guess for me, I don't care enough to make all those changes. As a Chrome user, the sync across things is nice, and I enjoy the interface. I'll take the ease at risk of someone having my data in a catastrophic situation. Obviously, your choice makes great se…

Another possible solution is to go through all of Google's privacy settings and opt-out of all their tracking. They're better than most about being upfront and giving you opt-out options.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#148

Post by mtgx »

evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

Which is why I'm very worried about DeepMind's secret ethical board, if one even exists:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/26/google-de...

Why would it have to be secret if it's supposed to make people trust Google's AI more? And what are they hiding? Is President Duterte or a Saudi prince on that ethics panel? (serious question - we just don't know right now)

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#149

Post by a_imho »

birracerveza wrote: post #107

Where I live we have laws in place that criminalize stalking. Why isn't this considered stalking?

Maybe you implicitly agree to their ToS when you enter a partner store? It's a technical detail of creative lawyering. They must have covered the legal aspects and factored in the fines in case they get a slap on the wrist.

I guess it is the same thin line you have between tax evasion and tax optimization and Google has a nearly unlimited budget to try to move this line in their favor.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#150

Post by ATsch »

H4CK3RM4N wrote: post #113
Moru wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany is one of the few countries that has recently seen the reality of what tracking can lead to if the wrong people end up in power. So the question is, do you trust Trump or whoever comes after him? My main gripe with shopping in Germany is everyone is standing there at the cash-register trying to find the correct ammount of cash to pay. There is a large amount of different coins you have to sorth through and th…

Was there really any need to include a remark comparing Trump to Hitler?

I personally think it's more likely the poster was referring to the stasi.
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