Just turn off location services on the phone unless you really need them.
Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
21–30 of 399 posts
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#22OP is freaked that the data that was shared with Google is used to help Google get a bigger dataset... Get a grip. Edit: Downvotes now rolling in. I'd love to know why. Is this a bug? Is Google doing something wrong? Or did OP hand over the data and not bother to go through the settings to turn off things they didn't like .
> Or did OP hand over the data and not bother to go through the settings to turn off things they didn't like
OP is making the case that they shouldn't have to. That a personal device they purchased outright should be secure by default.
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#23Two things that happened to me: A) I walk into a store, get a notification from google photos asking me "I see you're at store X, wouldn't you like to take some pictures?". Possibly to use as part of google maps. Thinking back I think this is when I started de-googlifying my life. B) I get a notification from google maps asking me "you're travelling to place X soon, wouldn't you like to download an offline map, just…
#1 is so obnoxious. No Google, I won't do free work for you. At least offer me some store credit.
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#24Not involved in the project but certainly support the premise:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/290746744/eelo-a-mobile...
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#25His complaint seems to be directed more to the interface than the infrastructure. IIRC you have to do a fair bit of signing up for things to get these creepy messages. My question would be, if the invasive interruptions sounded less creepy would he still have a problem with them?
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#26OP is freaked that the data that was shared with Google is used to help Google get a bigger dataset... Get a grip. Edit: Downvotes now rolling in. I'd love to know why. Is this a bug? Is Google doing something wrong? Or did OP hand over the data and not bother to go through the settings to turn off things they didn't like .
> Or did OP hand over the data and not bother to go through the settings to turn off things they didn't like OP is making the case that they shouldn't have to. That a personal device they purchased outright should be secure by default.
It's secure. The data is only going to Google. OP agreed to that when he logged into the device with their Google account not when they bought the device.
Also: security != privacy
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#27Waiting for the first person to post something along the lines of: 'And why shouldn't Google do $x? It's part of their fiduciary duty to their shareholders, and anyone who doesn't like it can opt to exercise their rights as a consumer and use another product. I personally love having $x as part of my life and feel it is indispensable. Haters gonna hate.
(where $x could be 'bashing babies in the head with a clawhammer' or anything else under the sun)
edit: Taking the down votes as a badge of honor by those who, perhaps, identify too strongly as proponents of such sentiments. :-)
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#28I generally prefer android to iOS because it's easier to work with as a dev, but this has been making me think about converting back.
I haven't owned an iPhone in over 5 years, and I feel the same way. No company should be romanticized, and I'm sure Apple's (very public) decision to take user privacy seriously can be viewed cynically - but at the end of the day that's the kind of stuff I care about as a consumer, and will choose my next phone accordingly.
As an N.B. - developing and using for iPhone/iPad, hell even Apple TV has become so much nicer in the past 5 years. I can't remember the last time I've used DFU mode. Signing Certs are still annoying in XCode, but day-to-day it's a lot better than what it once was.
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#29The idea that you'd have any location privacy while carrying around a cell phone is absurd. Both iPhone and Android devices record location history, and your network provider always has a rough guess of where you are. It may be annoying that Google is very persistent about trying to build its maps dataset, but the suggestion that it's not happening on other devices is crazy.
My mobile carrier is a local server hoster that also happens to operate a fiber and DSL network in the city, and a small 3G network. They don’t track – I’ve talked with them, personally.
And in the future, with the Librem phones, we’ll also be able to ensure there is no tracking on the device side.
Re: Google, You Creepy Sonofabitch
#30The idea that you'd have any location privacy while carrying around a cell phone is absurd. Both iPhone and Android devices record location history, and your network provider always has a rough guess of where you are. It may be annoying that Google is very persistent about trying to build its maps dataset, but the suggestion that it's not happening on other devices is crazy.
But it's not, though, at least not to this extent. I've never had my iPhone survey me about the world around me.
I suppose it's theoretically possible that an app like Yelp could do that, but iOS pops up a "Do you want to allow this app to track your location when you're not using it?" notification whenever an app wants to do so, and of course that's always an instant push of the "hell naw" button for me.