41–50 of 201 posts
> "The information fed back to Google includes barometric pressure readings so it can work out, for example, which level of a shopping mall you are on." I scoffed, but this is actually a thing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4431287/ (It's also useful for weather observations, see the old PressureNET.io site for an opt-in version.) Anyway, my monthly mobile data usage for Google services is 110 MB and t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Of course it isn't. I own the phone, not Google. Maybe the phone, but not the software running on it.
What is the difference? Both the hardware and the software are covered by hundreds of patents, copyright protections, license agreements, end user agreements, etc. The question here is what basic privacies can someone expect when they purchase a phone, and how transparent do companies need to be about what information they are collecting.
Is it not assumed/expected that if you're using android then google has access to all your phone's data/sensors?
*if you're using android with Google Services
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They may though because of the difficulty of deciding if you are subject to GDPR. ie what if an Aussie moves to the EEU and becomes a resident, bringing an Australian-purchased phone? How long can someone visit the EEU before becoming a resident (I have no idea and suspect the rules may not be crystal clear.)
If the origin of the traffic is within the EEU, GDPR applies. So the moment you visit the EEU, GDPR applies; irrespective of residency status. The moment you leave the EEU, GDPR no longer applies, even if you are an EU resident.
> This Regulation applies to the processing of personal data of data subjects who are in the Union
> "The information fed back to Google includes barometric pressure readings so it can work out, for example, which level of a shopping mall you are on." I scoffed, but this is actually a thing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4431287/ (It's also useful for weather observations, see the old PressureNET.io site for an opt-in version.) Anyway, my monthly mobile data usage for Google services is 110 MB and t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes and everytime you open google maps it will bug you. It will say "turn on background wifi scanning if you want to use navigation". You can dismiss it and it still works fine! Because of course it doesn't need background wifi scanning for navigation. Oh and be ready to get nagged every time you open the app. They won't let up.
I see this sort of thing in software so often I gave it a name: https://jacquesmattheij.com/dark-patterns-the-ratchet There are many more like it but this one is particularly annoying because of the asymmetry between the work they do to get you to consent to something that isn't in your advantage compared to the work you have to do to reverse your decision (which sometimes isn't possible at all!).
For a while I could still click no, but then they forbade that. So I gave up and clicked yes, and now they've got all my photos
> "The information fed back to Google includes barometric pressure readings so it can work out, for example, which level of a shopping mall you are on." I scoffed, but this is actually a thing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4431287/ (It's also useful for weather observations, see the old PressureNET.io site for an opt-in version.) Anyway, my monthly mobile data usage for Google services is 110 MB and t…
A known avenue of data acquisition is to wait until a wifi connections to transmit large amounts of data.
> The experts, from computer and software corporation Oracle, claim Google is draining roughly one gigabyte of mobile data monthly from Android phone users’ accounts as it snoops in the background, collecting information to help advertisers.
Then goes on to give a cost breakdown of how much this hypothetical data download is costing Australian's via their mobile data connections.
It's obvious that Oracle and Google don't get along. To be generous. So it's brilliant for Oracle to have the state(s) or attorneys do their work for them. Now EU will get involved and (at the least) class action lawyers in USA.
Android is the biggest example of how companies practice bait and switch under the banner of "open source". I's rather have fully proprietary software that respects my privacy than open source software that opens up my private data.
google employees revert community features (e.g. hiding/limiting referrer header, essential for adwords revenue) silently with big unrelated commits (the referrer one at least 3 times)