31–40 of 52 posts
I just voted, but (maybe because English is not my primary language) I didn't understand the poll very well. While I RELY on Google for some email accounts, analytics and search queries, I wouldn't say I "trust" Google. Bottom line is - Rely on them? Yes; Trust them? No.
Doesn't relying imply trust?
I trust Google as a company. But as Google is under US jurisdiction it is affected by things like National Security Letter subpoenas (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Letter ). This is a type of subpoena that does not require a probable cause or judicial oversight (meaning that the FBI can issue them without court order) and the recipient is under a gag order prohibited from speaking about them. In…
Ya, I gave up when I realized this and just signed up for Google Apps email.
But if I become a founder of a medium-sized company--somehow in Google's interest--I'd put in the effort to host email locally.
I also don't use Google DNS by principle.
But even though I trust Google, DuckDuckGo's privacy policy is so good I can't help but trust them for search more. Trust is relative, and I always try to use the most trustworthy solution.
I absolutely don't trust anyone else with my private email and so host it myself. Fortunately, quite a few of the people I email a lot self host also, and most of the traffic goes over TLS, and some of us even use PGP.
I used to use their analytics but no longer do. That's a difficult one. Their analytics is very good, but I believe it gives them too much power. A local installation of webalizer is good enough for my purposes. YMMV
I would rely on them for a large portion of my income, but don't. When you think about it, the vast majority of people rely on a single company for most/all of their income. Income diversity would be good, but it's difficult for most to achieve.
Both of these large organisations are often spoken about in terms of being a single entity - but in reality, they are large groups of individuals; autonomous entities; in other words, humans.
Human nature is complex - and an individual's motivation can vary wildly based on their circumstances, upbringing and genetic make-up. Some people will choose to exploit their situation for personal gain - this is a fact of life.
So I think, when reduced, this question is basically asking how much do you trust people?
My answer: I expect trouble.
I use them for search. still better than anything else out there
I trust them to do their best to keep gmail working
I trust them not to fudge my analytics data
I don't trust them to have any sense of loyalty to me at all
I don't trust them to keep my data private if given a reason not to. If Google were subpoenaed, I assume they'd give up my data in a heartbeat
I think Google has almost no moral compass, but will do what it needs to to make money. for the moment that means keeping most of its users happy, so I'm happy to use them.
I'd never trust Google for income, just as I don't trust Paypal. I'm not willing to put my livelihood in the hands of a company that can destroy it on a whim, and probably not even notice
[Edited to add that "almost no moral compass" is not the same as "no moral compass". Facebook I'd consider to have no moral compass]