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Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

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Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#131

Post by gtfratteus »

edoo wrote: post #13

This happens to be a good example of how there are so many laws you likely break some all the time. California requires consent from all present who have vibrated the air while you record the air vibrations (but not with your ears and brain storage!). That means if the google phone in your pocket listens to people at a restaurant or your alexa listens to your delivery man for a second you are a criminal under Califor…

California is actively trying to make everything a crime so that they have the power to press criminal charges against anybody they dislike without violating 1A. Unfortunately, there's no Constitutional Amendment prohibiting selective enforcement of the law, otherwise these idiotic laws would have been killed as soon as they were signed.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#132

Post by auiya »

FabHK wrote: post #100

FWIW, I'm living a Google-free live now, and it works very well: - DuckDuckGo as default search engine - Own domain for email, forwarded to Apple's mail - Apple map, Yandex map, Waze, Here WeGo for maps (depending on the country) - For videos, I search them in DDG with " !yt", then copy the links I want and download them with `youtube-dl` - Firefox and Safari - Zoho as a replacement for online docs and spreadsheets e…

You're likely not at all living "Google free". https://gizmodo.com/i-cut-google-out-of-my-life-it-screwed-u...

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#134

Post by melling »

tantalor wrote: post #129
saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

Do you own a cell phone?

He mentions that he does.

The thing is everyone has a cellphone, even many kids. Invite half a dozen people over and you’ll get half a dozen cellphones.

I have a couple of Amazon Echos, plus iOS devices that occasionally activate Siri for no reason.

I love them. My feeling is that I’m willing to live with it for now. Hopefully, a decade from now, voice technology is perfected and more is done on device.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#135

Post by tantalor »

augustk wrote: post #44

I think a device with a camera/microphone should have a physical on/off button and a LED which indicates when it's on. At least, that's how I would design it.

I'm sure any 0-day capable of eavesdropping on your phone can also disable the LED.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#136

Post by SamuelAdams »

astral303 wrote: post #113
prepend wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has implemented this asshole design/nagware in many products to push unnecessary to me and invasive data collection or functionality I want won’t be available. For example, their maps app on iOS won’t save locations for me unless I sign in an enable web history tracking. I get prompted every time I try to save a pin as well as every once in a while I’m case I change my mind. It’s a free app and it’s Google’s p…

I think Google Maps not saving your history as you described is an incredibly bad, frustrating experience. FFS, my phone has gigs of RAM, why can’t Google Maps remember the address I searched for ten minutes ago? One minute ago? This is 2019. It has been this bad for a decade plus. Embarrassing IMO and demonstrates true UX myopia and true UX incompetence.

Personally I switched to Apple Maps after the iOS 13 release and haven't looked back. Because it's integrated into the OS, Apple Maps can look into your messages and auto-complete addresses from that. It can also save places without you signing into an account.

The only thing I miss is google's "offline" mode. I live in Michigan, and I frequently go on trips up north into heavily wooded areas. I don't always get cell service, so being able to save map data locally is a huge benefit. I can still search for nearby gas stations or stores even if I do not have cell service.

From what I tried, there's no way to save data in Apple Maps - it assumes the device is always connected to the internet.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#137

Post by Fnoord »

koolba wrote: post #26
Fnoord wrote: post #16

Google could have the device say that it records conversations the moment it detects an unknown voice. Google could even ask that unknown voice for consent.

That'd get really annoying if there's a TV in the room.

True, but it does not seem impossible for Google to detect a TV. Else, all Google Assist devices can be controlled via a TV ad starting with "OK Google" e.g. "OK Google search I am listening to an advertisement about Google Assist"

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#138

Post by Santosh83 »

saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

The problem is the illusion that these devices present of being just another utility like a toaster or a TV or even a smartphone. The always on link between these listening devices and their command and control is not evident. It gives the illusion of operating locally.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#139

Post by jbarberu »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #106
a3n wrote: post #80

Why would anyone come back to a home after such a warning? Think back 20 years. Would you come back to a home after the resident switched on audio and video recorders and said "you're being recorded." Now come back to the present, and add the word "thermostat." Does it make any difference?

The Nest thermostats don’t have microphones. Houses have had security cameras long before Google existed, as have a large percentage of retail businesses, banks, gas stations, convenience stores, government offices.

I'd wager most people adjust their behavior accordingly. I would absolutely expect privacy inside a home. If a friend had cameras inside their home I'd probably even opt to meet in public, where at least there's no false sense of privacy.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#140

Post by wazoox »

XJ6 wrote: post #12
LudwigNagasena wrote: post #2

>"Gosh, I haven't thought about this before in quite this way," Osterloh said. "It's quite important for all these technologies to think about all users... we have to consider all stakeholders that might be in proximity." How much do they not care about privacy that a chief exec with an army of lawyers and advisors "haven't thought about this before"?

All "big tech" are at it, I tried to go to "My Pictures" the other day and microsoft asked me to run my pictures through facial recognition. They said that by consenting I was asserting I had the consent of anyone who appeared in any of my photos or might appear in future which is insane to ask of anyone, no-one can really give that third party consent. Then when I refused they showed me a nag screen which didn't hav…

Aaaand that's why I never uploaded any photo with recognizable individuals (except people performing publicly) to Google Photos...
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