71–80 of 87 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why wouldn't I? I can see where and when I was, how long I was there. It can give context to notes and photos. It's essentially an extension of memory.
If it's an extension of your memory, then why deliberately share it with others, with police, with FBI? There were many stories on HN how random people got into troubles because of this "feature".
I think that Google and Apple will be extremely helpful in the coming months, at least in the USA, for tracing the spread of COVID-19. Google and Apple know where probably 90+% of adults/teens in the USA are located in real time. If they are able to anonymously tell you that you were in the same building as someone who has tested positive for the virus then you could take extra precautions or further isolate yourself…
When considered collectively, it is probably fine for an overall picture but it will have some limitations. For example: the people who are not submitting data (whether they found some way to disable it or simply don't use the technology) probably live a sufficiently different lifestyle to render the generalizations meaningless for that population.
When considered individually, it can be disconcerting. The accuracy of location data can be an issue. In urban areas, being off by a few meters can associate a person with one population instead of another. Data classification is another reason. In my area, it is currently a summary offense to enter a park. That can create problems for parks workers. The issue may easily be resolved, but it creates headaches at a time when people have other concerns on their mind. Then there is abnormal device usage. Exactly how do you treat people who leave their phone at home 24/7 because they have no use for it (currently unemployed), do not want to be tracked, or are simply unable to leave their home?
It is easy to argue that these people are professionals who know how to handle data, so limitations will be recognized. That's certainly partially true: governments, police, health officials, and the fine folks at Google are professionals who know how to handle data. The thing is, they typically know how to handle their own data and may not be familiar with handling data from other sources.
potentially stupid question - why do the residential increases seem relatively low compared to the decreases in other locations?
Anecdotally, the public parks where I live (Bexar County, Texas) have gotten so busy that I rarely go on weekends anymore because social distancing has been made so difficult. Even after 5pm on weekdays, I've seen a spike in traffic similar to what a really busy weekend would look like. This has been the case at every park I've been to. Since basically any other form of recreation outside the home is no longer available, it makes sense that they're busier.
Perhaps they're including places like theme parks in that category? Bexar County, to my knowledge, doesn't have enough closed state parks to account for the drop in traffic. Obviously, I'm missing something. Maybe people just aren't searching for parks further from them and don't need directions to their closest park.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would prefer that they track only with permission of the tracked, but I realize that we are little better than tagged animals to them.
With Apple and Google they already have the permission of the tracked. It’s in the terms of service for your phone, or your phone’s OS, or any of the other vectors they control that you carry around with you all the time.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why wouldn't I? I can see where and when I was, how long I was there. It can give context to notes and photos. It's essentially an extension of memory.
If it's an extension of your memory, then why deliberately share it with others, with police, with FBI? There were many stories on HN how random people got into troubles because of this "feature".
I'm ok with Google having this data. I'm not ok with governments having it.
I'm not ok with Google or anyone having this data as I can't realistically or easily opt out or remove my data.
potentially stupid question - why do the residential increases seem relatively low compared to the decreases in other locations?