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Google is desensitizing us to this kind of bad behavior, to the point that this sounds like it’s only half the story, or not such a bug deal.
> collects sensitive Android user data Looks like it’s basic metrics like how often the app is launched. It is not sensitive (user content of the apps would be sensitive). It is an antitrust issue but barely a security/privacy issue.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Call me old-fashioned, but if anybody knows when or how often I'm executing a particular program on my own hardware, that is a privacy issue.
It is 1/1000 of the issue of looking into other app messages and 1/1000000 of the issue of looking into other app messages by humans and selling it to unknown parties. If we call every issue equally important privacy violation, one day we will overlook the one really important issue, which this issue isn’t.
> collects sensitive Android user data Looks like it’s basic metrics like how often the app is launched. It is not sensitive (user content of the apps would be sensitive). It is an antitrust issue but barely a security/privacy issue.
Didn’t HN collectively loose their s..t when Microsoft did something similar with Win 10 telemetry?
To me the most worrying is that while I intellectually know this is bad, emotionally it gets a solid “meh” from me. Google is desensitizing us to this kind of bad behavior, to the point that this sounds like it’s only half the story, or not such a bug deal.
Other than that, Google being able to process more data about their own platform than others, is something to be expected.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is 1/1000 of the issue of looking into other app messages and 1/1000000 of the issue of looking into other app messages by humans and selling it to unknown parties. If we call every issue equally important privacy violation, one day we will overlook the one really important issue, which this issue isn’t.
Knowing John/Jane Doe uses a particular dating app specializing in extranarital affairs frequently, and pretty much always when their spouse is out, that sort of thing may well be very sensitive.
Honestly is anyone surprised..
If you fill a trough, pigs will come. We have this saying in Germany about data collection. What it means is you can usually assume that given enough time, companies will do the worst with the data that exists, so the only reasonable approach is to never collect so much data in the first place.
And i agree companies should only be allowed to gather the minimal data necessary in a given situation.
They used this as a negotiating tactic for acquisitions they made in the space...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Knowing John/Jane Doe uses a particular dating app specializing in extranarital affairs frequently, and pretty much always when their spouse is out, that sort of thing may well be very sensitive.
Yes, but on average (or equally, in total) it is 1000 times less sensitive than reading messages and 1000000 times less sensitive than selling that data.
Unsurprising. Another decade-old example: in the pre-iPhone/pre-Android era, when Google Maps was available on BlackBerry, Google created a vast database that associated cellphone tower locations to addresses, on the (smart) assumption that the “from” location is usually where you are. They used this as a negotiating tactic for acquisitions they made in the space...