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Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

arstechnica.com

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Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#21

Post by aasasd »

Android 10 (on googlephones) has a feature called ‘digital wellbeing’ that can measure how much I gawk at the screen, and show that to me. Interesting, I think, let's see if that data stays locally. The only piece of info on data usage that I've found is a link to Google's overarching privacy policy. Oy vey. Some data-processing features in the settings are marked with ‘data stays on the phone’—but this one isn't. So I have to assume that ‘wellbeing’ snitches to Google, and can't use it.

“Collection of data is disclosed to and controllable by users”? Well, if the users presume that collection is going on unless said otherwise, then maybe.

Annoying thing is, I'd quite want to use the voice assistant. Do I like to fiddle with integrations and workflows? Oh boy. Damn well I do. Do I know that my voiceprint won't turn up on Google's servers the minute I use the assistant? Nope.

(Btw, another baffling trait of the Android ecosystem is how many well-known and widely-used hackish tools are closed-source: those from XDA and such. “Flash this binary to root your phone”, “install this blob for low-level customizations”. Eeeeh? I think I'll just disable all Google's misfeatures instead, for now.)

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#22

Post by lightgreen »

sk0g wrote: post #19
lightgreen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Where are all these numbers coming from? Would you be ok with a publicly broadcasted CCTV in your bedroom, since one in your bathroom would be 1e4 times worse?

No, but broadcasting cctv pointing to the skies above my home would not be a huge issue. Continuing the analogy, in skies broadcasting the issue would be how they could connect to my camera, rather than privacy which is also violated and also a tiny issue.

Or another analogy. If Google threatened to blow a nuclear bomb over Manhattan, Google gaining knowledge about competitors would not be an issue.

Yeah, Google spying for other apps is bad. But let’s not miss the forest for the trees.

(Also, please don’t use ad hominem arguments, the conversation becomes emotionally loaded rather than coldly rational.)

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#23

Post by [deleted] »

thatha7777 wrote: post #18

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...

[deleted]

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#24

Post by sk0g »

lightgreen wrote: post #22
sk0g wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are all these numbers coming from? Would you be ok with a publicly broadcasted CCTV in your bedroom, since one in your bathroom would be 1e4 times worse?

No, but broadcasting cctv pointing to the skies above my home would not be a huge issue. Continuing the analogy, in skies broadcasting the issue would be how they could connect to my camera, rather than privacy which is also violated and also a tiny issue. Or another analogy. If Google threatened to blow a nuclear bomb over Manhattan, Google gaining knowledge about competitors would not be an issue. Yeah, Google spyi…

You're using random numbers and referring to them as some universally accepted truths, in order to justify smaller transgressions. How is that fuel for a rational conversation?

Edit: also, your entire justification for this spying is that it could be worse. That reads to me like an ad hominem attack in itself.

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#26

Post by lightgreen »

sk0g wrote: post #24
lightgreen wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but broadcasting cctv pointing to the skies above my home would not be a huge issue. Continuing the analogy, in skies broadcasting the issue would be how they could connect to my camera, rather than privacy which is also violated and also a tiny issue. Or another analogy. If Google threatened to blow a nuclear bomb over Manhattan, Google gaining knowledge about competitors would not be an issue. Yeah, Google spyi…

You're using random numbers and referring to them as some universally accepted truths, in order to justify smaller transgressions. How is that fuel for a rational conversation? Edit: also, your entire justification for this spying is that it could be worse. That reads to me like an ad hominem attack in itself.

> You're using random numbers

I use some numbers which are my estimations, and not random numbers. I could explain how I made these estimations if you asked (Short version by definition of risk which is damage multiplied by probability). Also if you disagree with these estimations, you are welcome to suggest your better estimations, how these three scenarios compare to each other.

> your entire justification for this spying is that it could be worse. That reads to me like an ad hominem attack in itself.

It would be ad hominem attack if I said it could be worse for you. But I didn’t, and not everything is about you, so my argument wasn’t ad hominem.

Also, probably best to admit this conversation is derailed and stop it for the good.

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#29

Post by aasasd »

zodiakzz wrote: post #25

>The data was used earlier this month in India, where Google planned to roll out a competitor app to TikTok. Ah! I was hoping the Google Cemetery meme would die out soon. Not so fast I guess.

And here I thought that ‘stories’ on Youtube is a competitor to Tiktok.

Apparently in this day only carpet-bombing with services bears fruit.

Re: Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps

#30

Post by jevgeni »

fxtentacle wrote: post #14
jevgeni wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn’t HN collectively loose their s..t when Microsoft did something similar with Win 10 telemetry?

The difference appears to be that by now, everyone is kind of used to this behavior from Google.

True. I also think the techbro meme of “M$ bad, Google good” still has a certain hold on people's minds.
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