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Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

businessinsider.com

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Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#101

Post by 2Gkashmiri »

mFixman wrote: post #100
arebop wrote: post #5

I sometimes query this to help me recall details from years ago, so I'm sad that the encroachment of very broad government surveillance and the rise to power of extremist politicians makes it unacceptably dangerous to continue to provide the service.

It was priceless when filling my naturalisation application, which required me to write the exact dates of every international trip I did in the past 5 years. Also, it's great for trying to fit loose memories in dates and locations.

wouldnt your passport have that information as opposed to relying on third party information? so....... how would the government in this case "verify" your exact dates?

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#102

Post by mFixman »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #101
mFixman wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was priceless when filling my naturalisation application, which required me to write the exact dates of every international trip I did in the past 5 years. Also, it's great for trying to fit loose memories in dates and locations.

wouldnt your passport have that information as opposed to relying on third party information? so....... how would the government in this case "verify" your exact dates?

Many countries don't stamp your passport anymore, many that do don't put a date, and even if I relied on that information stamps are messy, out of order, and fading.

The government probably has a list of international flights I've taken somewhere. I honestly don't think they will use it they probably don't deny citizenships because I missed a couple of trips (unlike, say, not reporting frequent trips to North Korea).

It's still nice to do the right thing and fill up that data to the best of my knowledge.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#103

Post by lrem »

shepherdjerred wrote: post #25

I disabled location history a while ago for privacy reasons. It was _so_ cool to look back and see where I went during trips, or where I was on a given day in college, but it felt weird that it could potentially be exposed to everyone in a leak. It's great to hear that Google is making such a big move. Google is not known for respecting user privacy.

> Google is not known for respecting user privacy.

As a Googler, I’m always confused by this sentiment. We live in times where car manufacturers reserve the right to collect and sell any data the car can sense, up to and including your sex life. But somehow Google does not sell or share any of your data with anyone, makes it public how it fights a lot of law enforcement overreach, even outright exits markets and sunsets features and products due to privacy concerns… And is everyone’s top focus when it comes to privacy.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#104

Post by sokoloff »

lrem wrote: post #103
shepherdjerred wrote: post #25

I disabled location history a while ago for privacy reasons. It was _so_ cool to look back and see where I went during trips, or where I was on a given day in college, but it felt weird that it could potentially be exposed to everyone in a leak. It's great to hear that Google is making such a big move. Google is not known for respecting user privacy.

> Google is not known for respecting user privacy. As a Googler, I’m always confused by this sentiment. We live in times where car manufacturers reserve the right to collect and sell any data the car can sense, up to and including your sex life. But somehow Google does not sell or share any of your data with anyone, makes it public how it fights a lot of law enforcement overreach, even outright exits markets and suns…

Plenty of people find retargeting ads objectionable and a violation of user privacy for which Google is handsomely rewarded financially.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#105

Post by someotherperson »

lrem wrote: post #103
shepherdjerred wrote: post #25

I disabled location history a while ago for privacy reasons. It was _so_ cool to look back and see where I went during trips, or where I was on a given day in college, but it felt weird that it could potentially be exposed to everyone in a leak. It's great to hear that Google is making such a big move. Google is not known for respecting user privacy.

> Google is not known for respecting user privacy. As a Googler, I’m always confused by this sentiment. We live in times where car manufacturers reserve the right to collect and sell any data the car can sense, up to and including your sex life. But somehow Google does not sell or share any of your data with anyone, makes it public how it fights a lot of law enforcement overreach, even outright exits markets and suns…

To play devils advocate, there are a few reasons off the top of my head:

1. More people have phones than cars

2. Cars take someone to a general location (i.e a shopping mall carpark) but phones are precise enough to say which section of a store (or hospital) you are in

3. Car manufacturers can't inherently link the passengers of the car to the driver, or to each other

4. Manufacturers of cars don't have ads as a core business model

That's not to say what car manufacturers are doing isn't scummy -- it deserves more light. But what Google does affects more people in a much more complex way. Google doing this essentially takes attention away from these smaller cases of privacy violations -- if the Google issue is solved (and I'm using Google here as a supplement for "phone tracking") then the world would turn their focus to the smaller issues like car tracking.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#106

Post by Isomer »

jameson wrote: post #63

It would be nice to have users opt-in to save in Google drive (or any other cloud file storage like microsoft one drive or dropbox)

> If you’re getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can always choose to back up your data to the cloud so it doesn’t get lost. We’ll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.

https://blog.google/products/maps/updates-to-location-histor...

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#107

Post by swagempire »

mFixman wrote: post #102
2Gkashmiri wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wouldnt your passport have that information as opposed to relying on third party information? so....... how would the government in this case "verify" your exact dates?

Many countries don't stamp your passport anymore, many that do don't put a date, and even if I relied on that information stamps are messy, out of order, and fading. The government probably has a list of international flights I've taken somewhere. I honestly don't think they will use it they probably don't deny citizenships because I missed a couple of trips (unlike, say, not reporting frequent trips to North Korea).…

Really? Which ones?

Even if I get an e-visa, I get an in and out stamp. Not having these would invalidate the whole reason for having a passport.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#108

Post by Propelloni »

soraminazuki wrote: post #61
ajross wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Discovery is subject to oversight. The court signs off on the subpoena and your lawyer gets to argue why it's not valid before it does. No, "because I dislike you" isn't going to fly. But if you're in a legitimate feud with someone and they can make a real case that your location information is important evidence for the court to see, sure.

In theory, yes. But we wouldn't even be having this conversation if we had a functioning legal system, government agencies that respected people's rights, and government lawyers that didn't "interpret" constitutional protections out of existence behind closed doors.

I believe you that you feel that way. Your phrasing however is awfully close to a "no true scotsman" argument, because you seem to be talking about the USA, which by all means and measures still has a functioning legal system -- despite attacks from all sides, inlcuding major political parties. It produces predictable outcomes according to law and fundamental rights are respected.

According to the World Justice Project [1] the USA is in spot 26 of 150+ examined nations. Worse than most European countries, but far better than most of the world. And while the general "rule of law" trend for the USA is declining for the last decade, checks on government power have actually improved in recent years.

If you don't believe me or WJP numbers, I invite you to travel abroad and spend some time in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Egypt, or even Hungary. If that's too much to ask, just try doing business there. I was involved in projects in some of the above mentioned countries and I tell you, the contrast is startling.

[1] https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/downloads/...

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#109

Post by spacemanspiff01 »

swagempire wrote: post #107
mFixman wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many countries don't stamp your passport anymore, many that do don't put a date, and even if I relied on that information stamps are messy, out of order, and fading. The government probably has a list of international flights I've taken somewhere. I honestly don't think they will use it they probably don't deny citizenships because I missed a couple of trips (unlike, say, not reporting frequent trips to North Korea).…

Really? Which ones? Even if I get an e-visa, I get an in and out stamp. Not having these would invalidate the whole reason for having a passport.

Travel within the shengen zone is a one, you may get entry and exit stamps, but if you travel Germany and France there is no record.

Re: Location history data in Google Maps will soon be stored on user devices

#110

Post by kccqzy »

lrem wrote: post #103
shepherdjerred wrote: post #25

I disabled location history a while ago for privacy reasons. It was _so_ cool to look back and see where I went during trips, or where I was on a given day in college, but it felt weird that it could potentially be exposed to everyone in a leak. It's great to hear that Google is making such a big move. Google is not known for respecting user privacy.

> Google is not known for respecting user privacy. As a Googler, I’m always confused by this sentiment. We live in times where car manufacturers reserve the right to collect and sell any data the car can sense, up to and including your sex life. But somehow Google does not sell or share any of your data with anyone, makes it public how it fights a lot of law enforcement overreach, even outright exits markets and suns…

Simple answer. Google doesn't cultivate an image of caring about privacy. It's the complete failure of Google PR. It's also due to an outdated notion of confidentiality that kept so much privacy-related deliberations within the company. Google should just publish slightly sanitized versions of their internal PDDs with PWG comments to win back trust. (For people who had never worked at Google: PDD means privacy design doc, like a privacy policy but with a lot more details; PWG means privacy working group, specific teams tasked with ensuring good privacy practices in all products launched by Google.)
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