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Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

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Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#171

Post by surgical_fire »

kccqzy wrote: post #82
Hizonner wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What Gemini should be able to do with WhatsApp: Exactly and only what any other random app on the phone could do with WhatsApp, assuming that you have enabled that in exactly the way you would have to enable any other random app to do it. Google needs to not be abusing its position as the source of the OS to give its software special privilege to reach inside of third-party apps.

The line is blurry. Google is positioning Gemini not just as an app, but as a OS level feature. The OS can by definition reach into any third-app app to do anything it wants. I'll give some more examples of OS-level features in case it's not clear: copy/paste is an OS-level feature and it is designed to extract arbitrary text or content from third party apps (copy) and insert them into third party apps (paste); scree…

> Google is positioning Gemini not just as an app, but as a OS level feature

Eeewww.

We need a mobile OS competitor.

I am seriously considering a move to Fairphone with /e/os.

GrapheneOS would be a possibility, but I don't trust Google to make decent hardware, so not super excited to get a Pixel phone.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#172

Post by xeonmc »

hbn wrote: post #73

People have been clowning on Apple for being behind on the AI stuff and -- while I'd never defend how they promised a bunch of features in 2024, showed them in ads, and sold iPhones based on vaporware, but still haven't shipped most of the features -- I will say, I imagine a lot of the hold-up is because they realized how dangerous it is to start trusting AI with the sensitive data on your phone. It's probably not to…

I can't help but wonder what "Thoughts on AI" would say if Steve were still here.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#173

Post by dakiol »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #80
bix6 wrote: post #7

These big tech companies are so frustrating. Why does every single aspect of our digital lives need to be monitored? It’s like whack a mole trying to get the most basic of privacy.

Because people collectively vote for the ad model over the subscription model.

I pay for 2 streaming services. They include annoying ads and the only way to avoid ads is, yeah to just pay more. No sense at all.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#174

Post by T4iga »

kccqzy wrote: post #136
Barbing wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminiscent of their heavy handed approach to disabling watch history on YouTube, even when paying for YouTube Premium. (Google punishes viewers who make themselves less valuable to advertisers by giving them an entirely blank homepage.)

It's not a punishment; it's entirely transactional. You make yourself less valuable to advertisers so you also make yourself less valuable to Google. Therefore Google provides you with fewer features such as a blank homepage. The era of Google providing costly features to users with no benefit to itself is coming to an end.

Except you missed that part where they said > Premium

If you pay for it, you can expect to not be the product.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#175

Post by myko »

overfeed wrote: post #150
Hizonner wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, really the line was crossed when Google Play Services got special privileges (and third party app developers were encouraged to call on Google Play Services as the only practical way to do various things, some of which maybe should have been part of the OS). And the "assistant" crap, and whatever else. ... and GraphenOS isn't exactly a fork , but it's plugging away, fighting the good fight, doing things like ma…

Devils advocate: Google Play Services was the right solution to all the clamoring about Android fragmentation and OEMs abandoning devices by not providing upgrades.

Definitely helped with that and also absolutely frustrating that it is so abusable to keep folks out of the Android garden.

Undeniable that Android updates are so much better than in the past, and it's far easier to keep your Android app using modern APIs than your iOS app, because most of those APIs are libraries with full backwards compatibility going back many years.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#179

Post by sneak »

bix6 wrote: post #7

These big tech companies are so frustrating. Why does every single aspect of our digital lives need to be monitored? It’s like whack a mole trying to get the most basic of privacy.

WhatsApp is surveillanceware from a surveillance company.

Anyone running into this problem willingly opted in to having surveillance software on their device. Meta’s track record is not secret.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#180

Post by lern_too_spel »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #98
Hizonner wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What Gemini should be able to do with WhatsApp: Exactly and only what any other random app on the phone could do with WhatsApp, assuming that you have enabled that in exactly the way you would have to enable any other random app to do it. Google needs to not be abusing its position as the source of the OS to give its software special privilege to reach inside of third-party apps.

> Google needs to not be abusing its position as the source of the OS to give its software special privilege to reach inside of third-party apps Gemini uses the same APIs and permissions as any other Android app.

This is trivial to verify. Just look at the permissions requested by the Google app like I did.
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