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Google collects metadata from Android phones

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Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#231

Post by msh »

Sylos wrote: post #185
nextos wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the right reaction to this is moving to Android without the mothership. That is an Android stripped from any Google services. I was quite sceptical about Android, partly because it has a foreign userspace and partly because there were no nice vanilla Android forks without Google code and with a focus on privacy. I'm now tired of waiting for any Maemo successor to catch up and I reckon F-droid has become a pre…

I've gone the Google-free route a little while ago, and it's really been not nearly as bad as even I thought myself. The only thing that I'm still sort of missing, is the automatic calendar and contact backup. You could do that with something like OwnCloud/NextCloud or a CalDAV-service, but yeah, it is a non-trivial effort. Otherwise, in case you do try it, here's some things that I found useful: If the apps on F-Dro…

Mailbox.org gives you contact and calendar sync and backup for 1 euro a month. Plus email with your own domain.

Default language on their page is in German but everything is available in English (including support).

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#232

Post by themartorana »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #205
sangnoir wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That setting on iOS refers to iAd, a service that died because it respected your privacy too much That is absurd revisionism: iAd died because Apple stipulated a minimum ad spend of $1 million. They later dropped the minimum spend to $50, but the damage was already done and the platform was in a death-spiral. iAd died because Apple unsuccessful tried to capture the 'premium' end of the Ad Market, not because it "re…

I stand by what I said. Citation: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-encryption-privacy-i...

"Apple is loathe to use customer data to deliver targeted advertising or personalized recommendations..."

...is false. They are loathe to allow anyone else access to it, and sold ads as many exchanges (like Facebook) do - not sharing user info, but promising they can target the demographic you want with precision.

And just to drive home the point, they will still be using targeted data when they start showing App Store ads in iOS 10. If you think there is no targeting there, you're hiding your head in the sand.

My theory goes like this - Apple gets to still advertise, lose its full iAd sales team, has a captive audience and ad platform and so can set pricing however they want, use native (better) ads instead of banner (worse and dying) ads, and so on.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#233

Post by Natanael_L »

gajjanag wrote: post #120
jsprogrammer wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The privacy policy actually says you don't have to check: >Our Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent.

All fine, but it is left conveniently unspecified what is meant by "reduce your rights". In fact, I don't even know my rights as I was not explicitly presented them in the form of a list in the first place, making the "reduction" ambiguous. Admittedly it is not as easy to spin this as a more explicit ToS, but I am sure that with a sufficient number of legal experts, this has considerable leeway in terms of interpreta…

On the other hand, if a court found them to have violated their own policy of not reducing rights without notification then they could get heavily fined.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#235

Post by Natanael_L »

retox wrote: post #169
spriggan3 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's dead if you use all these "free" services, "free" mobile os and services and "free" apps like Chrome browser, provided by Google,Facebook and co. By using these "freebies" you are willingly giving up data. People are effectively paying with their privacy, it is made completely clear. That's the model the "free" internet chose to go with. People don't seem to care about their privacy or don't understand the conse…

From a consumer standpoint; is android free? I paid for the phone, I own it outright but Google still seems set on turning me into a cash cow.

Get a phone that allows you to flash a custom ROM and pick one without Google's apps.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#236

Post by ffwd »

whamlastxmas wrote: post #28
jswny wrote: post #15

Are people really surprised about this anymore? I can't say that I am. Google is a company which makes a lot of money off of their platforms. I expect them to be collecting data wherever and whenever they can. I see stories like this every day but I've become accustomed to it because it's such a normal practice nowadays, especially from a company like google which provides so many advertising services. I'm not saying…

I make the same assumption and the chilling effect is frustrating. I assume everything I type on the internet is able to be tied back to me if anyone at the NSA etc wanted to look at me specifically. Unless you always use a VPN (or Tor) for all of your accounts and go through the unreasonable efforts of preventing browser fingerprinting, chances are this is true for everyone. And even those efforts are thwarted if th…

I'm not disagreeing with you but I'm curious what specific things you feel are 'chilled'? People in western countries can still write whatever they want - anti-government, anti-capitalism, whatever else. In fact there seem to be more conspiracy theories, Obama hate, and Clinton and David Cameron hate than at any time in human history. Like the most worry I have is having private actors look into my history and ban me from their sites or become targeted by hackers and such. That kind of stuff has a chilling effect much more to me than government/NSA/GCHQ, since they seem to have bigger fish to fry and they are ruled by law / principles taught in 'boot camp'

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#237

Post by 0xmohit »

userbinator wrote: post #81
JTenerife wrote: post #76

And people freak out about some Microsoft telemetry collection.

Until very recently, Microsoft's business model had not been about profiting off collecting user information. They were one of the last remaining companies who didn't attempt to monetise the crap out of their users.

> Until very recently, ...

And then Microsoft acquired LinkedIn.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#238

Post by 0xmohit »

yoshamano wrote: post #116
edwintorok wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you care about privacy on your mobile phone consider supporting alternatives such as Neo900 (preorders are available): http://neo900.org/faq#floss

I really want to support the Neo900 but the estimated $1,100 price tag for a complete phone is prohibitive. https://neo900.org/estimate

Agree that the mentioned price would be prohibitive.

But looking at how much people are willing to pay for smart watches, perhaps not.

Re: Google collects metadata from Android phones

#239

Post by chrismartin »

djsumdog wrote: post #115
johnsea wrote: post #33

A Gooxit would be in order. From time to time I wonder why the EU accepts foreign companies stealing so much personal data. China did the right thing. We should learn from them. India, afaik, also has better protection.

I moved my e-mail off Google a few years ago after the PRISM leaks (which the world seems to have collectively forgotten about), but it's not easy. I've posted an article before on my struggles with running my own e-mail server and my messages going straight to spam (even with valid DMARC, DKIM and SPF records). I have a lot of friends internationally and I feel I can't exit FB, Google Hangouts, etc. The idea of fede…

Don't give up with your email server! Slowly, more and more of my messages have made it to Gmail users' inboxes (rather than spam folders) over the past few months.
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