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Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

businessinsider.com

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Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#31

Post by arkades »

Earlier this week there was a post regarding Google and its utilization of private health information. A number of Googlers came forward to describe how very seriously Google takes user privacy and keeping inappropriate data from being shared across silos. I got the overall impression of Googlers taking the position of “you guys don’t know how seriously we take peoples privacy.”

If any of those Googlers would please comment on how to square those statements with the featured article, I’d appreciate it.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#32

Post by ttt0 »

ppf wrote: post #23
ttt0 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can also try to break up Google into something more granular and see if it helps.

I'm always amused by calls for the breakup of the "unbearable monopoly" of Google, when it is itself the epitome of the Silicon Valley "monopolies need disrupting!" business model.

Got a better idea? I'd like to see them bankrupt and all their data being wiped, but I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. Breaking them up is the only option we realistically have as of right now.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#33

Post by hobs »

leesalminen wrote: post #18
rightbyte wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold. Full price TVs from eg. Samsung comes with ads and spyware nowadays. I would say the saying has stopped being accurate. Also, phones are paid for.

TVs are so cheap now because of ad subsidies. That 42” panel wouldn’t cost $199 if it weren’t for ads.

That'd be a good point if there were companies offering the full price model, but unless you want to buy a commercial panel and do a bunch of hoop jumping yourself, you literally cant buy a TV without adware in it.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#34

Post by C-x_C-f »

rightbyte wrote: post #14
max_hammer wrote: post #9

If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold. Few years back you could easily root your android device and get custom ROM installed. Now, only solution is use a feature phone without gps and wifi and have a separate device for connecting to internet. IPhone is also a good alternative but I don't agree with thier walled garden development philosophy. Edit: You pay a separate fee…

> If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold. Full price TVs from eg. Samsung comes with ads and spyware nowadays. I would say the saying has stopped being accurate. Also, phones are paid for.

> I would say the saying has stopped being accurate.

I wouldn't say so. The saying states that not paying implies being the product. Your example shows that being the product does not imply not paying. The two are independent and can be true at the same time.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#35

Post by nojito »

jeffbee wrote: post #19
nojito wrote: post #6

It’s even worse than the headline implies. You couldn’t prevent location tracking unless you disabled the numerous switches in settings and turned off WiFi as well. The real damning allegation is that location data collected from google maps/apps and non-google apps was siphoned to all other google products through something that is redacted in the court docs. >"So there is no way to give a third party app your locat…

OK "siphoned" is an opinion. Apple Maps also provides location services to other Apple products on its platform. Unless I disable the switch which is buried at Settings, Privacy, Location Services, System Services, Significant Locations, Apple will "allow your iCloud connected devices to learn places significant to you in order to provide useful location-related information in Maps, Calendar, Photos, and more." If I…

Sorry I wasn't clear, but it was google maps/apps and non-google apps.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#36

Post by sthnblllII »

toastal wrote: post #12
chimen wrote: post #4

Even attempting to stay private gets you banned on most services.

Ran into this today logging into PayPal (the password-must-be-8-20-characters payment service) for the first time in a long time to buy a band t-shirt. After jumping through two different types of CAPTCHAs, now they require you share your phone number to log in. I contacted support via Twitter saying they have my email if they want to verify a login because I'm not comfortable with SIM jacking nor how data-mining is…

Stuff like paypal exist so that powerful people can shut you out of the economy if you challenge their power. They complain about money laundering while the CIA is the biggest money launderer in the world and no one goes to jail when Deutsche bank launders Jeffery Epstein's payments. But operating a Bitcoin mixer is a federal offense. They are scared.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#37

Post by jjulius »

leesalminen wrote: post #18
rightbyte wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold. Full price TVs from eg. Samsung comes with ads and spyware nowadays. I would say the saying has stopped being accurate. Also, phones are paid for.

TVs are so cheap now because of ad subsidies. That 42” panel wouldn’t cost $199 if it weren’t for ads.

That's fine, maybe the trade off in increased price is worth it to some people.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#38

Post by kyralis »

jeffbee wrote: post #19
nojito wrote: post #6

It’s even worse than the headline implies. You couldn’t prevent location tracking unless you disabled the numerous switches in settings and turned off WiFi as well. The real damning allegation is that location data collected from google maps/apps and non-google apps was siphoned to all other google products through something that is redacted in the court docs. >"So there is no way to give a third party app your locat…

OK "siphoned" is an opinion. Apple Maps also provides location services to other Apple products on its platform. Unless I disable the switch which is buried at Settings, Privacy, Location Services, System Services, Significant Locations, Apple will "allow your iCloud connected devices to learn places significant to you in order to provide useful location-related information in Maps, Calendar, Photos, and more." If I…

That data isn't actually shared with Apple. It's used on device by the client applications for those services.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#39

Post by Vespasian »

JCM9 wrote: post #13

There’s a huge privacy battle on the horizon in tech. The initial scuffles are just the beginning. Google and Facebook’s business models depend deeply on being able to track information that consumers are increasingly unhappy to share. Both companies attempts to diversify their dependency on such info for their revenue have been broadly unsuccessful (Google fiber or a Google car anyone?). Meanwhile the likes of Apple…

Google even managed to incur heavy losses from offering cloud infrastructure services. A business which usually is a guaranteed golden goose.

They are really bad at making money with anything that isn't advertising.

Re: Google made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private

#40

Post by filterfish »

koheripbal wrote: post #22
lazyeye wrote: post #15

It used to be "don't be evil". Now its "hide, deny and obsfucate our evil".

I think a more useful life lesson is that an organization's motto is not a useful measure of its true internal or external ethics - regardless of what it says - regardless of the type of organization. A motto is, by definition, marketing. Even more generally, I worry about the trend on social media to value words so much more than actions.

In the early days they did seem to follow that motto so there was at least some cause to believe them.
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