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Exactly, though Google isn't itself really clear in its docs, and there's some sneaky/creepy stuff apparently turned on like sharing to the cloud every USB stic

Exactly, though Google isn't itself really clear in its docs, and there's some sneaky/creepy stuff apparently turned on like sharing to the cloud every USB stick and SD card you plug in by default [which Google Drive did not do: beware when upgrading to B&S]. That's going to be a whole "WiFi snooping secret data" saga all over again if my interpretation is correct. http://www.earth.org.uk/note-on-backup-energy-efficiency.html http://www.earth.org.uk/note-on-backup-energy-efficiency.htm... [Edit to make clearer that B&S has an apparently new worrying behaviour unannounced if you do a straight upgrade from GD.]

lern_too_spel 9y ago
It sounds like it backs up photos from USB sticks and SD cards by default, which is probably expected behavior for people who use digital cameras that connect via USB or write to SD card. Does it also back up non-photo files from those devices?
- DamonHD 9y ago
  That wasn't clear. But it's going to end up sucking up a bunch of private photos even if restricted to that (kids, wild parties, whatever). If not, think how many businesses exchange moderately- to very- sensitive documents privately in person, if too private to put on-line? Hmm, USB sticks... Anyhow, I hope you're right. Have you found documentation to that effect?
  - Filligree 9y ago
    I mean, it won't do anything unless you install it, and if you install a file sync tool you'd better know what it does. I hope that's clear from the landing page, though.
    - DamonHD 9y ago
      Note though that if you were like me already running GD and upgrade to B&S (as you would have to by Dec 11 to keep the functionality) there is no warning of this new slurping.
      - rishsharma 9y ago
        You can turn it off completely in Preferences.
        DamonHD 9y ago
        If you notice that it's there and that it's on. Which I didn't immediately. It's tucked away at the end and without a checkbox like other items in the same view. Indeed, it looks at first glance to be informational. Someone in the UX team may have thought that they were being clever, but like the W10 'cancel means upgrade' debacle, it'll cause trouble. I do hope that this is just unfortunate design and that USB item is only enabled if the checkbox above it is on also. Perhaps I'm just having a bad hair day: I don't normally do conspiracy theories.

lern_too_spel 9y ago

It sounds like it backs up photos from USB sticks and SD cards by default, which is probably expected behavior for people who use digital cameras that connect via USB or write to SD card. Does it also back up non-photo files from those devices?

DamonHD 9y ago
That wasn't clear. But it's going to end up sucking up a bunch of private photos even if restricted to that (kids, wild parties, whatever). If not, think how many businesses exchange moderately- to very- sensitive documents privately in person, if too private to put on-line? Hmm, USB sticks... Anyhow, I hope you're right. Have you found documentation to that effect?
- Filligree 9y ago
  I mean, it won't do anything unless you install it, and if you install a file sync tool you'd better know what it does. I hope that's clear from the landing page, though.
  - DamonHD 9y ago
    Note though that if you were like me already running GD and upgrade to B&S (as you would have to by Dec 11 to keep the functionality) there is no warning of this new slurping.
    - rishsharma 9y ago
      You can turn it off completely in Preferences.
      - DamonHD 9y ago
        If you notice that it's there and that it's on. Which I didn't immediately. It's tucked away at the end and without a checkbox like other items in the same view. Indeed, it looks at first glance to be informational. Someone in the UX team may have thought that they were being clever, but like the W10 'cancel means upgrade' debacle, it'll cause trouble. I do hope that this is just unfortunate design and that USB item is only enabled if the checkbox above it is on also. Perhaps I'm just having a bad hair day: I don't normally do conspiracy theories.