3 ms·

#1 is so obnoxious. No Google, I won't do free work for you. At least offer me some store credit.

Supermighty 9y ago
I was taking photos of locations I visited. Google Explorer's program offered free 100GB of Google Drive space once you reached a certain level. About a month after I started they changed the promotion and took away the Drive space. So I deleted all my photos and stopped taking new ones. Never work for free.
- 659087 9y ago
  > So I deleted all my photos and stopped taking new ones. When you're "deleting" things from services like Google Drive, it's better to think of what you're doing as "hiding things from yourself". It's unlikely that Google actually deleted that data in a way that prevents them from accessing it.
- djhworld 9y ago
  I've just been looking through the app, it doesn't really describe that well what the "points" system even earns you, for your contributions. The help page has this vague statement saying "Those points lead to higher levels of the program, as well as benefits like early access to Google features and special perks from partners" Obviously covering their backs because "special perks from partners" could mean anything
bootloop 9y ago
Do you pay for their service? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- lorenzhs 9y ago
  They make money by showing me ads, so yes, I do. Just not in a direct monetary exchange.
- jfoutz 9y ago
  I think they paid as much for google maps on their android phone as an iphone user pays for apple maps, right?
- fenwick67 9y ago
  I look at the ads they serve me so yes I do pay for their services, just not directly.
Orangeair 9y ago
If you sign up for the local guides program, there are some various minor benefits you get in return. But besides that, I think the "payment" you get in return is the quality of Google Maps itself. Features like being able to tell when a restaurant is most busy can't realistically exist without automatically collecting data about users who are visiting it throughout the day. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I find data collection of that sort -- where the data is directly being used to improve the product -- acceptable. What I find much more unacceptable is tracking for the purpose of showing ads. Although companies try to say they're "improving the experience" by showing targeted ads, I'd rather not constantly be bombarded with things that are engineered to extract as much of my attention as possible. (yes, I realize location tracking is used to target advertisement, which is why I keep location services enabled and block ads) Disclaimer: I work for Google (but not on Maps)

I was taking photos of locations I visited. Google Explorer's program offered free 100GB of Google Drive space once you reached a certain level. About a month after I started they changed the promotion and took away the Drive space. So I deleted all my photos and stopped taking new ones. Never work for free.

659087 9y ago
> So I deleted all my photos and stopped taking new ones. When you're "deleting" things from services like Google Drive, it's better to think of what you're doing as "hiding things from yourself". It's unlikely that Google actually deleted that data in a way that prevents them from accessing it.
djhworld 9y ago
I've just been looking through the app, it doesn't really describe that well what the "points" system even earns you, for your contributions. The help page has this vague statement saying "Those points lead to higher levels of the program, as well as benefits like early access to Google features and special perks from partners" Obviously covering their backs because "special perks from partners" could mean anything

bootloop 9y ago

Do you pay for their service? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

lorenzhs 9y ago
They make money by showing me ads, so yes, I do. Just not in a direct monetary exchange.
jfoutz 9y ago
I think they paid as much for google maps on their android phone as an iphone user pays for apple maps, right?
fenwick67 9y ago
I look at the ads they serve me so yes I do pay for their services, just not directly.

Orangeair 9y ago

If you sign up for the local guides program, there are some various minor benefits you get in return. But besides that, I think the "payment" you get in return is the quality of Google Maps itself. Features like being able to tell when a restaurant is most busy can't realistically exist without automatically collecting data about users who are visiting it throughout the day. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I find data collection of that sort -- where the data is directly being used to improve the product -- acceptable. What I find much more unacceptable is tracking for the purpose of showing ads. Although companies try to say they're "improving the experience" by showing targeted ads, I'd rather not constantly be bombarded with things that are engineered to extract as much of my attention as possible. (yes, I realize location tracking is used to target advertisement, which is why I keep location services enabled and block ads) Disclaimer: I work for Google (but not on Maps)