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People who feel that they have “nothing to hide” don’t quite understand the extent to which they’re being mined for personal data. Google offers all of this ama

People who feel that they have “nothing to hide” don’t quite understand the extent to which they’re being mined for personal data. Google offers all of this amazingly polished software for free so naive people like you will feed them your browsing history, email, location and search queries. They will then monetize that data by targeting ads to you, which generates over 80% of their revenue. If you are ok with that and still think you have nothing to hide, ask yourself if you’d be ok with this trove of data ever being exposed publicly. Ever googled something embarrassing? Perhaps a medical condition or symptom? Sent a very personal email? Visited a less than savory location, or lied to an employer about your whereabouts? I’d be willing to bet most people have some data that could be weaponized for blackmail. Surely many people (especially the ignorant) will find Google’s products and services “worth using” but privacy concerns are anything but overblown.

sridca 8y ago
> ask yourself if you’d be ok with [your browsing history, email, location and search queries] ever being exposed publicly. I already did, and the answer was "Yes, I'd be okay" (although the likelihood of that happening is extremely rare). > Ever googled something embarrassing? Use incognito mode. > Perhaps a medical condition or symptom? I have only one medical condition, which I'm not embarassed to talk about publicly (I already do it). > Sent a very personal email? I rarely send "very personal"/ intimate information over email in lieu of just talking over phone. > Visited a less than savory location, Never in my life. > or lied to an employer about your whereabouts? I never had to do it (why would I?). > I’d be willing to bet most people have some data that could be weaponized for blackmail. If--note "if"--I were to engage in an activity that could potentially be used to blackmail or harm me in any way, I would of course be doing it in as private manner as possible. However it would be silly to spend the rest of my normal life cowering and being phobic to technological advances. > Surely many people (especially the ignorant) will find Google’s products and services “worth using” but privacy concerns are anything but overblown. You confuse being naive (in its original sense of the word) with being ignorant. But I guess that's what fear does to one.
- starshadowx2 8y ago
  >Use incognito mode. All this means is that it's not stored on your computer/history. This doesn't mean Google doesn't still have everything from those periods.
  - sridca 8y ago
    Google does not track your incognito history and cookies unless you actually sign-in to your Google account in the incognito window of course.
    - dogecoinbase 8y ago
      Of course they do.
      - sridca 8y ago
        Do you have evidence? Or is it all just fear mongering?
        Kodix 8y ago
        Here is a recent article suggesting that that's at least somewhat true: https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/4/18124718/google-search-results-personalized-unique-duckduckgo-filter-bubble https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/4/18124718/google-search-re...
        sridca 8y ago
        Somewhat true, but not actually true. This is a flawed study by a Google's competitor (the for-profit organization called DuckDuckGo). FTA: > Following the study’s publication this morning, Google told The Verge in a statement that it found the methodology flawed and the findings misleading. “This study’s methodology and conclusions are flawed since they are based on the assumption that any difference in search results are based on personalization. That is simply not true,” a Google spokesperson said. “In fact, there are a number of factors that can lead to slight differences, including time and location, which this study doesn’t appear to have controlled for effectively.” and: https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520 https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520 Facts won't change being facts no matter how many times you downvote them. :-P
zcid 8y ago
I did a factory reset on my Android phone today and was depressed when I realized the vast number of settings I have to change in order to get even a small semblance of privacy. App permissions, location history, disabling of default apps; the list goes on.

sridca 8y ago

> ask yourself if you’d be ok with [your browsing history, email, location and search queries] ever being exposed publicly. I already did, and the answer was "Yes, I'd be okay" (although the likelihood of that happening is extremely rare). > Ever googled something embarrassing? Use incognito mode. > Perhaps a medical condition or symptom? I have only one medical condition, which I'm not embarassed to talk about publicly (I already do it). > Sent a very personal email? I rarely send "very personal"/ intimate information over email in lieu of just talking over phone. > Visited a less than savory location, Never in my life. > or lied to an employer about your whereabouts? I never had to do it (why would I?). > I’d be willing to bet most people have some data that could be weaponized for blackmail. If--note "if"--I were to engage in an activity that could potentially be used to blackmail or harm me in any way, I would of course be doing it in as private manner as possible. However it would be silly to spend the rest of my normal life cowering and being phobic to technological advances. > Surely many people (especially the ignorant) will find Google’s products and services “worth using” but privacy concerns are anything but overblown. You confuse being naive (in its original sense of the word) with being ignorant. But I guess that's what fear does to one.

starshadowx2 8y ago
>Use incognito mode. All this means is that it's not stored on your computer/history. This doesn't mean Google doesn't still have everything from those periods.
- sridca 8y ago
  Google does not track your incognito history and cookies unless you actually sign-in to your Google account in the incognito window of course.
  - dogecoinbase 8y ago
    Of course they do.
    - sridca 8y ago
      Do you have evidence? Or is it all just fear mongering?
      - Kodix 8y ago
        Here is a recent article suggesting that that's at least somewhat true: https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/4/18124718/google-search-results-personalized-unique-duckduckgo-filter-bubble https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/4/18124718/google-search-re...
        sridca 8y ago
        Somewhat true, but not actually true. This is a flawed study by a Google's competitor (the for-profit organization called DuckDuckGo). FTA: > Following the study’s publication this morning, Google told The Verge in a statement that it found the methodology flawed and the findings misleading. “This study’s methodology and conclusions are flawed since they are based on the assumption that any difference in search results are based on personalization. That is simply not true,” a Google spokesperson said. “In fact, there are a number of factors that can lead to slight differences, including time and location, which this study doesn’t appear to have controlled for effectively.” and: https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520 https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1070027261376491520 Facts won't change being facts no matter how many times you downvote them. :-P

zcid 8y ago

I did a factory reset on my Android phone today and was depressed when I realized the vast number of settings I have to change in order to get even a small semblance of privacy. App permissions, location history, disabling of default apps; the list goes on.