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Nielson data is a very small very targeted piece of data. Nielson may be able to somewhat tell something about your family (so critically it is about a group o

Nielson data is a very small very targeted piece of data. Nielson may be able to somewhat tell something about your family (so critically it is about a group of people instead of an individual person, which is a major difference). Considering how most people use their phones, this basically gives Google all of your information. There is little to nothing they would not know about you. Worse is them being able to get information about other people (thanks to them messaging you, while you have this tracker running) without their consent.

izacus 8y ago
That, however, doesn't address the question - why do you think people can't freely choose for themselves what they're doing with their data. It's one thing to do a nastly covert data mining and another thing to go to a person and say "hey, I'll pay you to do A on THIS device with THIS app which you CLEARLY need to install and activate". One is dishonest, the other just seems like basic freedom in modern world?
- nerdjon 8y ago
  I don't necessarily have an issue with people being able to choose. However I think there is an issue of actually understanding what is being done with your data. But still doesn't address that it isn't just your data that is being gathered up from your phone. Your consenting to at least some data from the people you text and email being grabbed up and there is nothing they can do about it except not talk to you, assuming they were to even know.
  - higginsc 8y ago
    But the point of this was market research. I highly doubt anybody gives a shit, even the uptight brigade here on hackernews, about whether company X knows I'm using company Y's app. It's not like FB wants to read your private texts. They want to know what apps you're using and how you spend your time so they can make their own products better.
magicalist 8y ago
> Nielson data is a very small very targeted piece of data No it's not: https://computermobilepanel.nielsen.com/cmp/landingeng.jsp https://computermobilepanel.nielsen.com/cmp/landingeng.jsp
- kalleboo 8y ago
  > Why is this any worse than being a Nielsen family back in the day? GP was specifically asking about "back in the day", the comparison should be about the volume of data between then and now
  - magicalist 8y ago
    > GP was specifically asking about "back in the day" You're quoting a different person, and clearly not, or they wouldn't be speculating on Nielsen's abilities in the present tense.

izacus 8y ago

That, however, doesn't address the question - why do you think people can't freely choose for themselves what they're doing with their data. It's one thing to do a nastly covert data mining and another thing to go to a person and say "hey, I'll pay you to do A on THIS device with THIS app which you CLEARLY need to install and activate". One is dishonest, the other just seems like basic freedom in modern world?

nerdjon 8y ago
I don't necessarily have an issue with people being able to choose. However I think there is an issue of actually understanding what is being done with your data. But still doesn't address that it isn't just your data that is being gathered up from your phone. Your consenting to at least some data from the people you text and email being grabbed up and there is nothing they can do about it except not talk to you, assuming they were to even know.
- higginsc 8y ago
  But the point of this was market research. I highly doubt anybody gives a shit, even the uptight brigade here on hackernews, about whether company X knows I'm using company Y's app. It's not like FB wants to read your private texts. They want to know what apps you're using and how you spend your time so they can make their own products better.

magicalist 8y ago

> Nielson data is a very small very targeted piece of data No it's not: https://computermobilepanel.nielsen.com/cmp/landingeng.jsp https://computermobilepanel.nielsen.com/cmp/landingeng.jsp

kalleboo 8y ago
> Why is this any worse than being a Nielsen family back in the day? GP was specifically asking about "back in the day", the comparison should be about the volume of data between then and now
- magicalist 8y ago
  > GP was specifically asking about "back in the day" You're quoting a different person, and clearly not, or they wouldn't be speculating on Nielsen's abilities in the present tense.