4 ms·

So many people talking about what a good idea this is, or how it has already been done or ... Absolutely nobody talking about ... if we really, as consumers, w

by ctoth 8y ago

So many people talking about what a good idea this is, or how it has already been done or ... Absolutely nobody talking about ... if we really, as consumers, want to be tracked everywhere all the time always. Do you just assume that there's no way to stop it so might as well nerd out over it? This is ... So weird, considering how HN usually treats privacy. I hope this company, and every company trying to track me both on and offline are destroyed by strong data privacy legislation. Enough is enough.

michaelvoz 8y ago
When you enter a private business, they have every right to track you as they wish.
- conanbatt 8y ago
  Michaelvoz is right, the expectation of privacy does not exist any more. Thats why I carry signal jammers to every bathroom out there!
- burkaman 8y ago
  They also have the right to kick me out, but I hope they don't do either.
- ctoth 8y ago
  So why don't they send a person to follow me around, noting down specifics like what clothing I look at and how many seconds I take to poop? Because this would be creepy But since they're doing it with invisible technology that most people don't know about, it's okay, right? Wrong. Furthermore, just as when the government does it, there is a qualitative, not merely quantitative difference between individualized data collection and total aggregation. It's legal for the cops to tail a suspect. IT's not legal for the cops to put a tracking device on everybody's car just in case. And finally, a business may legally be able to track me in their own store, but where is my assurance that those data are not shared with other businesses, ones that I may not have entered?
- thatguyagain 8y ago
  Why?
- rapnie 8y ago
  Well.. if they notified me upon entry exactly how I would be tracked, I wouldn't even enter. But they don't do that, do they?
ctoth 8y ago
I am sorry for crapping on something you guys have doubtlessly worked hard on, it's a shitty thing to do. I'm just still kind of curious why anyone thought this would be a good look though? Like, the writing has been on the wall since before GDPR. The anti-facebook backlash alone has gotten more and more shrill over the last 9 months. And you seriously thought that now is the time to launch a product that brings this same dehumanizing technology to the real world? We've known for 15+ years that anonymized data ... isn't, from AOL search, from Netflix, from ... And so you include that as part of your pitch? Nothing about why we should trust you, just it's totally anonymous, we promise. And I realize this is being marketed to lizard people in suits who view humans as numbers to be optimized, but just, why is this even within the possibility space of new companies at this point?
ctoth 8y ago
>We don’t rely on facial recognition, instead taking in visual cues from all features across the body. This is somehow better? No, it just lets you add the misleading marketing point that you don't use facial recognition. Get it guys? IT's not facial, because it's seeing ... the whole body! What the actual heck?
quickthrower2 8y ago
Yes this is going to inevitably lead to your phone / face / way you walk being a "cookie" that follows you offline and online. They say 'while maintaining privacy', but once a FAANG buys them out, that is probably going to be over, let alone governments tapping in.
asaddhamani 8y ago
I don't mean to be negative, but I hope they have some large sign outside the stores using this technology, so I can choose not to shop there. All of our online activity is already tracked with great accuracy. Our phones are being used as beacons tracking our every move, listening in on conversations, basically invading our privacy in every way possible. I'm absolutely not a fan of all this tracking / analytics to increase conversion rates hype. That is what got us the sites with a million popups and psychological tactics that trick us into hitting that buy or subscribe button. This is a real life version of that. No no no no no! Just NO!
Brahma111 8y ago
While I agree with you; I believe this is non-reversible. If it's not this company, 10 others will be launching their products in the next few months. Humans have become hackable and unfortunately our strength to innovate is the one that's becoming our bane. As Yuval Harari points out; in the short future companies like Google, FB will know more about us than we do.

by ctoth 8y ago

michaelvoz 8y ago

When you enter a private business, they have every right to track you as they wish.

conanbatt 8y ago
Michaelvoz is right, the expectation of privacy does not exist any more. Thats why I carry signal jammers to every bathroom out there!
burkaman 8y ago
They also have the right to kick me out, but I hope they don't do either.
ctoth 8y ago
So why don't they send a person to follow me around, noting down specifics like what clothing I look at and how many seconds I take to poop? Because this would be creepy But since they're doing it with invisible technology that most people don't know about, it's okay, right? Wrong. Furthermore, just as when the government does it, there is a qualitative, not merely quantitative difference between individualized data collection and total aggregation. It's legal for the cops to tail a suspect. IT's not legal for the cops to put a tracking device on everybody's car just in case. And finally, a business may legally be able to track me in their own store, but where is my assurance that those data are not shared with other businesses, ones that I may not have entered?
thatguyagain 8y ago
Why?
rapnie 8y ago
Well.. if they notified me upon entry exactly how I would be tracked, I wouldn't even enter. But they don't do that, do they?

ctoth 8y ago

I am sorry for crapping on something you guys have doubtlessly worked hard on, it's a shitty thing to do. I'm just still kind of curious why anyone thought this would be a good look though? Like, the writing has been on the wall since before GDPR. The anti-facebook backlash alone has gotten more and more shrill over the last 9 months. And you seriously thought that now is the time to launch a product that brings this same dehumanizing technology to the real world? We've known for 15+ years that anonymized data ... isn't, from AOL search, from Netflix, from ... And so you include that as part of your pitch? Nothing about why we should trust you, just it's totally anonymous, we promise. And I realize this is being marketed to lizard people in suits who view humans as numbers to be optimized, but just, why is this even within the possibility space of new companies at this point?

ctoth 8y ago

>We don’t rely on facial recognition, instead taking in visual cues from all features across the body. This is somehow better? No, it just lets you add the misleading marketing point that you don't use facial recognition. Get it guys? IT's not facial, because it's seeing ... the whole body! What the actual heck?

quickthrower2 8y ago

Yes this is going to inevitably lead to your phone / face / way you walk being a "cookie" that follows you offline and online. They say 'while maintaining privacy', but once a FAANG buys them out, that is probably going to be over, let alone governments tapping in.

asaddhamani 8y ago

I don't mean to be negative, but I hope they have some large sign outside the stores using this technology, so I can choose not to shop there. All of our online activity is already tracked with great accuracy. Our phones are being used as beacons tracking our every move, listening in on conversations, basically invading our privacy in every way possible. I'm absolutely not a fan of all this tracking / analytics to increase conversion rates hype. That is what got us the sites with a million popups and psychological tactics that trick us into hitting that buy or subscribe button. This is a real life version of that. No no no no no! Just NO!

Brahma111 8y ago

While I agree with you; I believe this is non-reversible. If it's not this company, 10 others will be launching their products in the next few months. Humans have become hackable and unfortunately our strength to innovate is the one that's becoming our bane. As Yuval Harari points out; in the short future companies like Google, FB will know more about us than we do.