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I think this is all just a PR stunt and Google's business model goes against user privacy. It's quite interesting the way people are more willing to trust Goog

I think this is all just a PR stunt and Google's business model goes against user privacy. It's quite interesting the way people are more willing to trust Google than Facebook with their data though. I think this might come from Google actually offering more "useful/needed/can't live without" offerings vs facebook's more vanity based services. For example, Google takes your very privacy sensitive location data but also returns you amazing mapping capabilities (google maps), transit information, nearby points of interests etc. They might have access to all your text messages, emails, contacts etc but returns you useful features like the last year's Duplex feature or auto reply suggestions in emails etc. Facebook's vanity based offerings are quite shallow imo - Instagram is just hyper edited pictures to scroll through, messenger/whatsapp might be useful but it has quite good competition from iMessage or simple text messaging. So for people who actually care about privacy, they are still okay with Google having their data but are not okay with Facebook having their data because FB doesn't really offer much of real value. This could be because Google being a much older company than FB. FB has also had quite major privacy issues (Cambridge Analytica being one of the major ones) and they have shown that they really don't care at all about privacy. One thing to note though, I still don't think Google should operate the way they do and I am not willing to compromise so much of my privacy. That's why I stick with iOS even though I know Android offers more power (especially since I am an iOS and Android Developer). iOS's AI might be inferior but it gets the job done for me and I appreciate the privacy stance of Apple over Google.

britch 8y ago
It is possible for most people to live their lives without Facebook's Apps. It is not possible for most people to live their lives without some form of Google, whether it's search, email, drive, maps, docs, or calendar. It's almost impossible to function today without using Google or interfacing with someone who is using Google. People are more OK with Google because there is no alternative.
- busymom0 8y ago
  Don't forget YouTube! I sort of agree but I think this is changing for better as competition improves. If I were to rate google services in order of importance and lack of decent competition, it would be: 0. YouTube 1. Maps 2. Search 3. Email 4. Docs 5. Drive 6. Calendar I put YouTube as 0 as it is at the very top of the list. There's virtually no comparable competition for YouTube and that's why Google is also getting away with abusing their power with YouTube trending feed, censorship, demonetization, clickbait etc. YouTube really needs some proper competition but I really doubt any company will want to take over this massive infrastructure. I don't consider Twitch to be a competition for YouTube for non-gaming content. Maps is the only one which I cannot live without. Apple Maps has improved drastically in the last couple years though but in Canada, they are still not as good as Google. But they seem to be on the right track. DuckDuckGo is pretty good actually and I think most people can get the job done pretty well with it. For email, there are okay competitions and I still have an alternate yahoo email but they have been going downhill in last few years. Docs is one place where Microsoft Office is good but Docs is superior if online collaboration is needed. Dropbox is superior to google drive imo, especially since I am on iOS and Mac. I have never used Google Calendar as I use iOS offerings and it does pretty well. I think if Apple can improve their Maps and if Siri stops being so useless, it would be for the better and will help take away some power from Google. And somebody really needs to compete heavily against YouTube.
  - britch 8y ago
    I totally forgot about YouTube, but that is a great point. There is no good alternative to Google maps on Android IMO. I've tried - HERE: the app is not great and I'm not sure it's any more private than Google. - OsmAndroid: as a map it is fine. It doesn't do address searches very well which makes it useless when you need to get somewhere you haven't been before. If anyone has a suggestion I'd greatly appreciate it.
mkl 8y ago
> For example, Google takes your very privacy sensitive location data but also returns you amazing mapping capabilities (google maps), transit information, nearby points of interests etc. I think it's more that it returns you what will keep you using the product, so they can sell more ads. Every time I open Google maps on mobile (to see how busy the traffic is, for example), I get a big useless "Explore nearby" window taking up 40% of the screen, which I have to close to be able to actually use the map. I will never want to explore ads for businesses near my house or workplace, and the fact that the app doesn't remember that suggests the true intention.
- busymom0 8y ago
  That's accurate description of their business interests. They keep you hooked onto the product by offering you something which you most likely can't live without (Maps) and in return they also hope you will spend money on things they advertise. You as well as I won't ever click on those explore features / ads but I think there's enough users who do which makes it worthwhile for them to push it in our faces.
deleted 8y ago
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britch 8y ago

It is possible for most people to live their lives without Facebook's Apps. It is not possible for most people to live their lives without some form of Google, whether it's search, email, drive, maps, docs, or calendar. It's almost impossible to function today without using Google or interfacing with someone who is using Google. People are more OK with Google because there is no alternative.

busymom0 8y ago
Don't forget YouTube! I sort of agree but I think this is changing for better as competition improves. If I were to rate google services in order of importance and lack of decent competition, it would be: 0. YouTube 1. Maps 2. Search 3. Email 4. Docs 5. Drive 6. Calendar I put YouTube as 0 as it is at the very top of the list. There's virtually no comparable competition for YouTube and that's why Google is also getting away with abusing their power with YouTube trending feed, censorship, demonetization, clickbait etc. YouTube really needs some proper competition but I really doubt any company will want to take over this massive infrastructure. I don't consider Twitch to be a competition for YouTube for non-gaming content. Maps is the only one which I cannot live without. Apple Maps has improved drastically in the last couple years though but in Canada, they are still not as good as Google. But they seem to be on the right track. DuckDuckGo is pretty good actually and I think most people can get the job done pretty well with it. For email, there are okay competitions and I still have an alternate yahoo email but they have been going downhill in last few years. Docs is one place where Microsoft Office is good but Docs is superior if online collaboration is needed. Dropbox is superior to google drive imo, especially since I am on iOS and Mac. I have never used Google Calendar as I use iOS offerings and it does pretty well. I think if Apple can improve their Maps and if Siri stops being so useless, it would be for the better and will help take away some power from Google. And somebody really needs to compete heavily against YouTube.
- britch 8y ago
  I totally forgot about YouTube, but that is a great point. There is no good alternative to Google maps on Android IMO. I've tried - HERE: the app is not great and I'm not sure it's any more private than Google. - OsmAndroid: as a map it is fine. It doesn't do address searches very well which makes it useless when you need to get somewhere you haven't been before. If anyone has a suggestion I'd greatly appreciate it.

mkl 8y ago

> For example, Google takes your very privacy sensitive location data but also returns you amazing mapping capabilities (google maps), transit information, nearby points of interests etc. I think it's more that it returns you what will keep you using the product, so they can sell more ads. Every time I open Google maps on mobile (to see how busy the traffic is, for example), I get a big useless "Explore nearby" window taking up 40% of the screen, which I have to close to be able to actually use the map. I will never want to explore ads for businesses near my house or workplace, and the fact that the app doesn't remember that suggests the true intention.

busymom0 8y ago
That's accurate description of their business interests. They keep you hooked onto the product by offering you something which you most likely can't live without (Maps) and in return they also hope you will spend money on things they advertise. You as well as I won't ever click on those explore features / ads but I think there's enough users who do which makes it worthwhile for them to push it in our faces.

deleted 8y ago

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