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It's more like a trillion dollar market. The actual players are Google, Facebook, and Apple... these startups are just location data gnats. Location data is pr

It's more like a trillion dollar market. The actual players are Google, Facebook, and Apple... these startups are just location data gnats. Location data is probably the single best demographic info to have to make money, and at least 3 companies in the world have basically everyone's phone bugged. Ads, maps, social... all totally dependent on location data from users.

harlanji 5y ago
When I lived in my car in SF a waymo would pass me right when I left and at many key intersections and at my destinations. I know it was not random but I don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how they did it. If I get proof then I’d be vindicated. I tweeted about it as a human rights violation often, having no way to retreat. I long ago took it as a given that we have no privacy. I can only imagine where the data comes from and goes and how it is augmented. Why would they care about me? Anti-terrorism, anti-competition, who knows. I tried not to think that much about it. I simply noticed the extreme regularity and improbability if it and thought in those terms and went about my limited life. The vans are very menacing with their spinning sensors and black helmet, I’d hate to have been an actual criminal. Built charachter ignoring them.
- Frost1x 5y ago
  How could it not be random, dare I ask? I don't agree with the current directions of technology in terms of surveillance and data collection for private and powerful interests, but I find it far more likely that living in SF you'd be exposed to more mobile Waymo platforms that just happen to be collecting data regularly as part of engineering work, data collection, testing, and so on. No offense but why would Waymo care about you in particular unless you were some significantly important/critical former disgruntled employee or risk/potential asset to their business?
  - salawat 5y ago
    ...No man, they weren't tracking you... They were just testing their equipment to track everyone better! Absolutely surreal the mental gymnastics some are capable of convincing themselves to be comfortable with. Sometimes the problem is that the technology is being applied at all. The fact every techbro hides behind "Pfft, it ain't you we're interested in," doesn't quash the unspoken "it's everyone and you".
- shmatt 5y ago
  ...or you were both using GMaps/Waze to navigate to your destination
- ajb 5y ago
  It's good that you are managing to ignore these. However, while is common knowledge that Google collects data on everyone, informed opinion seems to be that they do so on a wholesale basis rather than having their vans follow individuals, which would likely be prohibitively expensive. You may want to think about the possibility that you are having some symptoms of one of the mental health problems which cause paranoia. If so, it may be a good idea to get it checked out, as they can be really hard to deal with once set in.
- quickthrowman 5y ago
  I understand you went through a very difficult experience being homeless, but I can assure you that Google isn’t interested in you in particular. Google casts a wide net when it collects data, having Waymo vehicles and vans following you (or any other single person) would be rather expensive. They collect data on all of us, just not quite as actively as physical surveillance. I’ve been in a survival frame of mind before and it can feel like the whole world is against you. It’s hard to trust anyone. Living in a car in SF (or any city) would give me massive anxiety, there’s no “safe place” where you can fully let your guard down. I know you don’t want to hear this, and have probably heard it before, but your paranoia may be a sign of untreated mental illness. Stress can trigger mental health issues, and treatment may help. I also understand that the medications have some pretty bad side effect profiles, and being labeled mentally ill means you get treated completely different than everyone else (in healthcare in particular) I also understand that your experience of feeling surveilled felt very real to you, the hard part of treating the disorders is that it’s hard to accept what you experience isn’t real, since it’s very real to you. I encourage you to consider seeking help, but understand why you’d be hesitant. Take care.

harlanji 5y ago

When I lived in my car in SF a waymo would pass me right when I left and at many key intersections and at my destinations. I know it was not random but I don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how they did it. If I get proof then I’d be vindicated. I tweeted about it as a human rights violation often, having no way to retreat. I long ago took it as a given that we have no privacy. I can only imagine where the data comes from and goes and how it is augmented. Why would they care about me? Anti-terrorism, anti-competition, who knows. I tried not to think that much about it. I simply noticed the extreme regularity and improbability if it and thought in those terms and went about my limited life. The vans are very menacing with their spinning sensors and black helmet, I’d hate to have been an actual criminal. Built charachter ignoring them.

Frost1x 5y ago
How could it not be random, dare I ask? I don't agree with the current directions of technology in terms of surveillance and data collection for private and powerful interests, but I find it far more likely that living in SF you'd be exposed to more mobile Waymo platforms that just happen to be collecting data regularly as part of engineering work, data collection, testing, and so on. No offense but why would Waymo care about you in particular unless you were some significantly important/critical former disgruntled employee or risk/potential asset to their business?
- salawat 5y ago
  ...No man, they weren't tracking you... They were just testing their equipment to track everyone better! Absolutely surreal the mental gymnastics some are capable of convincing themselves to be comfortable with. Sometimes the problem is that the technology is being applied at all. The fact every techbro hides behind "Pfft, it ain't you we're interested in," doesn't quash the unspoken "it's everyone and you".
shmatt 5y ago
...or you were both using GMaps/Waze to navigate to your destination
ajb 5y ago
It's good that you are managing to ignore these. However, while is common knowledge that Google collects data on everyone, informed opinion seems to be that they do so on a wholesale basis rather than having their vans follow individuals, which would likely be prohibitively expensive. You may want to think about the possibility that you are having some symptoms of one of the mental health problems which cause paranoia. If so, it may be a good idea to get it checked out, as they can be really hard to deal with once set in.
quickthrowman 5y ago
I understand you went through a very difficult experience being homeless, but I can assure you that Google isn’t interested in you in particular. Google casts a wide net when it collects data, having Waymo vehicles and vans following you (or any other single person) would be rather expensive. They collect data on all of us, just not quite as actively as physical surveillance. I’ve been in a survival frame of mind before and it can feel like the whole world is against you. It’s hard to trust anyone. Living in a car in SF (or any city) would give me massive anxiety, there’s no “safe place” where you can fully let your guard down. I know you don’t want to hear this, and have probably heard it before, but your paranoia may be a sign of untreated mental illness. Stress can trigger mental health issues, and treatment may help. I also understand that the medications have some pretty bad side effect profiles, and being labeled mentally ill means you get treated completely different than everyone else (in healthcare in particular) I also understand that your experience of feeling surveilled felt very real to you, the hard part of treating the disorders is that it’s hard to accept what you experience isn’t real, since it’s very real to you. I encourage you to consider seeking help, but understand why you’d be hesitant. Take care.