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Insane ways Google has been invading our privacy – Salon.com (2014)

51 points by johndfsgdgdfg 4y ago

3434111 4y ago
MilnerRoute 4y ago
Here's my Google story. I was planning a trip to a remote mountain town, to completely separate from all the big tech giants. So I went online to review the map to the cabin we'd rented... And Google added a pushpin to the cabin where I was staying, along with the dates for the entirety of my stay. They'd scanned my Gmail inbox, found the reservation, extracted the dates and location, and then waited until I went to Google Maps for driving directions. There's a way to turn off some of this -- which I immediately hunted down and activated. But it still bothers me that I didn't know it was on by default.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  I think it's creepy as well, but as a counterpoint my wife is delighted by stuff like this. She finds it convenient and helpful, and I can't say she's wrong.
- type_Ben_struct 4y ago
  If that data is already in the Google ecosystem, what does it matter?
- plett 4y ago
  Why turn it off? Google are still going to parse your emails and pull out details about bookings to build a better profile of you, no matter what settings you disable. So why not have them do something useful for you while they are doing it?
- sys_64738 4y ago
  What does it buy you or protect you from? You are totally irrelevant to Google as a datapoint as you are just another ID lost in the noise. It only matters when who you are suddenly becomes important. If you stay unimportant then who really cares?
  - jjj123 4y ago
    Well for one, often you don’t get a choice whether you’re deemed important or not. People go viral unwillingly every day. Many people, myself included, commit small crimes like jaywalking and smoking weed often, and would prefer an all-seeing eye not watch my every move. Last but not least, I’m not interested in helping a trillion dollar corporation profit off of my private data.
- fmajid 4y ago
  That's why Amazon minimizes the information it sends by email for order confirmation. Amazon is locked in a deadly fight with Google over which is going to be the first port of call when someone is looking to buy something (Amazon is winning, by the way, their ad business is already generating 50% as much revenue as AWS), and they certainly don't want to give Google any data uf they can help it.
  - amoshi 4y ago
    Huh? My order emails contain the product name, price, expected delivery date, my name and city, doesn't feel like anything is minimised.
blatherard 4y ago
(2014)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
MarcoZavala 4y ago
what-imright 4y ago
Meh, so Google knows your wifi password. So what? You think US intelligence will be calling up Google for that? Those protocols were backdoored before the first design went on a whiteboard. And they know your location? So what? You’ve been able to triangulate any cell phone within meters from day 1. It’s just how the cell towers function, no getting around that. Terrorists, smart drug dealers and murderers already know to leave the phone behind. Google wants to sell you stuff you don’t need. It’s a business, that’s their goal.
maxprimer 4y ago
Since this was published in 2014 it gives us some space to compare the article's predictions to reality. While Google has certainly been found liable for having violated some privacy laws there is no evidence of widespread and intentional misuse of personal data at Google. The bigger concern for me personally is the Amazon/Walmart dominance of purchasing data.
- up2isomorphism 4y ago
  > While Google has certainly been found liable for having violated some privacy laws there is no evidence of widespread and intentional misuse of personal data at Google. "no evidence" means you did not see evidence?
  - xboxnolifes 4y ago
    Responding here means you have evidence to provide?
    - up2isomorphism 4y ago
      The fact is that google knows you better than your mom and is using this fact to make ad decisions, is there are way you can prevent that from happening? Even if someone took the picture of your private life but have not leaked them yet, does it mean that is not a violation? Saying "no evidence" is just being blind (or pretend to be) at this point.
      - xboxnolifes 4y ago
        So, you don't have evidence then? Having information about people is not evidence that it is being misused, which in it self requires context of what is "misuse".
        up2isomorphism 4y ago
        The evidence is in google’s term of service, if you spent nearly as much time to actually read it than on Internet defending google.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
tomohawk 4y ago
Keep in mind anything a company like Google knows about you, a government official (including law enforcement) also can know about you just by asking. You don't own the information they have on you, and you have no constitutional protections against unreasonable search/seizure. Consider what would happen if your state just decided to issue traffic tickets based on info Google collects from your phone as you're driving along. They probably wouldn't do a blanket "fine every infraction everyone has committed this year" - instead, they could go after people they want to supress. Or maybe they would fine everyone. Some politician wants to fund something, and they get some geofenced data and fine everyone who exceeded the speed limit this year.
xnx 4y ago
My concern about Google is 100x less than data brokers that sell individual identifiable location data to anyone who pays.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- feet 4y ago
  So google doesn't do that? I find that a little hard to believe to be honest
pupppet 4y ago
I wish Apple would come out with a search engine for no other reason than to neuter Google.

51 points by johndfsgdgdfg 4y ago

Here's my Google story. I was planning a trip to a remote mountain town, to completely separate from all the big tech giants. So I went online to review the map to the cabin we'd rented... And Google added a pushpin to the cabin where I was staying, along with the dates for the entirety of my stay. They'd scanned my Gmail inbox, found the reservation, extracted the dates and location, and then waited until I went to Google Maps for driving directions. There's a way to turn off some of this -- which I immediately hunted down and activated. But it still bothers me that I didn't know it was on by default.

SoftTalker 4y ago
I think it's creepy as well, but as a counterpoint my wife is delighted by stuff like this. She finds it convenient and helpful, and I can't say she's wrong.
type_Ben_struct 4y ago
If that data is already in the Google ecosystem, what does it matter?
plett 4y ago
Why turn it off? Google are still going to parse your emails and pull out details about bookings to build a better profile of you, no matter what settings you disable. So why not have them do something useful for you while they are doing it?
sys_64738 4y ago
What does it buy you or protect you from? You are totally irrelevant to Google as a datapoint as you are just another ID lost in the noise. It only matters when who you are suddenly becomes important. If you stay unimportant then who really cares?
- jjj123 4y ago
  Well for one, often you don’t get a choice whether you’re deemed important or not. People go viral unwillingly every day. Many people, myself included, commit small crimes like jaywalking and smoking weed often, and would prefer an all-seeing eye not watch my every move. Last but not least, I’m not interested in helping a trillion dollar corporation profit off of my private data.
fmajid 4y ago
That's why Amazon minimizes the information it sends by email for order confirmation. Amazon is locked in a deadly fight with Google over which is going to be the first port of call when someone is looking to buy something (Amazon is winning, by the way, their ad business is already generating 50% as much revenue as AWS), and they certainly don't want to give Google any data uf they can help it.
- amoshi 4y ago
  Huh? My order emails contain the product name, price, expected delivery date, my name and city, doesn't feel like anything is minimised.

blatherard 4y ago

(2014)

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

MarcoZavala 4y ago

what-imright 4y ago

Meh, so Google knows your wifi password. So what? You think US intelligence will be calling up Google for that? Those protocols were backdoored before the first design went on a whiteboard. And they know your location? So what? You’ve been able to triangulate any cell phone within meters from day 1. It’s just how the cell towers function, no getting around that. Terrorists, smart drug dealers and murderers already know to leave the phone behind. Google wants to sell you stuff you don’t need. It’s a business, that’s their goal.

maxprimer 4y ago

Since this was published in 2014 it gives us some space to compare the article's predictions to reality. While Google has certainly been found liable for having violated some privacy laws there is no evidence of widespread and intentional misuse of personal data at Google. The bigger concern for me personally is the Amazon/Walmart dominance of purchasing data.

up2isomorphism 4y ago
> While Google has certainly been found liable for having violated some privacy laws there is no evidence of widespread and intentional misuse of personal data at Google. "no evidence" means you did not see evidence?
- xboxnolifes 4y ago
  Responding here means you have evidence to provide?
  - up2isomorphism 4y ago
    The fact is that google knows you better than your mom and is using this fact to make ad decisions, is there are way you can prevent that from happening? Even if someone took the picture of your private life but have not leaked them yet, does it mean that is not a violation? Saying "no evidence" is just being blind (or pretend to be) at this point.
    - xboxnolifes 4y ago
      So, you don't have evidence then? Having information about people is not evidence that it is being misused, which in it self requires context of what is "misuse".
      - up2isomorphism 4y ago
        The evidence is in google’s term of service, if you spent nearly as much time to actually read it than on Internet defending google.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

tomohawk 4y ago

Keep in mind anything a company like Google knows about you, a government official (including law enforcement) also can know about you just by asking. You don't own the information they have on you, and you have no constitutional protections against unreasonable search/seizure. Consider what would happen if your state just decided to issue traffic tickets based on info Google collects from your phone as you're driving along. They probably wouldn't do a blanket "fine every infraction everyone has committed this year" - instead, they could go after people they want to supress. Or maybe they would fine everyone. Some politician wants to fund something, and they get some geofenced data and fine everyone who exceeded the speed limit this year.

xnx 4y ago

My concern about Google is 100x less than data brokers that sell individual identifiable location data to anyone who pays.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
feet 4y ago
So google doesn't do that? I find that a little hard to believe to be honest

pupppet 4y ago

I wish Apple would come out with a search engine for no other reason than to neuter Google.