Google and all your data are belong to us
- Thread starter LiE
- Start date
I totally agree, ads suck and I run an adblocker too.
I don't find tracking invasive, it's all done in the background.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 May 2003
- Posts
- 9,100
We've happily embraced all the enablers of a police state and I find that concerning. We have brought snooping devices into our homes, we are tracked 24/7 by our phones and our life to it's most minute detail is being catalogued by big data. Whilst that is only being used to make us infantile consumers it is only minimally harmful, but should public opinion or society change we have put in place a surveillance society that the Stasi could only have dreamt of.
I would like privacy become the default not the opt out.
I would like privacy become the default not the opt out.
I'd argue that it's not even minimally harmful.
The last part sounds a bit doomsday/tin foil hat.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,711
Except you need to log in. However, even if you are a guest it still tracks you. I shouldn't need an account to see what they have on me.
I'm trying to understand why you care so much? Does it negatively impact you in your life and day to day?
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,711
I don't care at all to be fair. Just discussing it.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2009
- Posts
- 12,234
- Location
- UK
"privacy by default" is the way forward.
atm it's "not much privacy by default".
atm it's "not much privacy by default".
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,711
Agreed. It's disgusting I would rather companies charge for services and not be free with targeted advertisements. I'm sure there would be a lot of alternatives created with no issues that has no targeted advertisements that follow you around all the time.
I have no issue with the data they collect, simply because some of the technologies that allows and possibilities it creates is very exciting.
What I do have an issue with is irresponsible use of it, as we have seen with Facebook, and as more comes out about that, it would seem they were happily shipping our data off to various third parties. Also, companies who keep data and not properly securing it (plain text, not encrypted etc).
I also don't like companies who want to keep data on you, but don't give you a choice. Which I think is where a lot of the ill feeling towards Google comes from. They don't really make you aware of exactly how much they collect from your devices, which may be obvious to clued up users like the forum members, but my dad is always asking me how his phone knows this about him or how his laptop showed this when he browsed it on his phone etc, and that will be the majority of users. A lot of people would like a choice, not so they can opt out, but just so it doesn't feel so much like "we're watching you"
What I do have an issue with is irresponsible use of it, as we have seen with Facebook, and as more comes out about that, it would seem they were happily shipping our data off to various third parties. Also, companies who keep data and not properly securing it (plain text, not encrypted etc).
I also don't like companies who want to keep data on you, but don't give you a choice. Which I think is where a lot of the ill feeling towards Google comes from. They don't really make you aware of exactly how much they collect from your devices, which may be obvious to clued up users like the forum members, but my dad is always asking me how his phone knows this about him or how his laptop showed this when he browsed it on his phone etc, and that will be the majority of users. A lot of people would like a choice, not so they can opt out, but just so it doesn't feel so much like "we're watching you"
Associate
- Joined
- 1 Mar 2004
- Posts
- 2,014
- Location
- Warwickshire
I did a data download from Google recently & was pleased I had most of it under control - my location history only consisted of a couple of points from my first smartphone so I clearly disabled something at the time.
I'd really like to move away from Gmail but have used it since it was released & it's a mammoth task
I'd really like to move away from Gmail but have used it since it was released & it's a mammoth task
I did a data download from Google recently & was pleased I had most of it under control - my location history only consisted of a couple of points from my first smartphone so I clearly disabled something at the time.
I'd really like to move away from Gmail but have used it since it was released & it's a mammoth task
The biggest pain are companies that don't have a way to update your email online so you have to call up. Then telling everyone you know you have a new email, and they still send to the old one.
Associate
- Joined
- 28 Nov 2015
- Posts
- 1,521
- Location
- Tewkesbury, UK
Can you not setup a new account with say outlook, then divert all the gmail emails to that. Then change each company 1 by 1 as they come in?
I would be interested to see a poll based on your opinion on whether you're bothered about your data being collected, and your age.
Sweeping generalisation, but i would actually bet that this is mostly a generational thing and those of an older generation are a bit more sceptical when it comes to collecting data and what it's used for.
Sweeping generalisation, but i would actually bet that this is mostly a generational thing and those of an older generation are a bit more sceptical when it comes to collecting data and what it's used for.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,711
The question is what are you going to do with that Data? lol .... Go on then POLL it. I'll be happy to fill it in.
My view is that I'm not interesting enough for them to care about my data. If I were Mark Zuckerberg or someone then I totally get not having a Google account or something, but I'm not. Google/Gmail give me great services for free and I'm fine with them harvesting my data in turn. If they assigned a human to look at all my data and stalk me, and called over at my house randomly for a catch up that would be weird, but they don't, it's all done by faceless bots.
On the flip side though I do usually ramp up privacy features on websites to stop humans being able to look at my data. I'd not particularly want people I know being able to publically look through all the photos on my phone etc but then I'll happilly sync them to Google Photos for backup, because it's only bots looking at them there afterall.
Equally if I wanted to do something dodgy I'd feel happier doing it via a VPN, but I woudln't see the need to run one 24/7 because "they're tracking me".
There are people on here over in the smart meter thread (home and garden forum) who won't install smart meters because it allows the "evil corporations to track you"... seriously!
On the flip side though I do usually ramp up privacy features on websites to stop humans being able to look at my data. I'd not particularly want people I know being able to publically look through all the photos on my phone etc but then I'll happilly sync them to Google Photos for backup, because it's only bots looking at them there afterall.
Equally if I wanted to do something dodgy I'd feel happier doing it via a VPN, but I woudln't see the need to run one 24/7 because "they're tracking me".
There are people on here over in the smart meter thread (home and garden forum) who won't install smart meters because it allows the "evil corporations to track you"... seriously!
It probably won't impact most commoners but imagine in the future you were to become a prominent politician or a millionaire, then depending on your internet history there'd likely be people with leverage over you, it could just be bad people who happen to get a job at Google or something more sinister.
Look at all those scams going where African gangs get people to strip naked on camera and then threaten to expose them for money. Not to mention with all of the hysteria recently about Russia interfering with elections, you'd think governments would be weary about allowing private corporations (some likely foreign owned or having foreign allegiances) to collate so much information on its own citizens, those who are our future politicians and other public servants (police etc) and will be able to be influenced.
People who think such information will never be abused are either blindly naive or haven't been watching the news recently over Facebook's antics.
Having a political class who can't be blackmailed by foreign players is far more important to me than adverts that match my interests, when was the last time you guys actually bought something you saw in these targetted ads?
Look at all those scams going where African gangs get people to strip naked on camera and then threaten to expose them for money. Not to mention with all of the hysteria recently about Russia interfering with elections, you'd think governments would be weary about allowing private corporations (some likely foreign owned or having foreign allegiances) to collate so much information on its own citizens, those who are our future politicians and other public servants (police etc) and will be able to be influenced.
People who think such information will never be abused are either blindly naive or haven't been watching the news recently over Facebook's antics.
Having a political class who can't be blackmailed by foreign players is far more important to me than adverts that match my interests, when was the last time you guys actually bought something you saw in these targetted ads?
Last edited:
i'm betting if this happened in your off-screen lives a lot of people would feel a bit differently. if you went to Tesco and some guy walked up to you w/ an item and asked if you wanted it, then revealed that they'd be tracking your purchases and trips around the store and thought they'd offer it to you based on that, i'm guessing a lot more people would be fairly disconcerted about that.
It's not the same though, that is intrusive. Websites offer ads whether you are tracked or not, the difference is if you are tracked they are tailored to you. If you run an ad-blocked you don't even see the ads.
The other big difference is as mentioned above, a bot does all this tracking for Google. If Tesco decided that it would track what I bought based on my clubcard, and then automatically print vouchers after I checkout based on my purchase history, this would be fine, assuming you get vouchers either way.