The Note 4 has always on Google Now listening

anon(558804)

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Yea I agree. I think some people do not know the power of Google now I literally use it for everything, even to open an app. Google now is very powerful if you use it

Is there a good reference on how to make the best use of Google Now? I like it, but wish I could get it to be "smarter".

The one thing I don't like is when you Google something you wish you'd never seen, you try to forget it, and then Google Now brings it BACK. Brrr.
 

bertsirkin

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If you're all worried about security, be assured there is NONE. Assume you're always being listened to.

Business people traveling to China know that they can't bring their personal cell phones with them, because of espionage concerns. ANY cell phone is subject to evesdropping, even if it's OFF. They can even browse the information on your phone if it's off.

From Covert listening device - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) :

"Mobile phone (cell phone) microphones can be activated remotely, without any need for physical access.This "roving bug" feature has been used by law enforcement agencies and intelligence services to listen in on nearby conversations. A United States court ruled in 1988 that a similar technique used by the FBI against reputed former Gulfport, Mississippi cocaine dealers after having obtained a court order was permissible."

From:https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/02/computer_securi_2.html

"When Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, travels to that country, he follows a routine that seems straight from a spy film.

He leaves his cellphone and laptop at home and instead brings "loaner" devices, which he erases before he leaves the United States and wipes clean the minute he returns. In China, he disables Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, never lets his phone out of his sight and, in meetings, not only turns off his phone but also removes the battery, for fear his microphone could be turned on remotely. He connects to the Internet only through an encrypted, password-protected channel, and copies and pastes his password from a USB thumb drive. He never types in a password directly, because, he said, "the Chinese are very good at installing key-logging software on your laptop."
 
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eamarille

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The paranoia people have over new technologies are simply astounding. 1st of all, if you carry a smartphone, you can always be tracked, even if you have GPS off. It isn't hard to get a decent location on someone based off of cell tower pings. 2nd, and the one I find most important, is that the average Joe has nothing of importance going on for someone to bother with. Unless you have specifically been targeted because of the amount of money you make, the job you have, etc, criminals and the government isn't gonna worry about you.
 

bertsirkin

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I'm not sure it's paranoia - I think it's more that people don't realize that they give up privacy in the name of convenience, and when they find out that they've lost even the slightest amount of privacy, they freak!
 

Slashyou

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So it responds to "Ok Google" all the time no matter what is on the screen or what app is running? Does it respond when the screen is off?

Currently, my Samsung S3 may be in the home screen to use the "Ok Google" voice prompt.
Nope the NSA paid Samsung to do this for their spy software :)
Sounds like spy software to me.

It will now work with the screen off. http://i.imgur.com/S3PWFBt.png
 

raf66

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Google already knows everything about you, so if you're not doing anything illegal, I wouldn't worry about them "knowing" where you are

I weep for our country when my fellow Americans ascribe to the horrendously misguided notion that they have nothing to fear about losing privacy rights if they're not currently doing anything wrong. What about when some jack-booted thug politicians decide in the future that what you're doing now IS wrong-i.e. exercising your 1st Amendment rights by posting criticisms of your government to forums/blogs, or espousing your deeply-held religious conviction on a particularly touchy subject to a friend via text or email, etc.

There are lots of historical examples of privacy rights of individuals being trampled upon by overzealous governments. And in many of those examples privacy rights were eroded slowly and subtly, with no push-back from citizens since they didn't think it affected them.

I recognize that when we use these smart phones we give up a bit of privacy, but a device listening to my every word every second of every day is a bit more than I need from an electronic device. Some things I can do on my own. And with Google's track record for privacy issues?
 

worwig

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I recognize that when we use these smart phones we give up a bit of privacy, but a device listening to my every word every second of every day is a bit more than I need from an electronic device.

Just disable it.

Now if there was no off switch, or if we found that turning it off doesn't really turn it 'off', then you have a point. Until then, just turn it off if you are paranoid.
 

bertsirkin

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Just disable it.

Now if there was no off switch, or if we found that turning it off doesn't really turn it 'off', then you have a point. Until then, just turn it off if you are paranoid.

That's the point - turning it off does NOT really "turn it off" (read my earlier post in this thread). If privacy is an issue, there's an easy solution - get off the grid. No technology solution can provide you with "security", whatever you perceive it to be.
 

steelrain82

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If you have the Google now search bar on your phone you can enable it to be always on and no matter the page. I just tried it with my note 2 and my mom's s3. And it worked. I had to enable the option. I disabled it after testing it out

Posted via Android Central App
 

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