Google becoming too invasive

[Almeuit]

yup yup... about 3 or 4 years ago i started this thread in here http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...me-giggle-because-they-having-last-laugh.html and all i can remember were a sea of replies "don't like it, use something else" : (

for years i have REALLY come to despise Google, but i just "oh well" it because it would just take too much effort and energy to do anything about it. complacency is now my middle name...

BTCC

(Bossy Texas Complacent Chick) :-*

The question is.. who would you use instead? Everyone likes to point fingers at Google and pretend others don't gather the same info.. but they do.

 

[Aquila]

Been done. It was called Blackberry and you know how well that went over.

Blackberry isn't better at security or privacy, especially now.

 

[Aquila]

Not understanding how one can hate Google but then love Microsoft or Samsung, when the latter two are far worse on privacy and security, especially considering they both sell user data.

 

[N4Newbie]

Or use a VPN.

Honestly, I'm not sure I would trust a small - and more than likely, non-US based - VPN provider either. At least Google tells you what their policies are and has good reason to follow them to the letter of the user agreement. VPN companies may not be so reliable.

By the way, just to give you an idea of what Google is tracking, try visiting https://myactivity.google.com/

 

[Almeuit]

Honestly, I'm not sure I would trust a small - and more than likely, non-US based - VPN provider either. At least Google tells you what their policies are and has good reason to follow them to the letter of the user agreement. VPN companies may not be so reliable.

By the way, just to give you an idea of what Google is tracking, try visiting https://myactivity.google.com/

Who said you have to use small? Private internet access is a very well known VPN. I wouldn't say you wouldn't trust them without doing any research on them .

Also a VPN won't hide the information from Google and such. If you use Google then Google will know. I was saying using a VPN to hide the information from your ISP on what you do. That is the comment I quoted and was responding to.

Here is more on what a VPN is if you want to read since your comment really didn't have anything to do with what a VPN does or how it works. https://www.google.com/amp/lifehack...how-to-choose-the-best-one-for-your-needs/amp

Edit - as for the topic at hand I'm very aware what Google tracks and what I allow it to track. I'm comfortable with my selections. .

 

[anon(10092459)]

I guess, I would be on the other end of the spectrum on this one. I don't mind Google knowing things like my location. I travel a lot for work and the services really do help me with coordinating a lot of things in my life.

I like knowing how traffic is on my route to work before I actually leave the house, but in order for that to be effective Google needs to know where my work location is and same on the way home. When I'm traveling weather, flight delays, traffic and local news all matter to me. GPS functions are really important when I'm in a city I'm not too familiar with.

Pretty much most of Google's services have made my life easier for sure.

 

[N4Newbie]

Who said you have to use small? Private internet access is a very well known VPN. I wouldn't say you wouldn't trust them without doing any research on them .

Also a VPN won't hide the information from Google and such. If you use Google then Google will know. I was saying using a VPN to hide the information from your ISP on what you do. That is the comment I quoted and was responding to.

Here is more on what a VPN is if you want to read since your comment really didn't have anything to do with what a VPN does or how it works. https://www.google.com/amp/lifehack...how-to-choose-the-best-one-for-your-needs/amp

Edit - as for the topic at hand I'm very aware what Google tracks and what I allow it to track. I'm comfortable with my selections. .

Actually, I use PIA - primarily to get around some Wi-Fi hotspots I use that block certain sites. Secondarily because I travel internationally a few times a year (just returned from a week in Brazil...) and worry about hotel/airport/other Wi-Fi hotspots.

But, what I meant by "small" was in relation to Google, which is obviously a very, very, large company.

 

[Almeuit]

Actually, I use PIA - primarily to get around some Wi-Fi hotspots I use that block certain sites. Secondarily because I travel internationally a few times a year (just returned from a week in Brazil...) and worry about hotel/airport/other Wi-Fi hotspots.

But, what I meant by "small" was in relation to Google, which is obviously a very, very, large company.

But a VPN still doesn't have anything to do with protecting against Google. A VPN only encrypts your information from end to end. You can't hide your usage from the service you're using. So your comment was confusing because I never said to use a VPN to hide activity on Google since it wasn't possible. The person I quoted was taking about your home ISP snooping and how there was no way to hide... Hence why I said VPN.

 

[deadbeatles]

Been done. It was called Blackberry and you know how well that went over.

That was more a question of consumers' hardware preferences than any privacy issues.

This may be the phone that I'm talking about:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/30/15711170/essential-phone-announcement-price-android-andy-rubin

 

[deadbeatles]

I definitely agree that market is there. The "blackphone" attempts to fill that niche, but doesn't have much momentum yet. https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/devices/

Cool! Thanks! I'll keep an eye on that company/phone.

 

[LeoRex]

If you really want to go 'dark'... you can always buy a phone that supports custom ROMs and load an AOSP ROM that doesn't have the GAPPs package installed. No GAPPs, no Google Play Services, no data collection. There are plenty, including distributions like Copperhead OS, which are dedicated to security and also come sans Goog...

Personally, I don't see it as intrusive. I gain a lot of utility from all Google collects... from keeping track of bills, to making sure that I take the back way home from work to avoid the giant traffic jam on the highway. Yes, Google knows an awful lot about my online habits, but they are also good stewards of this info. They have very clear cut privacy policies and give me a ton of tools to go over all the data they collect and administer it to my liking. I know exactly what Google knows... and I also know that my stuff stays my stuff unless I don't want it to stay as my stuff anymore.

 

[Rick Mayers]

Besides , pop up ads and many other things that I know is from google, Googl Play Store, Google Services I was on a trip tring to use map directions, I krpt having problems and a popup every 30 seconds saying google maps will not work properly unless you update google services ,,, so I search how to fix this,, the instructions said to un install google play and services and reinstall them afte reboot. I DID THIS AHD HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED I started receiving constant pop up adds and an email that I was charged $ 9.99 for a raido program called Tunein and will be charged $9.99 each month. How did this happen without my knowing it? IT ALSO said it war a renewed update and I would be bill ed from my past billing infomation.
Yes a year I did a free trial of Tunein but never got it to work so I cancelled it. It looks like it was piggybacked frem my Google play store update but I never knowlingly saw anything about the Tunein renewed program . This is one of many of the problems I am having with GOOGLE and if i can't get it stopped I WILL CANCEL ANYTHING I HAVE WITH GOOGLE!!!!!!

 

[Almeuit]

Besides , pop up ads and many other things that I know is from google, Googl Play Store, Google Services I was on a trip tring to use map directions, I krpt having problems and a popup every 30 seconds saying google maps will not work properly unless you update google services ,,, so I search how to fix this,, the instructions said to un install google play and services and reinstall them afte reboot. I DID THIS AHD HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED I started receiving constant pop up adds and an email that I was charged $ 9.99 for a raido program called Tunein and will be charged $9.99 each month. How did this happen without my knowing it? IT ALSO said it war a renewed update and I would be bill ed from my past billing infomation.
Yes a year I did a free trial of Tunein but never got it to work so I cancelled it. It looks like it was piggybacked frem my Google play store update but I never knowlingly saw anything about the Tunein renewed program . This is one of many of the problems I am having with GOOGLE and if i can't get it stopped I WILL CANCEL ANYTHING I HAVE WITH GOOGLE!!!!!!

None of this sounds like Google's fault. If you did a year trial and didn't properly cancel then yes it charges.

As for the Google Play Services it sounds like you installed a bad APK.

 

[Rick Mayers]

None of this sounds like Google's fault. If you did a year trial and didn't properly cancel then yes it charges.

As for the Google Play Services it sounds like you installed a bad APK.

 

[Rick Mayers]

I did not say I did a year trial,,,, it was a 30day trial I wasen't satisfied with it and canceled the next day And I have the comfromation that it was canceled period. That was a year ago maybe you need to reread my quote? On a trip I kept getting error messages because google services maps migh not work properly because it needed to be updated . I can't remember the exact error message but I posted the error message and found that the play store and services needed to be deleyed and reinstalled and up dated. I did what it said to do and the map dirrections workedproperly without the error message every 30 seconds. Then after 10 to 20 minutes I received a google email that said my Tunelin Radio services were renewed per my request and the $9.99 payment would charged thru my paypal account that I had prevoiusly approved and the 9,99 would be charged every month.
1. Who do you think did this?
2 There was nothing in my reinstalling and updating my Google Play& Google services apps that said anything about Tunelin Radio Services.
I WILL get a refund thru PayPal

 

[VidJunky]

Wow so many comments I'd like to quote but I'll try to be brief. I'm down the middle of the road on a lot of this, for example I used to want to avoid Google knowing my address and where I worked but I've relaxed on that and a lot of other things Google does lately. I became a Google Local Guide, posting reviews, photos and comments through the Contribute app. I think it's fun to be semi-famous and I get a little pumped when my reviews or photos get views. As for my address and where I work, I figure if I'm going to let Google manage my passwords, through Chrome, knowing where I work and live is really kind of a moot point. Plus knowing how long it's going to take me to get to work isn't all that bad of thing. Doesn't get me out of the house on time but still... Anyway I see Google everywhere I turn. Looked up hoverboards for Christmas and got hoverboard ads in every game I played, app I opened and web search I made. My frustration comes in over things like that. I've bought the hoverboards, they are on their way or have been delivered but here I am over a moth later still getting ads. Now recently I've looking for IP cams, haven't made any purchases yet, but I'm sure the ads will start any time now. Maybe it'll help me find a deal but more than likely it'll just drive me crazy for a month. In my opinion any phone you have is going to know everything about you whether you want it to or not, change to iPhone and it's Apple, buy an HTC and it's HTC... There's no avoiding it or opting out, I seen a bunch of people who believe they've opted out in the comments and really all that's done is made your information possibly a little more generic. For example most services don't work, in fact I've come across some that won't even start, if you don't have your location set to the highest level. You can stop recording your travels, but that just means you can't see them. Anyone with the authority to pull your data will know exactly where you went even if you don't.

 

[hdcoyle]

You was warned!
The initial public outcry around the release of Gmail was puzzling to me. Most didn't understand how Google could offer so much for so little. Those expressing concerns about privacy were labeled paranoid, Luddite, or worse. My response at the time was measured and simple: don't like it, don't sign up. That option has vanished. Because of the rapid and blind acceptance of Gmail and its subsequent apps, you can no longer load a browser, OS, or buy a phone without a Google ID. Also no surprise that Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft et al jumped on the bandwagon. Today's climate of instant gratification and 30 second attention spans does not allow time for consideration -- only a quick YES, ACCEPT, or CONTINUE.

 

[anon(10645356)]

I agree with the annoyance of constant T&C notifications you HAVE to agree to before continuing, mainly for me when clicking a news item (so not Google per se). It does seem "we", or more specifically the 30 second generation as you say, are making it easier for companies to comply with newer privacy laws in theory, knowing they can put any condition they like virtually, and people will Accept. Has this ever been challenged in court? My current peeve is recently having to finally use the Uber app for work assignments (long hate history having been in that industry previously). I now am not allowed to remove my debit card info as far as I can tell - so temporarily uninstalled the app. Ground covered before, I'm sure.