Google and your privacy: What is your relationship?

[AGX]

Hi,

I think that a lot of people use Gmail and other service of Google, but what is your relationship with google when you think about your privacy?

I see that a lot of people use Google for everything, from Gmail, to Photos, to Maps etc... it's not too risky?

 

[Plutonius]

I don't have a Google account and I only use Google for a search engine and sometime maps.

 

[AGX]

No Gmail? No Maps? No G service? And what service do you use?

 

[Tomorrow]

I see that a lot of people use Google for everything, from Gmail, to Photos, to Maps etc... it's not too risky?

Let's explore your choice of the word "risky" - to me, "risk" implies the possibility of some sort of loss or negative consequence. What "risks" are you worried about?

 

[Possumgal]

It's just spooky what they know about you. I have a gmail account. Recently I started playing a game on my phone from the Google Play store, and they wanted to give me a screen name. The name they chose contained my screen name from a forum, no relation to my gmail address. How did they know that? It makes me uncomfortable.

 

[QzzB]

Personally I don't use google services, occasional web search (tend to use DuckDuckGo) and maps for street view. Purely due to the way Google uses your data. I don't believe that someone sits there going through it, but the way you are "profiled" form the google searches, email you receive (including order confirmations, invoices, etc...) and google map locations you look up.

Im not a fan to targeted marketing. Not every purchase or search is personal. Sometimes its for work, purchase for birthdays etc... Recommending ads based on my search or purchase history is misleading.

I tend to choose services which don't advertise, use iCloud for email (no adverts and privacy policy doesn't scan emails), same with iCloud storage.

 

[Phil A.]

I use a G Suite account so there's no profiling of emails, photos or drive data.

I don't really care about targeted advertising based on my browsing habits

 

[Mousse]

It's just spooky what they know about you. I have a gmail account. Recently I started playing a game on my phone from the Google Play store, and they wanted to give me a screen name. The name they chose contained my screen name from a forum, no relation to my gmail address. How did they know that? It makes me uncomfortable.

That ain't all. They know EVERY search you've made on Google since the first day you created your gmail account. It might make a lot of people wary and for good reasons. As for me, meh. What are they gonna do with a 10 year history of porno searches? This is why I use DuckDuckGo as my main search engine now. I still use Google for eh-hem searches.

 

[AGX]

I don't understand how is possibile that people accetto to be profiled by google, i don't understand this.

The only problem is that is impossibile to use Android phone without a Gmail account

 

[Phil A.]

I don't understand how is possibile that people accetto to be profiled by google, i don't understand this.

The only problem is that is impossibile to use Android phone without a Gmail account

Why pick out Google specifically? What about Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, eBay and hundreds of other companies that track you all the time to build a profile

It's difficult to avoid being tracked and profiled to a greater or lesser extent and unfortunately that's the price of entry for the "free" internet that everyone wants

 

[AidenShaw]

The only problem is that is impossibile to use Android phone without a Gmail account

Not really - just don't visit the store.
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Why pick out Google specifically? What about Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, eBay and hundreds of other companies that track you all the time to build a profile.

Odd that you didn't explicitly include the Cupertino Fruit Company in your list....

 

[Tech198]

Hi,

I think that a lot of people use Gmail and other service of Google, but what is your relationship with google when you think about your privacy?

I see that a lot of people use Google for everything, from Gmail, to Photos, to Maps etc... it's not too risky?

I use Gmail, and while i am privacy minded, its not too bad, just as long u know what u are giving up... For example, i never enter real details apart from what Google needs for 2 factor.. (mobile number only is legit), but any thing else on my account is fake

Any emails sent i do never from the web as i use Apple's IMAP only.. and think i'm pretty safe...... if u have to be that paranoid, then u should be paranoid about other companies who "don't" bring themselves to light as to You are the product.

The only reason this is an issue surrounding Google is because Google makes it aware public... If they shut up and didn't say anything it wouldn't be this bad. But everyone just wants to know.... Well,, u can't have everything.

Security options to get in i treat only one way... i choose not to know any of the fake stuff myself,, so the only ways in are my password(s), and two factor app passwords... People may want more ways to get in "just in case" but not me..

 

[kdarling]

I don't understand how is possibile that people accetto to be profiled by google, i don't understand this.

Apple profiles us too. Heck, they tell advertisers that they can target us in multiple ways:

Almost anything we do with an Apple account is used:

Yes, that's right. You ARE a product to Apple, despite what Cook insinuates.

The only problem is that is impossibile to use Android phone without a Gmail account

It's easy. OTOH, try using an iPhone or iPad without an Apple account.

Also at least Google gives us a dashboard where we can see what they've collected and what interests they think we have... and edit them. AFAIK, Apple doesn't do the same. Probably because people would freak out if they saw what Apple collected.

In any case, it's not the Googles and Apples of the world that you should worry about. They have a vested interest in keeping what they know about us, as secret as possible.

There are many other less well-intentioned entities which actually collect and sell our personal info.

 

[Tech198]

Any company can do the same "targeting" .... Google just stands out more from the rest its their "main purpose", while Apple may not do as much of it.. because they suppress this in greater detail. Also, Apple wouldn't capture as much as Google for certain. A company like Apple which focuses on privacy as the main advantage would not lie to their users as well as "developers can capture as much info they like from their users"