Will Google greed kill android?

SeattleUser

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
You have to have a gmail account to use the app store but if you have one Google steals your personal info and posts it to a Google+ facebook type page without your permission. At least that's what I read in the news. Even if this report is exaggerated it seems like that is the direction Google is going in. I beginning to have doubts about trusting a smart phone that has an OS that comes from Google. I just don't trust Google.
 

pc747

Regular Member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
25,489
Reaction score
6,865
You have to have a gmail account to use the app store but if you have one Google steals your personal info and posts it to a Google+ facebook type page without your permission. At least that's what I read in the news. Even if this report is exaggerated it seems like that is the direction Google is going in. I beginning to have doubts about trusting a smart phone that has an OS that comes from Google. I just don't trust Google.

You can make up a username just for Google and still use your favorite email client for email.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 

dezymond

Tech Support Mod
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
12,049
Reaction score
1,479
Location
Bay Area, California
Current Phone Model
Google Pixel
This has always been Google's policy, a gmail account for the app store. If you've ever registered for anything online, your information has already been made available to the internet, for any company's promotion or whatever. It's part of living in this digital world. Only way to avoid your information not being compromised is to not sign up for anything.

If you don't trust in Android then you can easily switch to a dumbphone. And if you think your information is any safer on iOS or RIM, that's not true. But the "easier" way around it is to fake an account as PC mentioned.

Plus it's the news, what don't they exaggerate? Especially with the tragedy at Sandy Hook they're just feeding into people's vulnerability right now.
 
OP
S

SeattleUser

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
You can make up a username just for Google and still use your favorite email client for email.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Yes, I know. I have just such an account. However, if Google does that can your really trust a smartphone OS from Google. Your smartphone has lots of private info on it and what's to prevent Google from harvesting it via android? I use Google on my PC and I see targeted ads when I visit various websites. I'm guessing the Google makes that happen. I think I will eventually set up a separate userid on my PC that has no personal info and use that when I want to use Google.

I still use a dumb phone myself, but my wife is on her second smartphone. I play around with her old DroidX using it via wifi.
 

pc747

Regular Member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
25,489
Reaction score
6,865
Well Google can't do that in fact you have more to worry about your carrier selling your info than Google. With Google you can deny then permission to access important information. You have to search through your carrier site through some back page to find small print to opt out of then sharing your information.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
OP
S

SeattleUser

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Well Google can't do that in fact you have more to worry about your carrier selling your info than Google. With Google you can deny then permission to access important information. You have to search through your carrier site through some back page to find small print to opt out of then sharing your information.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

You are very trusting. If Google creates the OS they can make it do anything they want regardless of what permissions you set.
 

pc747

Regular Member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
25,489
Reaction score
6,865
Actually i am not trusting at all. I walk around with a foil hat. Yes there is risks but no different from Apple's os, window's, or any one with a service that connects to the internet. Only way to be completely safe is to buy a tracfone flip phone and use that as your everyday device.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 

Nemo Aeternamn

Droid X Rescue Squad
Premium Member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
792
Reaction score
12
Location
Mo-ab
If Google creates the OS they can make it do anything they want regardless of what permissions you set.

if you look at like that... any other origination/group/etc... anything... can be put in the same classification that are just out to get everyone and sell all their info...
 

dezymond

Tech Support Mod
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
12,049
Reaction score
1,479
Location
Bay Area, California
Current Phone Model
Google Pixel
There is always a risk of giving ANY information out to ANYONE or any company. It's all in the agreements in small print at the bottom of the page.
 
OP
S

SeattleUser

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Actually i am not trusting at all. I walk around with a foil hat. Yes there is risks but no different from Apple's os, window's, or any one with a service that connects to the internet. Only way to be completely safe is to buy a tracfone flip phone and use that as your everyday device.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I don't use either Apple or Microsoft because of security issues. If I could use a smartphone that had an entirely opensource OS I would like that much better. Google has demonstrated time and and again that they have little respect for personal info. I expect that some time in the future they will be caught with "their hand in the cookie jar", so to speak. Remember when Sony was caught planting spyware on PCs via their music CDs?
 

jntdroid

Super Moderator
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2009
Messages
6,436
Reaction score
312
Location
TX
You have to have a Microsoft account to use Windows Phone, an Apple ID to use iOS. Google's no different, they're just ad-based. You could make the argument Google's would be safer because you have the ability to disable a lot in your Google account. You can get rid of the forced G+ account / profile at any time.
 

dezymond

Tech Support Mod
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
12,049
Reaction score
1,479
Location
Bay Area, California
Current Phone Model
Google Pixel
That Ubuntu OS looks pretty nice. Had no idea they were going mobile.
 

Xander Crews

Active Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
355
Reaction score
23
Location
St. Louis
The folks who freak out whenever a privacy policy is amended or whatever, are to put it bluntly...annoying.
Google is not, I repeat, NOT, going to steal your private info.
If they did, and they got caught, it would be such horrible PR...why would they do that? There is way too much at risk for them to do that.
In the era of cloud services, trustworthiness is the objective of any company who supplies a cloud service. Why would they do the one major thing that would create any distrust? Google is huge and therefore a lot of people are watching them under the microscope.

Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc... they aren't going to steal your cloud documents or photos and sell them to the highest bidder. That's ridiculous.

Yes, sometimes the privacy policies make is sound like they are saying they can do whatever they want with your data, but they have to word their privacy policies that way so they can provide you the service without getting sued down the road. They deal in data, and data has to be backed up, moved across servers, etc...and, legally, they have to say they have the right to copy/access your data. It's all encrypted anyway, and no physical person will actually see any of your stuff.
 
Top