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0 pointsint_19h9y ago0 comments

When it comes out of the blue, yes. It's a useful feature, but also very intrusive, and that should be gated on a very, very clear opt-in.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

pawadu9y ago· 2 in thread

Isn't Google Now opt in to begin with? Doesn't it give you a huge EULA to read before you activate it?

mikecb9y ago

It always has for me, and not in tiny-font or legal language either:

"To help you through your day, Google needs to: Use and store your location for traffic alerts, directions, and more. User your synced calendars, Gmail, Chrome, and Google data for reminders and other suggestions."

This topic does come up a lot here, and yet this is as direct and concise a way to put it as I can imagine. I wonder what those who have been surprised by the services they have opted into would suggest to improve their understanding of what they are potentially agreeing to?

int_19hOP9y ago

Yes, it is opt-in, which is good. But I feel that for a casual user "use and store your location" doesn't fully get across the point that it's going to track your location in near real-time and make inferences like "this place is your home" about it.

And this is a general problem - people share all kinds of private information about themselves, without full understanding of the kind of analysis that is possible on that data these days.

I personally don't have a problem with the tech (and I've used Latitude way back, so it's not like any of it is new).

angry-hacker9y ago

While I agree you shouldn't use Google now in the first place if you find it creepy... Or Android.

And if you're worried about being tracked in general, then mobile phone. That's the sad truth.

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