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Comment Google already snoops on Android locations for Ads (Score 2) 112

by recoiledsnake (#47383611) Attached to: Android Leaks Location Data Via Wi-Fi

They actually track which stores you visit to monetize ads. If you opt out then a lot of things including Google Now stop working.

http://digiday.com/platforms/g...

They even do the same thing on iOS if you use Gmail, Chrome or Google Now apps.

It is easiest for Google to conduct this passive location tracking on Android users, since Google has embedded location tracking into the software. Once Android users opt in to location services, Google starts collecting their location data as continuously as technologically possible. (Its ability to do so is dependent on cell tower or Wi-Fi signal strength.)

Android is currently the leading mobile OS in the U.S. with a 45.9 percent market share in 2013, according to eMarketer. A little more than a fifth (20.3 percent) of the U.S. population uses Android smartphones.

But Google can also constantly track the location of iPhone users by way of Google apps for iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. IOS is just behind Android in U.S. market share with 38.3 percent of users, per eMarketer. Nearly 17 percent of the American populace uses an iOS smartphone.

When an iPhone user stops using an app, it continues running “in the background.” The user might not realize it, but the app continues working, much in the same way tabs function on a Web browser.

Google’s namesake iOS app — commonly referred to as Google mobile search — continues collecting a user’s location information when it runs in the background. This information is then used to determine if that user visited a store and whether that store visit can be attributed to a search conducted in the app. Store visits can also be tracked via Google’s other iOS apps that use location services. If iOS users open their Chrome, Gmail or Google Maps app in a store, their location can be deemed a store visit.

And they recently stopped snooping on the free Google Apps and email for Schools and even businesses after doing it for a long time to build ad profiles after they didn't dare telling the same lies in federal court that they were telling to the public about snooping on students to show ads.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/artic...

http://www.edweek.org/ew/artic...

But hey, it's Google so they get a free pass here while if MS did anything even close to that people would be shouting from rooftops.

Comment From Wikipedia: (Score 5, Informative) 149

From Wiki:

Thomas E. Wheeler is the current Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November, 2013. Prior to working at the FCC, Wheeler worked as a venture capitalist and lobbyist for the cable and wireless industry, with positions including President of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).

Comment Re:Google more restrictive than Microsoft (Score 1) 194

by recoiledsnake (#46445483) Attached to: Google Blocking Asus's Android-Windows "Duet"?

Microsoft also doesn't go after individuals for pirating Windows. That doesn't mean that those people are not committing copyright infringement by pirating Windows. It's like saying you didn't violate the law by going 1 mile above the speed limit because a cop saw you and didn't pull you over and give you a ticket.

Comment Re:That doesn't sound like a "leak". (Score 1) 110

by recoiledsnake (#46325169) Attached to: Lumia Phones Leaking Private Data To Microsoft

I wonder whether it's FUD around the option (probably defaulted to opt-in) to participate in Microsoft's "feedback" program.

I don't think there is anything that is overblown.

If you associate your Windows phone with an account (Required to load software from the only source permissible the windows app store) the phone also periodically and on demand of Microsoft uploads your location to a Microsoft server and there is **NOTHING** you can do about it and no way you can turn it off short of wiping the device and never associating an account which means not using the app store paying a hefty premium to use what is then essentially a "feature phone"

Microsoft's WP does not respect your privacy by default and there is no lever you can pull that changes this.

And how is that different from iOS or Android? Don't they do exactly the same if not worse? Also, you can turn off location services in Windows Phone.
Atleast they don't seem to be spying on which physical stores you visit unlike Google is. http://digiday.com/platforms/g...

Comment Re:Amazon forked it just fine. (Score 1) 241

by recoiledsnake (#46300057) Attached to: With 'Virgin' Developers, Microsoft Could Fork Android

Now, if they want access to Google Play Store they will probably have to go through the same process as any other Android phone vendor and sign and agreement and go through testing and certification. Virgin developers or not, if you want to access Play Store you need an agreement.

Not so easy.
http://www.theverge.com/2011/0...

It comes with a lot of restrictions, including shipping all Google apps like maps as default apps,say goodbye to Bing at the very least, not to mention it may not be "free" since Google is known to charge for GMS. So what's the point of forking again?
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets...

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