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New Google Trusted Contacts Service Shares User Location In Real Time (onthewire.io)
Reader Trailrunner7 writes: Google has spent a lot of time and money on security over the last few years, developing new technologies and systems to protect users' devices. One of the newer technologies the company has come up with is designed to provide security for users themselves rather than their laptops or phones.
On Monday Google launched a new app for Android called Trusted Contacts that allows users to share their locations and some limited other information with a set of close friends and family members. The system is a two-way road, so a user can actively share her location with her Trusted Contacts, and stop sharing it at her discretion. But, when a problem or potential emergency comes up, one of those contacts can request to get that user's location to see where she is at any moment. The app is designed to give users a way to reassure contacts that they're safe, or request help if there's something wrong.
On Monday Google launched a new app for Android called Trusted Contacts that allows users to share their locations and some limited other information with a set of close friends and family members. The system is a two-way road, so a user can actively share her location with her Trusted Contacts, and stop sharing it at her discretion. But, when a problem or potential emergency comes up, one of those contacts can request to get that user's location to see where she is at any moment. The app is designed to give users a way to reassure contacts that they're safe, or request help if there's something wrong.
Can I share trusted info with "close friends and family members" without sharing it with YOU? No? That's what I thought.
No thanks. I'm not interested in volunteering still more data about myself to add to the already humongous pile you already possess.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
"Why aren't you allowing me to see where you are? Don't you trust me? I thought we were good friends?/We are your parents!" Teaching people that it is socially unacceptable to be untrackable in real life is crossing the line to the dark side, Google.
I don't see how this gives them any more information about you than they don't already have. This just allows you to share the data they're already collecting with friends/family.
You can't see how associating telemetry data with individual's friends and family lists provides Google with an additional source of revenue when they go to sell this new-and-improved database to 3rd parties?
Fucking floors me every time just how blind end users are to the justifications behind a business collecting data or enabling "features".
Incomplete list of potential emergencies:
1.Your boss wants to know where you are on your sick day
2. Your jealous spouse wants to know if you are in the office working late
3. Your parents want to know why you are late for your daily check-in call
4. Your congregation wants to know if you are checking other parishes
5. A technology-aware burglar wants to know how long they have to finish loading your stuff into the van