“The single reason I trust Google with my data”

In any case, I tend not to worry too much. And I tend to not worry too much about all the digital data I hand over every minute of every day. That’s not to say I don’t care. I certainly do. And there are some companies I trust more than others. Cable company? Screw ’em. I’d unplug if I could. But I don’t think I’m quite ready to subject my wife and kids to that. Cell carrier? They’re only after one thing. (Except for when I’m on Project Fi. Those guys rock.)

But Google? Google probably knows more about me than anyone. Probably more than I know myself. That’s never been more apparent than when I scrolled through the first 100 pixels or so of the My Activity section on my Google account. Everything I’ve searched for. Apps I’ve used. Websites I opened. Destinations I’ve navigated to. All there, and pretty much in real time.

There really seem to be two groups of people: those that value the openness of Google regarding the data it collects, giving you insight and control over it, and those that value the secrecy of Apple, trying to keep everything on your device in a way that it can’t be tracked to you.

The debate passes me by, because I treat my devices as if they are public devices; I don’t put anything on there that I don’t want other to see, read, or know about. A device is not my mind, so I don’t treat it as such. I don’t trust any company – Google, Apple, my carrier, or whatever – and I have enough understanding of technology to know that nothing connected to the internet is really private or safe.

The idea of “trusting” a company with my deepest private data is wholly alien to me.

25 Comments

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