Google does mine data from all of its users (as does Facebook, Twitter and every other ad network, including Apple’s iAd). However, that’s not the real problem. The issue on Android is that users have very little control about what data apps have access to, because the entire platform was designed to harvest data for Google without any real regard to user privacy or security.
On iOS, Google’s ability to harvest data is much more tightly controlled. That’s a problem for Android because the valuable segments of the smartphone and tablet market are now off limits or tightly restricted by iOS, while Android sits on a large but much less useful market for data collection.
The issue isn’t privacy, but rather the ability of Android to generate enough value for Google to sustain its development. Without iOS, Android makes sense. With iOS taking the valuable segment of the market, Android not only gets less valuable data, but has also triggered the restrictions in iOS that keep Google from accessing data on Apple’s users.
Without Android, Google would likely have remained Apple’s key partner in Maps, Search and other areas. So Android has little positive value for Google and has created significant negative value. This is not even referencing any privacy issues.
indeed. we can all refuse to sign up for the Google ecosystem if we use iOS and its alternative services and options offered on iOS. which means we can all avoid their data mining. now, Google has a very good ecosystem, in various ways the best. like its search vs. the Bing alternative. but we still have a choice if we use iOS.
if you buy an official Android product YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT CHOICE.
so tell me ... which of these two alternatives - iOS or Android - is really "open" in the most important sense - that we consumers can decide what level of privacy protection we get when we use it?
Google's "openness" is a fraud. sucker bait for peripatetic techies.
Bla bla bla, doesn't matter what way you spin it, Android is massive and out selling iOS in most of the world.
I am far from an Android fan but its a fact. Its enabled cheap phones with a lot of functionality and that's what a lot of people want. People can point to profit levels and other comparisons but ultimately the guys at Google just want to ship more than Apple and Microsoft. I don't think they overly care how much profit they make. Once your passed a certain level the game is to try and destroy your competitor. And what bigger game could Google currently play than destroying MS in the desktop and Apple in phones.
What total nonsense. I'm sure there shareholders feel the same way. I want to invest in a company that doesn't care about profit!!!
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
Could you please point me in the direction of this information. I can't seem to find it. This is all that I find:
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
In the real world, who bothers with such an effort?
Mostly it's just "Agree", with not even a welcome to your new Google + account.
So after you've turned all that stuff off can you still access Play or reset your phone without losing your data if the password is entered wrong too many times?
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
yes you can opt out of much of the Google data mining. but never all.
and the right way to protect our privacy is to instead make everything like that opt in. which iOS does nearly all the time.
you know damn well Google stacks the deck its way. pretending otherwise is apologia for evil.
The concept behind Android and iOS is fundamentally different. Google released Android into the wild not to make money off of it, but to provide an alternate mobile platform.
Don't tell me Google are working their fingers to the bone for sustaining and trying to grow Android if they didn't even want to make money out of it. Of course, Android itself isn't there for money making, but it does mean that virtually all Android users will have to use Google service, which means millions of more customers.
...there's no comparative "Google phone" like an iPhone (Nexus devices are close). For this reason alone, trying to compare the two is a futile effort at best.
Google TRIED to best iPhone by acquiring Motorola. It even launched Moto X (Google's attempt at taking iPhone) and Moto G under the 'Moto' moniker but the money was to be piled at the Dont-be-evil headquarters. It is now unanimously agreed that Google can't do hardware, and that it was losing money at a tremendous rate from Motorola, before eventually selling it to Lenovo only very recently.
That's like saying I (lazy and incompetent) can blast football legends to kingdom come, only I won't because I don't fancy playing (even though I did play once and lost shamefully).
if you buy an official Android product YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT CHOICE.
Wrong. You can very easily cut Google out completely from a Android device, you can set the default apps to your liking. You don't have to buy apps from them, and you don't need a Gmail account. Do a little fact checking before screaming out claims.
Over long again. However good point at the end. Apple is now going to have a few generations of device supremacy. With OS supremacy ( or equal ness if you are an android fan) this matters. Samsung have messed up the S 5, Moto is sold, only HTC can maybe match on design. And design matters when you are carrying stuff around with you. Apple can keep the top end and increase penetration elsewhere.
Nice article. Lots of research went into this, obviously.
It's not sensationalistic, however, so major news outlets won't pick it up. This article is a wet blanket tossed on the "Android is taking over" marketshare fire that continues to be the dominant story in the media.
Must be something in the air. Your username suggests that you're a troll, but your post suggests otherwise. A breath of fresh air!
Considering this just happened, Apple might finally fall in line with EU regulations.
Except they’ve already complied with EU regulations. iDevices ship with a MicroUSB adapter. Apple will never put a USB port on their products. It isn’t happening.
Originally Posted by ClemyNX
Why didn't others succeed otherwise?
Because that’s literally how bad Android is. On its own, it bankrupts companies. Things had to be stolen from Apple for it to succeed.
Originally Posted by dasanman69
So you want to have over 90% market share like MS had with Windows? It wasn't good then, and it wouldn't be good now.
Of course it would be good now. We’d have a company that would actually innovate.
Of course it would be good now. We’d have a company that would actually innovate.
Out of everything MS did with their monopolistic position you chose 'not innovating' as your biggest complaint? I know you have more sense, and are more intelligent than that.
Out of everything MS did with their monopolistic position you chose 'not innovating' as your biggest complaint? I know you have more sense, and are more intelligent than that.
You know exactly what I mean. One of the largest complaints with monopolies is that without competition, the company has no incentive to release improved products. We certainly saw that with Microsoft in the ‘90s, but we explicitly didn’t see it with Apple and the iPod.
Because that’s literally how bad Android is. On its own, it bankrupts companies. Things had to be stolen from Apple for it to succeed.
What companies did it bankrupt? Palm did their own thing and are gone, BB did their own thing and is dying. While Android hasn't been a success for Moto, LG, HTC, etc it has allowed them to survive. Imagine if they had all tried making their own OS. They would all either no longer exist or slowly dying. The market would not support 4,5,6 different OSs.
Apple has bankrupted a lot more companies than Android ever will.
You can very easily cut Google out completely from a Android device, you can set the default apps to your liking. You don't have to buy apps from them, and you don't need a Gmail account.
A modern smartphone without cloud integration, web services and apps? That's a paradox, isn't it? Besides, this defeats the point of owning such a phone in the first place. A cheaper one would also offer similar utility.
You know exactly what I mean. One of the largest complaints with monopolies is that without competition, the company has no incentive to release improved products. We certainly saw that with Microsoft in the ‘90s, but we explicitly didn’t see it with Apple and the iPod.
I get that, and controlling the software and hardware is essential to the level of innovation that Apple is able to accomplish. Allowing another manufacturer to use iOS as the OP suggested would take some of the device innovating out of Apple's hands.
Comments
Google does mine data from all of its users (as does Facebook, Twitter and every other ad network, including Apple’s iAd). However, that’s not the real problem. The issue on Android is that users have very little control about what data apps have access to, because the entire platform was designed to harvest data for Google without any real regard to user privacy or security.
On iOS, Google’s ability to harvest data is much more tightly controlled. That’s a problem for Android because the valuable segments of the smartphone and tablet market are now off limits or tightly restricted by iOS, while Android sits on a large but much less useful market for data collection.
The issue isn’t privacy, but rather the ability of Android to generate enough value for Google to sustain its development. Without iOS, Android makes sense. With iOS taking the valuable segment of the market, Android not only gets less valuable data, but has also triggered the restrictions in iOS that keep Google from accessing data on Apple’s users.
Without Android, Google would likely have remained Apple’s key partner in Maps, Search and other areas. So Android has little positive value for Google and has created significant negative value. This is not even referencing any privacy issues.
indeed. we can all refuse to sign up for the Google ecosystem if we use iOS and its alternative services and options offered on iOS. which means we can all avoid their data mining. now, Google has a very good ecosystem, in various ways the best. like its search vs. the Bing alternative. but we still have a choice if we use iOS.
if you buy an official Android product YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT CHOICE.
so tell me ... which of these two alternatives - iOS or Android - is really "open" in the most important sense - that we consumers can decide what level of privacy protection we get when we use it?
Google's "openness" is a fraud. sucker bait for peripatetic techies.
Bla bla bla, doesn't matter what way you spin it, Android is massive and out selling iOS in most of the world.
I am far from an Android fan but its a fact. Its enabled cheap phones with a lot of functionality and that's what a lot of people want. People can point to profit levels and other comparisons but ultimately the guys at Google just want to ship more than Apple and Microsoft. I don't think they overly care how much profit they make. Once your passed a certain level the game is to try and destroy your competitor. And what bigger game could Google currently play than destroying MS in the desktop and Apple in phones.
What total nonsense. I'm sure there shareholders feel the same way. I want to invest in a company that doesn't care about profit!!!
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
Could you please point me in the direction of this information. I can't seem to find it. This is all that I find:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/google-removes-vital-privacy-features-android-shortly-after-adding-them
Could you please point me in the direction of this information. I can't seem to find it. This is all that I find:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/google-removes-vital-privacy-features-android-shortly-after-adding-them
This article discusses the google settings app that Gatorguy seems to be referring to. http://resources.avg.com.au/mobile/check-your-google-settings-for-better-online-privacy/
Nice article.
This article discusses the google settings app that Gatorguy seems to be referring to. http://resources.avg.com.au/mobile/check-your-google-settings-for-better-online-privacy/
Thanks. Is there something more in-depth than this?
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
In the real world, who bothers with such an effort?
Mostly it's just "Agree", with not even a welcome to your new Google + account.
So after you've turned all that stuff off can you still access Play or reset your phone without losing your data if the password is entered wrong too many times?
See if you can borrow a more recent Android phone from someone.Touch settings, then under "Accounts" find "Google". From there you can turn off Location Reporting, deny access to Location History, opt out of Interest-based Ads, turn off Web History, disable Personal Results, remove Contacts from search results, and disable Google Now. Via Settings even built-in apps can selectively be turned off or your Google Account permissions turned off altogether. Users may have a little more control than you realize.
yes you can opt out of much of the Google data mining. but never all.
and the right way to protect our privacy is to instead make everything like that opt in. which iOS does nearly all the time.
you know damn well Google stacks the deck its way. pretending otherwise is apologia for evil.
http://www.mobilesecurity.com/articles/552-how-to-manage-privacy-settings-in-android
Sounds nice but even on your iDevice there's some tracking and data collection services Apple has gone ahead and opted-in for you. Here's some you might want to turn off or at least be aware of if your privacy is high-priority.
https://www.komando.com/tips/12353/6-privacy-settings-to-change-in-ios-7-now/all
The concept behind Android and iOS is fundamentally different. Google released Android into the wild not to make money off of it, but to provide an alternate mobile platform.
Don't tell me Google are working their fingers to the bone for sustaining and trying to grow Android if they didn't even want to make money out of it. Of course, Android itself isn't there for money making, but it does mean that virtually all Android users will have to use Google service, which means millions of more customers.
Google TRIED to best iPhone by acquiring Motorola. It even launched Moto X (Google's attempt at taking iPhone) and Moto G under the 'Moto' moniker but the money was to be piled at the Dont-be-evil headquarters. It is now unanimously agreed that Google can't do hardware, and that it was losing money at a tremendous rate from Motorola, before eventually selling it to Lenovo only very recently.
That's like saying I (lazy and incompetent) can blast football legends to kingdom come, only I won't because I don't fancy playing (even though I did play once and lost shamefully).
Wrong. You can very easily cut Google out completely from a Android device, you can set the default apps to your liking. You don't have to buy apps from them, and you don't need a Gmail account. Do a little fact checking before screaming out claims.
Must be something in the air. Your username suggests that you're a troll, but your post suggests otherwise. A breath of fresh air!
Considering this just happened, Apple might finally fall in line with EU regulations.
Except they’ve already complied with EU regulations. iDevices ship with a MicroUSB adapter. Apple will never put a USB port on their products. It isn’t happening.
Because that’s literally how bad Android is. On its own, it bankrupts companies. Things had to be stolen from Apple for it to succeed.
Of course it would be good now. We’d have a company that would actually innovate.
Out of everything MS did with their monopolistic position you chose 'not innovating' as your biggest complaint? I know you have more sense, and are more intelligent than that.
You know exactly what I mean. One of the largest complaints with monopolies is that without competition, the company has no incentive to release improved products. We certainly saw that with Microsoft in the ‘90s, but we explicitly didn’t see it with Apple and the iPod.
What companies did it bankrupt? Palm did their own thing and are gone, BB did their own thing and is dying. While Android hasn't been a success for Moto, LG, HTC, etc it has allowed them to survive. Imagine if they had all tried making their own OS. They would all either no longer exist or slowly dying. The market would not support 4,5,6 different OSs.
Apple has bankrupted a lot more companies than Android ever will.
You can very easily cut Google out completely from a Android device, you can set the default apps to your liking. You don't have to buy apps from them, and you don't need a Gmail account.
A modern smartphone without cloud integration, web services and apps? That's a paradox, isn't it? Besides, this defeats the point of owning such a phone in the first place. A cheaper one would also offer similar utility.
I get that, and controlling the software and hardware is essential to the level of innovation that Apple is able to accomplish. Allowing another manufacturer to use iOS as the OP suggested would take some of the device innovating out of Apple's hands.