Google's not your friend. What can you do about it?
We've Said It Before
Here at Ethical Developer Group we've said it before, though we aren't the first to say it: If you are getting a service for free, you should take a hard look at what the provider's business model is. Unless you are dealing with some kind of philanthropic organization, they have an ulterior motive. More often than not, you aren't paying for the service because you aren't the customer, you and your information are the product.
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing image by SarahRichterArt via Pixabay
A good friend forwarded a page to me a few days ago. Gabriel Weinberg, CEO and founder of Duck Duck Go, is the privacy expert who wrote it. Duck Duck Go became my favorite search engine precisely because it is privacy-oriented. He was answering a question on Quora "What does Google know about me?" and what he says about Google is very revealing.
According to Weinberg, Google tracks you in a number of ways, including remembering every search you've ever made using their services, tracking your activity on their various platforms including YouTube, and employing trackers on many of the other sites you use. So, even when you aren't directly using their services, they track your activities all over the Web.
Implications for Android
Ethical Developer Group was founded to increase privacy on Android devices. Weinberg says (as we've also come to understand) is that simply running Google's Android OS on your device means that they are tracking your location, app use, collecting your texts, and collecting your photos. We may be able to recommend apps that are less invasive than others, but there are inherent issues in using a operating system owned by Google, regardless of the apps you are running on it. Weinberg puts it well:
Google isn’t a search company anymore, they’re a tracking company.
Gabriel Weinberg, answering "What does Google know about me?"
A while back I posted an article and video showing a process to install the alternative Copperhead OS on some specific devices. Unfortunately, these devices are all Google-branded. Also unfortunate: Running Copperhead OS now requires that you either buy a device from Copperhead, pay them to install their OS on your device, or compile the OS from source yourself. Also, support for my aging Nexus 6P has ended (after 3 years on the market, heaven forbid having such an ancient device!). I don't blame them, as it's awfully difficult to make a living developing open source platforms.
What Can You Do?
Weinberg's article points readers to a post on Duck Duck Go's spreadprivacy.com blog entitled How to Live Without Google. Here they provide a set of alternative online services that will respect your privacy.
We are not fans of the centrally-controlled iOS platform, so we will be going back to basics and looking for solutions including alternative smartphone OSes, computer OSes, what browsers you should consider, and a deeper dive on options that will provide better security for email, file storage, calendars, contacts, etc.
Would You Like to Help?
If you'd like to get involved, let us know in the comments section below. Also consider using the Contact Us link. We are interested in partnering with guest bloggers, especially digital security experts. We are also looking to branch out and work with developers in areas including Android, iOS, Linux, and blockchain.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://edgcert.com/2018/12/16/googles-not-your-friend-what-can-you-do-about-it/