A Free Product In Tech Comes At A Large Cost
Some people are discovering that Google records their voice and stores these recordings, which should not come as a surprise given that free products don't exist. We've seen derivatives of this story where people find that recordings from years ago still exist - people eager to use the newest technology don't realize how this is being used underneath.
Recognize from a marketing perspective that these data are important to Google. Your historic recordings provide incredibly useful information that can be used for marketing. This doesn't only include what you're searching for, which articles around this topic seem to mis-assume.
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Understanding the Free Model
Free products don't exist and what is mean by "free" is that you are the product. No thought of your security or privacy is considered because you are the product being sold. I often say that nothing is more expensive than something that is free. This is because a company with a free service will use the information you give for whatever they choose. You also have no authority about what and how they use it because you are providing that information for free. You can choose to terminate business with the company or you can choose to stop using the product.
Based on human behavior, we see the latter two situations seldom occur. Once people start to use a free product (like Facebook, Instagram or Google), they continue using it despite how those products use their information.
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New Security Techniques Won't Hold
Given the free product model in the tech industry, many newer security solutions will completely fail. This is because with these methods of obtaining free information, companies have created unintended consequences that give attackers more power. The information being stored by Google, even when removed by the user, is still present on some level - and that may be the attacker's level. Attackers often do recon for years before making their attack, especially on high profile targets.
Still, for people who love free products, many security solutions in the future will only open bigger attacks.
Nothing in life is free. Nothing. If a company offers a free service, it means that you are the product. This post is sponsored by FinTek Development, a company that produces data and security solutions for businesses. Image from Pixabay.
How is it bad for you though? If you don't use AdBlock, Google can adapt adverts for you better, so they are actually useful for you. I don't see a threat to ordinary people if they are able to say no when necessary.
The fact that these companies store your data means that during an attack that data may be compromised and misused by the attackers. Adapting the ads is simply a way for Google to sugar-coat the reality and to optimize sales and increase income from effective advertising. The real issue is what can be derived from that data by a malicious third party, and what they might do with the data and findings.
I prefer to be advertised what I might want to buy instead of something I would never buy. And the use of data by the third parties is fairly limited in the damage they may cause.