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Idle Android Devices Send Data to Google Nearly 10 Times More Often Than iOS Devices do to Apple, Research Finds

keysofanxiety said:
Very true: some of my work colleagues mocked me for getting an “overpriced” iPhone X yet they paid nearly as much for a Google Pixel 2 with half the per core performance, no wireless charging, and data mining galore.
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In very simple terms please explain how the data mining specifically effects the users day to day usage of their device.
When you come to the conclusion that it effects them absolutely zero, then please explain in very simple terms why you think its a negative.... considering on the other side of the coin. Google provides youtube, gmail, maps, photos etc, at no real physical cost to the end user. So a few targeted adds pop up, so freakin what....
 
falainber said:
I wonder what makes [some] people so paranoid about Google collecting benign data? I doubt that most people want to hide something. The problem seems to be contained mostly to Apple centric forums. Goggle collecting location data allows them to provide better service to their customers. People share their experiences about the service they receive at different businesses, they "share" traffic data. When I search for a business on Google maps, it reminds me when was the last time I visited this particular business. Apple customers benefit too from the information collected by Android users because when they really need to find something they turn to Google maps. These are just some of the benefits of the 21st century infrastructure built by Google. I have yet to hear about a single issue with using Google products. This discussion is not an exception. Apart from childish claims about Android users being a "product" (as if being a product is necessarily a bad thing) was there ever an Android user who got hurt by Google? Any specific examples?
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How much did you pay for your phone?
 
Cryates said:
I'm not giving up? I'm just accepting the reality of the situation. Also, I have a smart TV, and I accept the fact that there is probably some tracking going on with the apps I use and the shows I watch. Xfinity can build a profile of what it thinks I want to watch based on the info it stores from my DVR. The same way Apple's TV app can make suggestions. Those things are all part of tracking what we do online and on our devices. I don't take privacy policies at face value, and no one should.

At the end of the day people can think one company is invested in user security, and that may be true to an extent, but they are going to mine your data and take whatever they can learn from them for themselves, and use it to sell you future products. They want to know who you are and why you do what you do, so that they know how to keep your business. If that means invading privacy in certain areas, then so be it. I can go under system services on my iPhone and see what time I arrived and left a Burger King on a particular day. That's enough to creep most folks out on the surface because we don't really know what they are doing with such data.
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But there are levels of privacy, and I feel much more comfortable with Apple. Of course, as you said, someone somewhere is going to track you. I still think it's a huge difference between being tracked for something like TV preferences versus location, especially if you have opted out.

In your iPhone example I don't believe that information leaves the phone. Certainly the carrier has that information via their cell phone towers and such (and yes they sell that information and we should be outraged). But much, if not most of the information on iOS is stored locally only. Yes it's only Apple telling us this, but I have no reason to disbelieve them at this time. What scares me about Google is 1) how they blatantly lie all the time about things like privacy and that impacts my level of trust with them and 2) they do transmit a lot of information instead of storing it locally and as even the article we are talking about states they can easily pair anonymous data with you personally. Stuff like this makes it scary, especially when there are partner developers involved who have access to the information but may not be as responsible as Google, which isn't saying much to begin with. Look at what happened with Facebook and outside developers it shared information with.

The more comfortable we become with this, the less we complain and the more we just accept it. This is reflected in the extremely weak reactions noted in the government hearings on Facebook, for example. This is truly the scariest part IMO, the level of complacency and acceptance in our society.
 
MacsRuleOthersDrool said:
...But it has TWICE the battery capacity; so OBVIOUSLY, it's doing SOMETHING with all those extra electrons...

Think about it.
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To the credit card processor and your bank.

Apple isn't involved in the transaction in ANY way.
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And how much do they get from DuckDuckGo? You can choose their services, instead.
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It you don't mind me saying old fella, you seem very insistent on bashing Google over the head.. what's up, did they steal your girlfriend? Get over it already!!
 
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falainber said:
What does it have to do with the topic of the discussion? Anyways, I don't really remember for I bought my Galaxy Note 4 four year ago.
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$829 for the cheapest Note 4 and it was the worst phone I've ever owned. No updates, broken functionality (mostly with S pen features), awful battery life despite 3-4 new batteries, expandable memory almost never recognizted, and a constantly freezing/buggy experience.
 
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falainber said:
Using your terminology, with Apple you are a product too. Just a cheaper one.
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It's not better. It would be better if it was doing as much as Android with less power. Instead it's doing less and uses less power. It's a valid choice but it has nothing to do with optimization.
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I disagree. If the iPhone is getting the same amount of battery life with a much smaller battery, then the chip and the OS are optimized to perform better (better benchmarks too) while using less power.
 
It’s called a firewall. Not that hard to use.

Besides, if you are an Android user, you know what you’ve bought. This isn’t a huge surprise.

Congratulations! Apple wins the prize for gathering less. Meanwhile, Siri sucks, and their Apple Music new music recommendations suck as well.

We could get all up in arms about something had no effect on us as iOS users, or we could simply move on and happily anticipate the next abomination that is going to be passed off as a new Mac.

NOTHING said here is going to make an Android user change their mind about Android. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a Mac forum! If you are interested in converting the Android masses, post this non-information on an Android forum.
 
Baymowe335 said:
$829 for the cheapest Note 4 and it was the worst phone I've ever owned. No updates, broken functionality (mostly with S pen features), awful battery life despite 3-4 new batteries, expandable memory almost never recognizted, and a constantly freezing/buggy experience.
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Maybe you need to learn how to use the phones? My Note 4 is on the second battery ($20 easy replacement). Last update was a year ago. It runs for months between reboots. It never had any issues with memory card (you just need to use the good ones). Note 4 was a really advanced model. Just compare it to iPhone X. Note 4 has:
* same RAM
* more storage
* same screen size
* higher pixel density
* Super AMOLED (iPhone just got one)
* S Pen (iPhone is rumored to get one this year)
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DNichter said:
I disagree. If the iPhone is getting the same amount of battery life with a much smaller battery, then the chip and the OS are optimized to perform better (better benchmarks too) while using less power.
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Nope. iOS simply does not allow background processes to do much. Also iPhones have smaller resolution. You may call it optimization but it's not. It's a design choice.
 
I said a version of this in a lengthier comment earlier, but discussions in these threads are difficult and it seems more relevant now.

Google is one of the best at being transparent and allowing you granular control over how they use your account data (as they should be). When I tried to remove Google from my life, all it did was make me feel like I had less control over my privacy. Why? Because so many other services are not as transparent and not as flexible when controlling how they use your data (as they ALL do).

Point being, Google gets a bad rap because of their size and primary source of revenue. But the fact is, they provide good services and allow me to control how they use my data, unlike many other companies/services. Ironically I feel I have more control over my online data because of this.
 
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falainber said:
I wonder what makes [some] people so paranoid about Google collecting benign data? I doubt that most people want to hide something. The problem seems to be contained mostly to Apple centric forums. Goggle collecting location data allows them to provide better service to their customers. People share their experiences about the service they receive at different businesses, they "share" traffic data. When I search for a business on Google maps, it reminds me when was the last time I visited this particular business. Apple customers benefit too from the information collected by Android users because when they really need to find something they turn to Google maps. These are just some of the benefits of the 21st century infrastructure built by Google. I have yet to hear about a single issue with using Google products. This discussion is not an exception. Apart from childish claims about Android users being a "product" (as if being a product is necessarily a bad thing) was there ever an Android user who got hurt by Google? Any specific examples?
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I think some people just find it creepy to have all of their personal information collected and monetized. Personally, I think a lack of privacy will become a larger issue as more and more companies are using shady practices to collect and monetize your information. Who knows how that data will be used? It could be potentially damaging in the wrong hands. You don’t see this on Android sites as privacy isn’t something you value, or you wouldn’t be using Android. It’s not necessarily a paranoia thing, just a preference. Apple has great services without collecting and monetizing their users’ data, so it obviously isn’t needed. It’s just that Google only exists for advertising, so they have no choice.
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falainber said:
Maybe you need to learn how to use the phones? My Note 4 is on the second battery ($20 easy replacement). Last update was a year ago. It runs for months between reboots. It never had any issues with memory card (you just need to use the good ones). Note 4 was a really advanced model. Just compare it to iPhone X. Note 4 has:
* same RAM
* more storage
* same screen size
* higher pixel density
* Super AMOLED (iPhone just got one)
* S Pen (iPhone is rumored to get one this year)
[doublepost=1534974182][/doublepost]
Nope. iOS simply does not allow background processes to do much. Also iPhones have smaller resolution. You may call it optimization but it's not. It's a design choice.
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We can disagree, that’s fine. The OS/chip is optimized (call it designed if you want) to perform better while using less battery. The definition of optimize is “to make the best or most effective use of” - iOS does exactly that with a much smaller battery.
 
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Call me paranoid but I never leave any apps made by Google or Facebook running in the background when I’m not using them.
 
DNichter said:
I think some people just find it creepy to have all of their personal information collected and monetized. Personally, I think a lack of privacy will become a larger issue as more and more companies are using shady practices to collect and monetize your information. Who knows how that data will be used? It could be potentially damaging in the wrong hands. You don’t see this on Android sites as privacy isn’t something you value, or you wouldn’t be using Android. It’s not necessarily a paranoia thing, just a preference. Apple has great services without collecting and monetizing their users’ data, so it obviously isn’t needed. It’s just that Google only exists for advertising, so they have no choice.
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Any device connected to Internet may be "potentially damaging". The fact that Google program uses my location to give me better info and more relevant ads is a good thing. It has no bearing on my privacy. I prefer to get real benefits than being scared of potential damage. Besides in the worst case scenario someone may learn where I went yesterday. Should I be worried? I think there are really few people who would be.
 
Jsameds said:
Yeah but there's a difference between being tracked by Apple and being tracked by Google.
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...or using your credit card, or cash point, or buying a train ticket, seeing a film, or what your streaming, what your doing on social media, getting your car serviced, what your buying in the grocery store...Mobile operating systems are the just the tip of the iceberg....we live in a connected world and whether you like it or not, everything you’re doing is being tracked.
 
falainber said:
Any device connected to Internet may be "potentially damaging". The fact that Google program uses my location to give me better info and more relevant ads is a good thing. It has no bearing on my privacy. I prefer to get real benefits than being scared of potential damage. Besides in the worst case scenario someone may learn where I went yesterday. Should I be worried? I think there are really few people who would be.
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Correct, but that doesn’t mean I need to make matters potentially worse and use products or services that only exist to collect and monetize my information. As I mentioned, it’s not about fear or paranoia, there are many reasons why Apple is better platform choice for me. I just value my privacy, and that aligns with Apple. I have no problem with you giving up your information to Google, that’s your choice. Everyone has different values when it comes to the products they purchase.
 
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keysofanxiety said:
And when people scoff "well Android phones are cheaper", this is part of the reason. With Apple, you buy a product. With Google, you are the product.
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....and most would agree.

DNichter said:
Correct, but that doesn’t mean I need to make matters potentially worse and use products or services that only exist to collect and monetize my information. As I mentioned, it’s not about fear or paranoia, there are many reasons why Apple is better platform choice for me. I just value my privacy, and that aligns with Apple. I have no problem with you giving up your information to Google, that’s your choice. Everyone has different values when it comes to the products they purchase.
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Just like when people buy new houses, their first question is "Can i get fast internet??", so ya,,, i reckon its still a choice if people wanna buy an Android solely for this reason on the understanding "You will be tracked"
 
FFR said:
I’m confused I have duck duck go as the default search engine on my iPhone X.
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Google is the default search engine for all iPhone's shipped by Apple, and for that Google pays Apple over $1B/year. Does that clear the confusion?
 
Meh, I own an iPhone that I use as a VoIP phone here in my office. As a daily I use a OnePlus 5T, which I got it for it's large memory capacity, large storage and optimized battery life, it's mostly a media phone. My talk and text phone along with using for super personal data is my Nexus 6P with CopperheadOS. I enjoy all of them, as for privacy centric I'd have to go with my CopperheadOS phone. Honestly wished the CopperheadOS team would use the OnePlus 5T phone instead of the garbage Googles been releasing lately. Best thing about the OnePlus 5T is the emence amount of information and data that the bug report gives you, it is simply the best.
 
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BootsWalking said:
Except Apple gets $1B+ year from Google to enable them to make you their product.
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And so what? Is Apple supposed to block google? Apple is not there to police the internet. They have there own house in order, they are. It responsible for the internet. And more power to them, if google pony’s up $1B.
 
keysofanxiety said:
And when people scoff "well Android phones are cheaper", this is part of the reason. With Apple, you buy a product. With Google, you are the product.
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That's just it. I could give a flying **** less if I am the product. I don't use my phone for porn, or for finances. My pictures aren't private. Just of me. I don't go places with it that I'd rather not be seen at. And most of all, I take control of the data I send from my phone by rooting it. I have the option to take care of what I don't like, but I don't honestly care. Proud Android user. I don't hate Apple, and oftentimes, I'm impressed by the stuff they put together, but the privacy- and crypto-debate really doesn't make sense to me. If you have nothing to hide, you really have nothing to lose. Be smart about it.
 
Android is technology communism.
It's a idealistic vision of freedom and equality for all which, like Marxism, benefits only it's masters and enslaves it's users. In fact it's the worst of communism, no personal privacy. It's like having the infamous German Stasi wire up your home.
As an app developer I try to avoid Android because trying to make a return on my investment of time and labour is just painful.
Unlike iOS which is more capitalist in that you can actually extract money from users to pay a personal wage.
I get a good laugh at American's who uphold Android as the only acceptable mobile platform and disparage iOS. Oh, the irony...
Flame away commies...
 
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