I gave them a phony “real” name….
Doesn’t everybody…..?
Actually, I would have no idea. But I was NOT gonna give them my own name. I gave them somebody else’s… someone I made up… years ago…

momodoom on February 16, 2013 at 8:56 PM

I have no problem giving them my real name — Joe Bleau: nobody believes it anyway…

Google makes 90% of their money by selling your information. Get used to it.

Splashman on February 16, 2013 at 8:43 PM

90% sounds like a really low number. I always thought it was in the 95-97% range, right up with the Zuckerburg Death Star.

Google really has little to no offerings that are profitable in any sense of the word (YouTube the likely exception) and yet, they have “Google Ad Sense” on many websites for nearly 10 years. Those are filtered by aggregates from personal searches, something that, IIRC, Facebook took a lot of cues from.

BTW, I’m writing this on an iPad. :p

Maybe you missed thinking about those retroactive waivers?

Don L on February 17, 2013 at 5:38 AM

You are absolutely right — given that I have no idea what a retroactive waiver means in this case. The closest I can get to that thought is “Your continued use of this capability allows us to .”

But I have thought it through. I assume that Google is recording my every search, they are keeping my every e-mail, and I further assume that they WILL be doing something nefarious with the information. I’ve no doubt they have petabytes of data.

After all, that’s what I do on my home bastion server — record every access, both from the interior network and from the exterior, by IP, MAC, and port.

No expectations of privacy. None at all.

It seems that Google broke the contract with their customers. The customers should be able to sue them.

Gelsomina on February 16, 2013 at 8:35 PM

Of course. Preferably in a class action lawsuit involving millions of dollars, because each individual action is worth pennies but taken together, a liberal attorney can make quite a decent living.

When you use a credit card (such as Visa) at a brick-and-mortar store, the store gets no information on you at all except what is printed on the card (name, expiration, etc.). And the manufacturer of the items you bought doesn’t even get your name.

So tell me again how the two situations are similar.

Splashman on February 16, 2013 at 11:15 PM

I’ve returned things to stores, and they’ve credited my account (the credit card I used to purchase the stuff) by knowing just my name and address.

Frys Electronics will ask your credit card number, and if you give them the wrong one, they will refuse to credit you until you give them the correct one. They’re also able to issue duplicate receipts — they keep track of your EVERY purchase from them.

Amazon has a mode where your credit card information is tied to your user identity, and you can use “single click to purchase” modes. In addition, if you leave a review for an item, an indication of whether you purchased the item on Amazon is also displayed.

Finally, on Ebay, the seller certainly does know your name and address — for that information is required for them to ship you what you’ve bought. And Ebay keeps your purchase history so you (and, ostensibly, others) can examine it — including their automated “you might like this” engine.

I have no expectations of privacy when I go online. Absolutely none at all. And I haven’t been disappointed to date.

So a lot of retailers have differing policies on what information they keep.

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 9:38 AM

I think your “OMFG etc etc” rant and the eagerness to show all of us that you’re tech-savvy because you know what WHOis does uncovered you as the regular teenage idiot roaming freakbook and youtube all day long.

If I want to make fun of the Indonesian resident of the WH (when not on holiday) on some of the “cool” lefty sites, I can always use proxy servers or/and TOR browser so the regular monkey will know nothing. I hope you did it too coming here, because otherwise we know who you are. Bhahahahaha!

Precisely. There are so many real issues, going nuts over something every electronic marketplace does is stupid. Pay for something with PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon Marketplace or any other web payment service, and you provide a shipping address and name. Billing address, sorry. Why? Because the credit card company requires any online payee to collect that information for identity verification (read: fraud prevention) purposes.

Asurea on February 17, 2013 at 2:42 AM

Unless you donated to Barack Obama’s campaign- in which case these standard features were turned off.

Uh huh.

sharrukin on February 17, 2013 at 8:58 AM

Do you have something to say or are you complaining that I contributed my opinion to the conversation?

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:42 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:45 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:48 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:53 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:55 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:57 AM

Defenestratus on February 17, 2013 at 7:59 AM

Uh huh.

Don’t be evil*

29Victor on February 16, 2013 at 7:27 PM

If getting information that is required for basic billing purposes is evil, then consider the whole e-commerce industry the 8th ring of hell.

I thought we conservatives were capable of independent thought outside the media spin that’s spoonfed to us.

…unless it happens to fit in with our “media template … then its ok to be a bobblehead.

It seems that Google broke the contract with their customers. The customers should be able to sue them.

Gelsomina on February 16, 2013 at 8:35 PM

False. The sharing of customer data is in the google Wallet EULA which you have to agree to before you can purchase apps/music/stuff on the Play Store.

http://phandroid.com/2013/02/14/developer-information-security/

If customers are uncomfortable, they should switch to a different mobile platform.

You mean like that company who tracked “inadvertently” your every position without you even knowing about it? Yeah that rotten fruit company.

The same one that ties your Apple Device ID to your personal information in their iTunes database so that they can do what they want with that data?

People getting all worried who is doing what with their data need to get with the now. We’ve all got digital footprints on the internet. Even just by visiting this website from your browser, the server admins / domain registrar at hotair.com who would be:

Salem Communications Corporation
Scott Hunter
4880 Santa Rosa Road
Camarillo, CA 93012
US
Phone: +1.8059870400
Email: domainregistration@salem.cc

Can pull your location, what operating system you’re using, what browser and version, what network you’re on (which gives you the physical location) and then much, much more.

You mean when I buy an app from a developer that developer gets my information. . . . . . so basically its like every other place I buy goods with a credit card?

This information was known a long long time ago. No one bothered to get offended about it until this website “broke” the story.

thphilli on February 16, 2013 at 8:57 PM

I want to know when the hit piece on paypal is going to hit.

“OMFG THEY KNOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS!!!@$!%#!#%!#$!$!!!!!111 Evil Obama plot!!!!111″

No, I do not want legions of morons on YouTube knowing my legal name, Eric Smith – thanks!

You mean Eric Schmidt?

With smarts like yours, no wonder you wouldn’t want people to know who you are :P

Take a look at the screenshots that are posted from the App Developer console in this story. As for “no way to opt out” – the fact that your name (which doesn’t have to be real, btw) and your billing information will be send to the developer is in the Google WALLET EULA not the Play EULA since Wallet is the App you actually pay with.

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/02/14/potential-google-play-privacy-flaw-is-probably-nothing-to-worry-over/

A bunch of people writing stories about crap they HAVE NO FRIGGING IDEA ABOUT.

I view privacy laws as mandating that GOVERNMENTs not share your private information.

If Google can collect said information and market it — well and good. I don’t have to buy things from Google Store, and I don’t have to do searches using Google. There are any number of competitors willing to do both those things.

As for the vendors, well — if one of them uses the information they’ve been provided for nefarious purposes, then Google certainly has a problem — for I can sue them for providing the data which enabled the nefarious purpose.

The moment the Government gets involved, we see these fines which actually do little to make those damaged whole — it’s sort of like Jesse Jackson and Texaco, if you get my drift.

unclesmrgol on February 16, 2013 at 7:36 PM

Maybe you missed thinking about those retroactive waivers?

Eschelon on February 17, 2013 at 2:31 AM

Precisely. There are so many real issues, going nuts over something every electronic marketplace does is stupid. Pay for something with PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon Marketplace or any other web payment service, and you provide a shipping address and name. Billing address, sorry. Why? Because the credit card company requires any online payee to collect that information for identity verification (read: fraud prevention) purposes.

Apparently there is some anger over Google’s policy of divulging customer information to app developers. Google Play has been automatically transmitting personal information of American customers to the developers of Android apps they buy, accord…

It is much too easy for businesses to get into legal trouble. Sometimes I can’t believe anyone manages to turn a profit in this regulation rich environment.

Making more laws to try to regulate big corporations actually ensures the existence of them. Smaller players simply can’t cope with the plethora of fines, taxes, loopholes, and regulations; just one regulatory slip up and the associated fines may ruin a small business.

The only way to keep big corporations in check is actually fewer regulations and other barriers to entry, so small businesses can enter the market place and compete for market share.

This is no different than PayPal, Amazon, or eBay which also provide your email, username, and address to the seller. In this case your email is linked to your Google account (just like how your Apple ID is used for license purposes in iOS). That way they can see who to whom they need to whitelist the license for the app.

Furthermore, Google’s Android platform goes the extra mile and tells you exactly which permissions are provided to the app before you install it – Apple sadly does not provide you the same courtesy. So if an app says it wants access to your accounts, Android will tell you this before you accept the install.

You know who else has your personal info including name, zip code, and last 4 digits of your debit/credit card?? Any store you’ve ever swiped your plastic at over the past 10 years. And yet you were perfectly cool with that until 5 minutes ago… go figure.

You guys are all hyperventilating at something that EVERYONE has been doing for the past decade.