What does google do with the data it scans from our emails?

[ImpulsE69]

If only the communists had understood that if you just give people convenience they'll let you do anything you want to them.

It is hard to tell right now where we are headed. I personally do not trust corporations any more than governments. Ultimately everyone is out for themselves and profit. Even you and I. The difference is they have power and money and typically will do anything they can get secure that profit and power.

Sure, you are giving what seems like irrelevant data to a company in turn for a service. It SHOULD be harmless, and mostly is in our FREE country. We are edging towards a much less free country though. That is when the real questions about 'is giving your data to a company who then sells it to whoever they want' an issue.

/end paranoia

All that being said, I really do like the tied in world - I just don't like what the cost may eventually be (but I'll probably be dead by that time).

 

[purbeast0]

That's pretty much the idea.


>300 million people in the US.
$170 billion in annual advertising spending.
Options:
- Warren Buffet and his friends are glued to the TV all day and buy anything they like that's in a commercial. (Specifically, they buy the whole company.)
- People are more susceptible to advertising than they'd like to think.
- Advertising is a big scam that's completely ineffective, but marketing departments haven't found that out yet.


Another example: Rewards credit cards.
A 2% cash-back bonus will often result in an increase in spending that's well beyond that 2%. Credit card companies aren't pushing rewards cards on customers because the companies feel like giving away free money. They expect a return on investment.

credit cards make money off of stupid people.

thankfully i'm not stupid and pay my bills before they can ever get any interest off of me.

i realize this shit works for the general population, as does advertising, but it really has no effect on me on the web, especially with adblock. i can't remember the last time i actually saw an ad.

again, not concerned at all if google has data on what my browsing habits are like. it doesn't bother me one bit. if it did i wouldn't use google products.

and lol @ the government stuff making it's way into this thread. again, just because someone has data on you, doesn't mean anyone is looking at it or doing anything with it.

i'm glad i don't live my life in fear with tin foil hats on like many on this forum.

 

[lxskllr]

and lol @ the government stuff making it's way into this thread. again, just because someone has data on you, doesn't mean anyone is looking at it or doing anything with it.

i'm glad i don't live my life in fear with tin foil hats on like many on this forum.

That's a security breach. Because no one's poking through the safe *this minute* you left open on the sidewalk, doesn't mean it's a good idea to put your money in that safe.

Your thinking is the same as the Traitor in Chief. Give BIg Brother a backdoor into crypto, so they can stop "pedos" and "terrorists". He's either the stupidiest fuck on the planet, or a liar; maybe a bit of both. When you have backdoors, you don't have crypto. You have hand waving, religion, and unicorns, but fuckall for security.

 

[KeithTalent]

credit cards make money off of stupid people.

thankfully i'm not stupid and pay my bills before they can ever get any interest off of me.

i realize this shit works for the general population, as does advertising, but it really has no effect on me on the web, especially with adblock. i can't remember the last time i actually saw an ad.

again, not concerned at all if google has data on what my browsing habits are like. it doesn't bother me one bit. if it did i wouldn't use google products.

and lol @ the government stuff making it's way into this thread. again, just because someone has data on you, doesn't mean anyone is looking at it or doing anything with it.

i'm glad i don't live my life in fear with tin foil hats on like many on this forum.

Haha, yep to all of this.

KT

 

[ImpulsE69]

Yea, none of it means anything, because you know..history. You guys are smarter than mankind. Congrats. If you think the world has changed, you truly are delusional.

it's not about paranoia, it's about taking everything with a grain of salt and excepting it for what it is, not pretending it is nothing because it hasn't impacted you 'yet'. Some of you could stand to use a few pinches.

 

[zerocool84]

What I find funny is that you're already posting your whole lives on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram.

 

[lxskllr]

What I find funny is that you're already posting your whole lives on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram.

Think again...

 

[SparkyJJO]

If anything is really personal then it doesn't go in the internet anywhere.

Anything Google has access to is anything I don't care if someone else knows. If someone wants to sift through my email to get my local pizza place's online ordering password and order pizza for me go right on ahead lol

 

[Elixer]

Why worry over this when the NSA has every single email you send and receive through gmail ? If you're concerned about privacy and your email, gmail is not a service to be using. I closed my gmail, google and hotmail accounts a while ago. Why use those services if they're wide open to illegal spying by the NSA.

Name one that isn't prone to abuse. They all are.
The best you can do is encrypt mail, and that is about it.

 

[MongGrel]

Name one that isn't prone to abuse. They all are.
The best you can do is encrypt mail, and that is about it.

Pretty much, I don't worry about it too much.

It is what it is I guess, I mean they even have been tracking stuff on TOR when they busted a lot there awhile back.

 

[purbeast0]

That's a security breach. Because no one's poking through the safe *this minute* you left open on the sidewalk, doesn't mean it's a good idea to put your money in that safe.

Your thinking is the same as the Traitor in Chief. Give BIg Brother a backdoor into crypto, so they can stop "pedos" and "terrorists". He's either the stupidiest fuck on the planet, or a liar; maybe a bit of both. When you have backdoors, you don't have crypto. You have hand waving, religion, and unicorns, but fuckall for security.

and i do not care one bit about any of this.

the simple fact is that i don't care about them being able to "take my money out of the safe" or whatever analogy you were trying to make. it doesn't matter to me at all.

 

[ImpulsE69]

If anything is really personal then it doesn't go in the internet anywhere.

Anything Google has access to is anything I don't care if someone else knows. If someone wants to sift through my email to get my local pizza place's online ordering password and order pizza for me go right on ahead lol

that's the smart way to go about it, but most people aren't that smart...aka the FB/twitter crowd.

 

[ImpulsE69]

and i do not care one bit about any of this.

the simple fact is that i don't care about them being able to "take my money out of the safe" or whatever analogy you were trying to make. it doesn't matter to me at all.

Of course you don't. by your posts on this forum alone it is easy to understand you are exactly the demographic google is relying on even though you don't realize it. It doesn't mean it has any impact to you, but that's kind of the point. It's supposed to be invisible and seem normal. Marketing and the mind is a very interesting topic alone. We all fall prey to it often even though we don't realize it.

 

[purbeast0]

Of course you don't. by your posts on this forum alone it is easy to understand you are exactly the demographic google is relying on even though you don't realize it. It doesn't mean it has any impact to you, but that's kind of the point. It's supposed to be invisible and seem normal. Marketing and the mind is a very interesting topic alone. We all fall prey to it often even though we don't realize it.

and what demoraphic is that? the one that isn't paranoid about life?

and so hold on ... them marketing to me, but it having no impact on me, which means therefore they wasted money marketing towards me, is the point? that makes no sense and would be a waste of their marketing resources and money.

why are some of you so against marketing? movie previews are probably my favorite form of it. i wouldn't know about many movies without them.

 

[SparkyJJO]

that's the smart way to go about it, but most people aren't that smart...aka the FB/twitter crowd.

I can't help it that people are stupid. I'll warn them, but if they do it anyway well then...

 

[Grooveriding]

Name one that isn't prone to abuse. They all are.
The best you can do is encrypt mail, and that is about it.

I don't disagree altogether. But I'd rather use a service that actively tries to protect me from illegal government spying than companies like Google, Microsoft and other US based corporations that have to give access.

It's one of the few things a lowly and responsible citizen can do to counteract illegal government intrusions.

 

[ImpulsE69]

and what demoraphic is that? the one that isn't paranoid about life?

and so hold on ... them marketing to me, but it having no impact on me, which means therefore they wasted money marketing towards me, is the point? that makes no sense and would be a waste of their marketing resources and money.

why are some of you so against marketing? movie previews are probably my favorite form of it. i wouldn't know about many movies without them.

It's not about being against it. It's about knowing whats happening and not trying to deny that bad things could happen. You keep talking like these corporations are trusty friends that would never stab you in the back, which is exactly the opposite of what they would do for the right $$. I am just as guilty of buying into it as anyone, but I do consider my options and what I put out there knowing that some day it could come back to haunt me. (sorry the conversation really is about more than just marketing, but it is what the data collection portion is first and foremost about).

 

[Paladin3]

"Are the fish biting?" is a more important question to me than "is someone reading my emails?" If there is some information about me I don't want people do know then it absolutely does not go into the computer in any form.

I'd rather pay Google for their fine services by letting them read my emails and collect marketing data on me than with cash. And I am adult enough to know that if the technology exists to exploit that my government is going to do said exploiting with or without my permission.

All Snowden did was confirm what every smart person already knew.

 

[DCal430]

Name one that isn't prone to abuse. They all are.
The best you can do is encrypt mail, and that is about it.

How can you encrypt mail you are receiving? Also what about nail to strangers, you can't just give them the key.

 

[DCal430]

What if you do cocain, and google sees you mentioning your dealer in aan email and reports it to the government? Now is it fine.

 

[lxskllr]

How can you encrypt mail you are receiving? Also what about nail to strangers, you can't just give them the key.

You need to use something like gpg, and all parties need to be in on it. I'd like to see gpg use become mainstream, and expected. You'd encrypt data to/from strangers using public key encryption. Your public key doesn't need to be kept secret, and they can get it from a key server. If the encrypted data gets to the right place, a private key will decrypt it. Your private key must be kept secret under all circumstances.

 

[Elixer]

How can you encrypt mail you are receiving? Also what about nail to strangers, you can't just give them the key.

Unless both ends are secure, you are screwed. Normally, you give your key (or whatever) to those you trust, and they give you their key, but, this is more difficult that it needs to be. As for strangers, well, you are out of luck. but, you could send them snail mail if you really want.

I don't disagree altogether. But I'd rather use a service that actively tries to protect me from illegal government spying than companies like Google, Microsoft and other US based corporations that have to give access.

It's one of the few things a lowly and responsible citizen can do to counteract illegal government intrusions.

Not sure why some people think only the US does this, every single country that has internet access does the same sort of things as is done here. While they may not have all the tech the US does, they do have ways of getting the data. The only difference is, the US is more public on this now, even though they weren't open about this before.

So, if you think just by going to non-US based businesses for your e-mail / whatever else, that you will be "safer", you are sadly mistaken.
It is the same with those services that say "100% safe, we keep no logs!" is a bunch of BS.

 

[lxskllr]

So, if you think just by going to non-US based businesses for your e-mail / whatever else, that you will be "safer", you are sadly mistaken.
It is the same with those services that say "100% safe, we keep no logs!" is a bunch of BS.

It's a question of threat. I use Yandex mail(amongst others). Russia certainly has access to it, but Putin isn't gonna come over and kick my ass. They also aren't especially friendly to the US, so I consider it "safer" than Google et al. Russia has nothing over me, and it's unlikely I'll ever visit.

 

[zerocool84]

What if you do cocain, and google sees you mentioning your dealer in aan email and reports it to the government? Now is it fine.

The only way that could happen is that some type of law enforcement would have to get a warrant or something like that for that to happen. They legally can't just do that.

 

[DCal430]

The only way that could happen is that some type of law enforcement would have to get a warrant or something like that for that to happen. They legally can't just do that.

That isn't true at all, law enforcement can't demand the information without a warrant, but Google is free to give the information to them without one.

Google in fact does do this with some crimes such as child pornography.