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Comment by _9hb1 | Hacker News Reader

I want Google to use my data in a "free for all." They have done incredible and useful things with it and in my opinion have been extremely responsible about it. If Google had a waiver I could sign allowing my data to be used for future developments I would sign it.

I hope they continue doing more cool stuff and measures like these don't end up limiting any future developments.

If anything I just wish I could more easily see what internal data all the advertising companies have on me. I'm sure they know more about me than I know about myself.

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That's great, you should have that option. "Option" implies choice, however. I should have an option to meaningfully not agree to it. And "don't use Google services" doesn't actually cause Google to stop collecting data about an individual. Nothing short of "don't use internet" does, and even then only to an extent.

I've started reading "privacy agreement" for Google's "do not track me" browser extension the other day and it just seemed grotesque.

"They have done incredible and useful things with it and in my opinion have been extremely responsible about it"

It's impossible to know everything that they've actually done with your data, so I don't see how you can maintain that they've been responsible with it.

It's pretty easy to see data "leakage" from other services when it happens. Maybe google is just better at hiding this, but I doubt it.

Same. I give my data to Google and I know this. I wish there were more transparency about the people I don't actually give permission to or there is no workaround. Credit card companies, web trackers, ISPs, etc.

> I want Google to use my data in a "free for all." They have done incredible and useful things with it and in my opinion have been extremely responsible about it.

One arm of Google might be doing good things, but another arm might do bad things, like optimize engagement, ad clicking, manipulating buying behavior and stuff like that, or even worse.

The three things you just named are pretty up in the air on whether they're "bad."

They do expose some limited interfaces that are pretty easy to browse. For example:

https://www.google.com/settings/ads

https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity

https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

https://www.facebook.com/off_facebook_activity/

That last link doesn't contain anywhere near enough information. Look at it a few times over the course of a month, and watch how the data changes over time… often seemingly retroactively.

That's wonderful but:

a) The law states they cannot do this arbitrarily and most of us may not want them to do the 'free for rall'.

b) I doubt that the 'free for all' produces many benefits beyond targeted ads.

Seriously curious, what 'cool stuff' does Google do today that fundamentally relies on this 'free for all'?

Traffic information is probably one nice thing that requires the sharing of data. We could totally narrow the kinds of information shared, and on what basis, quite a lot with that one.

What else?

I 100% agree. The fact that Google app on iOS can tell me where I parked my car is very useful to me. The fact that my docs and emails show up in Google search results is damned handy. And, as a Xoogler who has worked at a number of other large tech companies, I feel that Google has state-of-the-art controls over access to user data and logs. By no means is it a free-for-all.

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