A study of Android uncovered that a majority of apps is reaped and imparted users’ information to Google. Information shared by the apps including users’ age, gender, and location which especially prevalent with apps aimed at children. Researchers from Oxford university find nearly 90 percent of Android apps share data with Google and around half of the apps transfer data to at least 10 third parties, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Security is always the most important issue when using technology. And it is common that the third party get your information from other places nowadays. But everyone wants to prevent their information to be shared. Personally, I think we need to have some law to avoid companies sharing users’ data with others. This is significant because everyone cares about the security. And most companies make the profit by sharing users’ information. This is not the right way to gain profit. I always get the email from some companies or organizations I didn’t know. I remember I get a call from an education institution when I was in high school and preparing for my SAT test. They asked me about my current academic situation and ask if I want to join to learn in their organization. I don’t know where they get my phone, my name, and my academic situation, but I’ll not include all my personal information when I use the Internet or applications.
I totally I agree that user’s personal information should not be a source of profit for companies. Unfortunately, we are living in a world where money talks. Some tech companies think that selling users’ information and disregarding their personal space is a great way to make a lot of money because it does not cost anything for big tech companies. They don’t need a resource, employee, fund or research to make some money by following this path. “Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.” (Arthur Schopenhauer) I think this quote perfectly express this situation. Those companies can earn lots of money by only selling their product so they do not need the money that is came from these unethical ways. However, when they taste the joy of earning money in easy ways, they start to care about every single penny they can earn. However, they disregard the fame which brings these companies to today. By following these unethical and shameful ways to earn money, they keep losing their reputation, and luckily, reputation is not something that can be bought by money. Therefore, after some point, I believe they will realize their fault, but for right now, we need to be careful while using these applications.
Article Link: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/how-apps-take-your-data-and-sell-it-without-you-even
Honestly this doesn’t surprise me in the least bit, everyone is doing it, every app has changed their privacy conditions to cater to this type of stuff. The biggest one everyone knows about is obviously the Facebook controversy and since then people are finding that more and more companies are leaking their confidential data with other companies such as google. I did some more research on this topic and it turns out the main reason that google wants this data is to figure out what they can advertise to you. If they can figure individual pieces of information of you they can put together a puzzle on who you are and what your general tendencies will be like. This is something that was mentioned in class that companies can figure out who you are from getting data from their services and others to optimize their advertising techniques and target specific audiences. However, google in particular, touts that they do not sell any of their data to anyone. This is most likely because they are one of the companies that benefit most from having personal data because they one of the largest advertising facilitators in the world. They are most likely one of the biggest buyers of this information, as cited in the article above.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/what-does-google-know-about-me.html
i completely agree that out personal information should not be sold to companies 100%. i also agree that there should be a law that does not allow companies to use us as pawns for their work. i always get random emails from companies trying to sell me their stuff or get me to sign up for something that i never showed interest in. Its not right that me privet info is just thrown around to random people and after that you never know where my info can end up. in todays day i just fell that all privacy is taken away from us. not that i or other people have anything to hide but its our own identity that is getting exposed and without our permission it should not just be sold for others to make money off of. worst off this could lead to identity theft.
https://www.identityforce.com/blog/identity-theft-odds-identity-theft-statistics
I recently talked about Facebook’s exploitations of user personal information and it seems that this is a common trend in today’s internet friendly world. We talked about in class how the public are the true victims as these tech giants continuously profit from our own ignorance. When signing up for an app or creating an account online, I feel that majority of the public are more focused on getting the information process part over rather than think of long-term implications. By failing to read the small print, we are simply allowing these companies to profit off our private information.
Simply put, it is unsettling to know that every day there are people out there making millions of dollars from my relationships and conversations. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently publicly expressed his anger on this abuse of power. He stated, “We shouldn’t sugarcoat the consequences. This is surveillance. And these stockpiles of personal data serve only to enrich the companies that collect them. This should make us very uncomfortable. It should unsettle us.” These are powerful words coming from the CEO of a tech giant such as Apple.
Being an SRA major, this especially hits home. I feel that as technology continues to advance, security for these advancements are not keeping pace. This starts with individual knowledge on basic measures to protect your personal information. Speaking from personal experience, most people are not worried about personal hacking until it happens to them. For example, my brother was doing work at a local cafe using their public wi-fi. Well, it just so happens a hacker was able to breach into his e-mail and social media accounts. Since that day, he researches the security of public wi-fi and downloaded softwares to protect from this happening again. One day I hope to help individuals from these kind of attacks so they can enjoy the benefits of the internet while having the right to security.
References:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/24/apples-tim-cook-warns-silicon-valley-it-would-be-destructive-to-block-strong-privacy-laws.html
Like most people, especially in today’s society, I believe privacy is a huge deal with the expansion and popularity of social media and technology. No one wants their information and data to be collected, let alone be shared and sold to other companies. However, with this being said, there is many a dilemma that all technology companies face: how could they improve user experience without being considered violating its users’ privacy?
In order for many technological advancements that we hope to see in the future such as the Internet of Things, the issue of what is considered invading privacy would be a huge debate. Companies are always trying to find new ways to improve their user experience and this requires seeing what its users are interested in and what they like by collecting data. I believe collecting people’s information is not totally an invasion of privacy; it depends on what the data is used for. For example, I have a fitness app on my phone and it tracks my daily activities. By recording what I do and eat everyday, the app provides me specific workouts to complete according to my body type and habits. To me, I do not mind having my information being collected because it is actually pretty beneficial.
Despite this being said, I do not think all collection of data is ethical such as the article above about Android sharing (or selling) its users’ personal data to other companies. Everyone has a different opinion about what is considered ethical or unethical depending on the app’s/technology’s purpose. I believe this will be an ongoing debate for years to come as companies continue to innovate new ways to provide a better experience for its users.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/08/02/how-apps-can-use-data-to-enhance-the-user-experience/#381eb482373c
I 100% agree that information should not be used to gain profit for a company. This tactic by Android is not the smartest move because it allows for people to give them backfire for their actions. Once people hear that there information is not safe, then Android users will begin to stray away form the company. Also, the buying and selling of people’s information is not smart because it always leads to the chance of it getting stolen in the process. Hackers give the slight chance of peoples identities becoming hacked and allow the chance of it getting leaked. I personally have experience at home with my parents identity being stolen. Their credit cards have been stolen multiple times and they have had problems keeping their information between themselves.
I totally agree with you that no one wants to share their information with companies unknowingly. However, it looks like not everyone is really paying attention to it. People don’t want to give away their personal information, but some of them just carelessly permit their applications to access their location, email, and even messenger.
Personally, some time ago, I experienced my Google Calendar automatically updating my flight schedule. It was because my e-ticket was sent to my Gmail, and I allowed Google Calendar to automatically add events from Gmail. It was a little creepy, because I didn’t even remember that I gave that permission to that application. Also, sometimes it is inevitable to give permission to access my personal information to some applications, because they say that information is needed to work efficiently. However, as you said, no one knows if your personal information is secretly used for the company’s own benefit or not. If you are ready to give up some minor convenience and protect your personal information, you can open the Settings section on your phone and withdraw permissions that you gave to some applications.
Sources: https://www.popsci.com/control-app-permissions#page-4