I’m even more irritated that Google took away the capacity to lock down apps to a personal standard.
Yeah, Google makes a lot of interesting choices like that, don’t they?
Try installing Google’s Picasa photo gallery software on a computer and watch how on first launch they put up a dialog box (that you cannot close or cancel) that forces you to scan your computer for pictures.
The only two “choices” in this mandatory dialog box is scanning your entire computer or just everything in your user folder. The ONLY way to stop this process is to force quit the application whether you are on Windows or Mac.
It then happily goes about not only scanning everything and grabbing all your photos, but it also starts scanning all your photos for facial recognition (whether you want it to or not).
It’s only after Picasa goes about scanning all your shit (whether you wanted it to or not in the first place) that one can slowly dig through the settings to find a way to stop it.
I’m thankful that I’ve only run Google Picasa in a Winows VM that I later destroyed.
I prefer my Android tablets over the Apple iOS iPad for many reasons, but unlike my Mac running OS X on my laptop, every time I pick up my Android tablet I get the distinct feeling I’m being watched… closely by Google.
Oh, I should also mention that Google Picasa makes you “agree” to an extremely long EULA before the app will even run. They also make it so it’s not easy to copy and paste the EULA, nor save it, but was able to snag the text on a Mac:
Some of the highlights of the EULA:
- Your relationship with Google
Aw, how sweet, I’ve now entered into a “relationship” with Google by running an app.
you may be required to provide information about yourself …You agree that any registration information you give to Google will always be accurate, correct and up to date.
I guess they need my real name in order for everything to be “accurate” and run smoothly in a photo gallery app.
8.3 Google reserves the right (but shall have no obligation) to pre-screen, review, flag, filter, modify, refuse or remove any or all Content
How quaint, they call spying “pre-screening”.
11.1 … By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
Google basically co-owns your photos now. Congrats.
11.2 You agree that this licence includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships
Oh wait, Google and anyone else they like also co-owns your photos now. Stellar.
11.3 You understand that Google … may transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media … You agree that this licence shall permit Google to take these actions.
That’s fine, but what if I don’t want Google to transmit my images to anyone else or secretly to their servers or the NSA? I just want to use a private photo gallery for my photos on my computer. Oh, well…
11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above licence.
This seems to give Google all the permission it needs to grab all my photos and facial recognition data without my knowledge before I was able to stop the process after installation. Actually, they can probably take the photos anyway from the entire hard drive if they want to, really.
17.1 Some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions. These advertisements may be targeted to the content of information stored on the Services, queries made through the Services or other information.
17.2 The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Google on the Services are subject to change without specific notice to you.
So random advertisers get to look at my photos too? And, the extent of their access to my photos and perhaps data can increase without my knowledge, maybe in a software update? Great.
Such a great photo gallery app, it is.
EDIT: Oh, and they install a Picasa plugin into your browser without your knowledge as well just for launching the app. Google is evil.
