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So in its latest release of 2.3.3 Google ousted the Facebook contact sync from stock Android. Personally, I believe that was a horrible idea on Google's part. Part of the reason I stay with the stock mytouch rom is because of the Facebook integration it comes with. I also was hoping Google would have actually stepped up the integration among social websites. I don't think anybody can argue that the majority of the population spends a lot of time on those web sites and with companies such as Apple and HTC stepping up their intergeneration, I believe this makes Google fall behind all over some pride issue?
Please let me know all of your thoughts on this issue?
Social Media = Empty Minds
Facebook is lame.
Mind numbing drivel for the brains full of mush masses.
useless useless//
mark manning said:
So in its latest release of 2.3.3 Google ousted the Facebook contact sync from stock Android. Personally, I believe that was a horrible idea on Google's part. Part of the reason I stay with the stock mytouch rom is because of the Facebook integration it comes with. I also was hoping Google would have actually stepped up the integration among social websites. I don't think anybody can argue that the majority of the population spends a lot of time on those web sites and with companies such as Apple and HTC stepping up their intergeneration, I believe this makes Google fall behind all over some pride issue?
Please let me know all of your thoughts on this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google removing the bloatware from the Stock Android has nothing to do with integration nor disintegration.
What does the included app do that another Market app can't? Keep the crap out of the ROM and in the Market.
oh so you read engadget than, kudos for bringing this important information to our attention....anyways facebooks a bunch of freaking hypocrites they want to have access to everything else, but let no one have access to their api's.....*****es
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
cal3thousand said:
Google removing the bloatware from the Stock Android has nothing to do with integration nor disintegration.
What does the included app do that another Market app can't? Keep the crap out of the ROM and in the Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know not of what your talking about, Google specifically took away all Facebook contact syncing ability in 2.3.3!!! I believe thats disintegration. Please know the facts before you post.
This happens whether its in the market app or comes preloaded on the phone, its an attempted dis to facebook at the cost of people who enjoy the syncing abilities
mark manning said:
You know not of what your talking about, Google specifically took away all Facebook contact syncing ability in 2.3.3!!! I believe thats disintegration. Please know the facts before you post.
This happens whether its in the market app or comes preloaded on the phone, its an attempted dis to facebook at the cost of people who enjoy the syncing abilities
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do know the facts. Google is not ousting anybody, they are requiring Facebook to follow Android rules like everyone else.
You will still be able to access your precious little FB contacts from the app... again.. like I said... what did it do that an app cannot?
Simply put, all this does is require FB to actually use the provided APIs like everyone else. So now, your FB contacts will actually be on the phone instead of 'in the cloud'.
Quote from GOOGLE:"...Like all developers on Android, Facebook is free to use the Android contacts API to truly integrate contacts on the device, which would allow users to have more control over their data."
More reading here:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Andr...tact-Sync-in-Facebook-on-Nexus-S-185773.shtml
Another question for you, who the hell is Google "falling behind"?
Sweet, maybe they will replace it with XDA instead...much more useful...
I don't think Facebook will follow this rule, at least until Android gets a bit more popular. Remember back in 2009, when we didn't have a offical facebook app? Facebook itself even that they weren't planning on making one, but then we seen all the leaked screenshots and widgets off course. They will, just give it sometime. The mobile site and the touch site of facebook sucks as well, so I'm really hoping they stepup the game.
going_home said:
Facebook is lame.
Mind numbing drivel for the brains full of mush masses.
useless useless//
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you call for me?
going_home said:
Facebook is lame.
Mind numbing drivel for the brains full of mush masses.
useless useless//
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.9 quadrillion
xdviper said:
I don't think Facebook will follow this rule, at least until Android gets a bit more popular. Remember back in 2009, when we didn't have a offical facebook app? Facebook itself even that they weren't planning on making one, but then we seen all the leaked screenshots and widgets off course. They will, just give it sometime. The mobile site and the touch site of facebook sucks as well, so I'm really hoping they stepup the game.
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Click to collapse
Can i ask why Facebook is so important to you?
To anyone?
I say this because when Justin "beaver" got his hair cut he lost some 80,000 follower from Twitter and Facebook.
OVER A FLIPPING HAIR CUT HE LOST FOLLOWER
(Now do not get me wrong i do not like the little sh!t as it stands but that is a different story)
So what kind of image is Facebook and Twitter promoting? self indulgence into believing you or i are actually important in this world. Twitter is the number one "screaming in silence site" in the known planet. No care what you have to say. Know why i say that? pick 10 people out of your group of friend that you follow and follow you. @Mention them with nothing but the word "duck". Then on person 11 @mention them with the word "goose". Everyone that sees their @ mention will reply with something related to "WTF". Meaning all they are read is stuff directed to them.
People claim that "Facebook makes it easy for people to find me". Wait a tick if you look on Google News at any given point in time there are articles related to Privacy and how to protect it on the web.
Well i'll end with this
IF you are a US Citizen, born in the USA. IF you have your Hometown and your Birthday (month/day/year) listed on facebook. There is a 13+% percent that a random computer that does nothing but search facebook for B/days and hometown will guess your social security number.
123-45-6789
is an area code that you were born in
Is a code for the hospital and state you were born in
is nothing more that a sequential number
So yes it is possible. Yes Facebook is for the mindless minions, Yes i respected my privacy enough to get rid of it.
neidlinger said:
Well i'll end with this
IF you are a US Citizen, born in the USA. IF you have your Hometown and your Birthday (month/day/year) listed on facebook. There is a 13+% percent that a random computer that does nothing but search facebook for B/days and hometown will guess your social security number.
123-45-6789
is an area code that you were born in
Is a code for the hospital and state you were born in
is nothing more that a sequential number
So yes it is possible. Yes Facebook is for the mindless minions, Yes i respected my privacy enough to get rid of it.
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Click to collapse
LOL!
That's hilarious, total BS information. I can go on and on as to why that is false but anyone with a SSN knows that's incorrect.
I find it highly amusing that anyone would bash FB and then allow Google to access their personal data.
Google is the biggest abuser of private information on the planet. Case closed.
If you don't like FB, don't use it, but just because some of us do enjoy it, does not make us ANY of the things you want to label us as.
have fun with your tin foil hat and denial of who the real privacy violator is.
mark manning said:
So in its latest release of 2.3.3 Google ousted the Facebook contact sync from stock Android. Personally, I believe that was a horrible idea on Google's part. Part of the reason I stay with the stock mytouch rom is because of the Facebook integration it comes with. I also was hoping Google would have actually stepped up the integration among social websites. I don't think anybody can argue that the majority of the population spends a lot of time on those web sites and with companies such as Apple and HTC stepping up their intergeneration, I believe this makes Google fall behind all over some pride issue?
Please let me know all of your thoughts on this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I believe this is a control issue. FB is a big boy in the control of private information, information Google wants to get it's grubby hands on.
Whatever the end result, the motive is definitely not to benefit our privacy. Guaranteed.
$pitacular1 said:
Agreed. I believe this is a control issue. FB is a big boy in the control of private information, information Google wants to get it's grubby hands on.
Whatever the end result, the motive is definitely not to benefit our privacy. Guaranteed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... but you should only put information that you want shared with the world on the internet. Personally, I believe privacy concerns should come down to personal responsibility.
Interesting thread. Personally I love the contact sync feature and would be thoroughly annoyed if it disappeared. I believe it will come back eventually.
So can someone clarify the issue to make sure we all understand correctly? Facebook only allows contacts to be displayed from the cloud but not synced down to the phone where they can be edited and then synced back? Is that the big issue? What API is Facebook currently using and what API is Google trying to force them to use that's resulting in this feature disappearing?
I like having contact information of facebook friends (phone numbers and emails) automatically show up on my phone. Very convenient. The pictures are nice and status updates are cool too.
Agree on privacy. If it bothers you, check your settings or delete your facebook. BFD.
Oh, and lol @ tin foil hat.
$pitacular1 said:
LOL!
That's hilarious, total BS information. I can go on and on as to why that is false but anyone with a SSN knows that's incorrect.
I find it highly amusing that anyone would bash FB and then allow Google to access their personal data.
Google is the biggest abuser of private information on the planet. Case closed.
If you don't like FB, don't use it, but just because some of us do enjoy it, does not make us ANY of the things you want to label us as.
have fun with your tin foil hat and denial of who the real privacy violator is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read this
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1909133,00.html
Cyanogen Powered; Android designed
Ill pass on tinfoil hat.
(Hah. Sorry to previous poster. Didn't see you already used that term).
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Who cares what data Google or Facebook has? If they abuse the privilege of having so much personal data, how do you think they would go about doing it and why? I absolutely don't care that they know exactly how much granny-porn I look at. I don't have anything they want...and neither does anyone in this thread. NEXT.
Sent from my HTC Glacier
neidlinger said:
Read this
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1909133,00.html
Cyanogen Powered; Android designed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nowhere does it state the identification pattern as you described it.
Mine and my wife's, daughters, brother's, sisters and fathers SSN all have the 3 first digits different and we were all born in the same State, same county. Also, my brother and sister were born in the same hospital and their 4th and 5th digits are completely different.
Also, you failed to note that they thieves would require VOTER REGISTRATION info to piece it together with a highly refined ALGORITHM that I'm sure isn't just floating around out there for the average identity thief.
Dude, seriously, even the article is stating this could be done IN THEORY.
This is from the same article you are citing:
Mark Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, dismissed as a "dramatic exaggeration" the suggestion that a successful prediction code has been developed. In a statement, Lassiter urged the public not to be alarmed by the report, stressing that there is "no foolproof method for predicting a person's Social Security number."
Like I said, tin foil hat, LOL, total BS
have a nice day
And to address the topic of the thread more directly,
I will be EXTREMELY pissed if this is an unresolved issue.
I use FB as my main contact list, and it's completely idiotic of Google to try and pull rank on this issue to force FB into doing what it wants.
If this can't be resolved, don't be surprised if you see a FB phone in the future... they are an empire capable of doing what they deem necessary.
I am starting this thread in the hope we can discuss the Google Plus service. There are some other threads out there, but are slammed full of invite requests, and no discussion is actually occurring, so please, no invite requests of any kind.
I personally love this service so far, I think it will be a [email protected] killer in very short order. I especially like the way Circles is set up.
Since it's a closed beta atm, there's no one that I know personally with an account. This means all the great things I used Facespace for I can't play around with yet. I guess I can set up my profile and keep looking around for the next three weeks.
People that got accounts are already getting bored of it because their friends can't join. It's like being the only person with a cell phone - who are you going to call? You log in and click around for ten minutes, then you log back out. No point in posting anything - nobody can see it. Nothing to read, yet, either.
If Google doesn't open it up soon, it's going to die like Wave did. The early adopters will use it for a few days and move back to Facebook where their friends are. People will gradually get invited in, only to find the ghost town left after the early adopters abandoned it. Time will pass and people will forget that they were waiting to be invited.
This Google-coined idea of the "invite-only" service worked for gmail because you didn't need a community to use email - you could still message hotmail and msn email users. It doesn't work for anything that requires community (like social networking definitely does).
Se7enLC said:
People that got accounts are already getting bored of it because their friends can't join. It's like being the only person with a cell phone - who are you going to call? You log in and click around for ten minutes, then you log back out. No point in posting anything - nobody can see it. Nothing to read, yet, either.
If Google doesn't open it up soon, it's going to die like Wave did. The early adopters will use it for a few days and move back to Facebook where their friends are. People will gradually get invited in, only to find the ghost town left after the early adopters abandoned it. Time will pass and people will forget that they were waiting to be invited.
This Google-coined idea of the "invite-only" service worked for gmail because you didn't need a community to use email - you could still message hotmail and msn email users. It doesn't work for anything that requires community (like social networking definitely does).
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Click to collapse
+1 Couldn't agree more. If Google don't get a move on this will die faster than than a Sinclair C5
I like Google+ ... I like the concept of Friend circle .. It has good potential
It's a beta, not open to public. It is this way, for testing purposes, and for bug reporting. It has numerous bugs, and basically, annoying things that it does.
I'm sure when it's polished, it'll be released to the masses. I'm pretty sure those with it are thankful for having a new toy to play with, even if it is limited.
With the above said;
It's fantastic in concept. The ability to have group chats, group voice/video with chosen circles, etc, is a Facebook killer.
A bunch of my friends and I are on g+, and it's all we've been toying around with. Hangout and Huddle are probably the best features.
Since not many people use the service, we've been treating g+ like twitter where we follow complete strangers with interesting posts just to occupy the stream..
Se7enLC said:
People that got accounts are already getting bored of it because their friends can't join. It's like being the only person with a cell phone - who are you going to call? You log in and click around for ten minutes, then you log back out. No point in posting anything - nobody can see it. Nothing to read, yet, either.
If Google doesn't open it up soon, it's going to die like Wave did. The early adopters will use it for a few days and move back to Facebook where their friends are. People will gradually get invited in, only to find the ghost town left after the early adopters abandoned it. Time will pass and people will forget that they were waiting to be invited.
This Google-coined idea of the "invite-only" service worked for gmail because you didn't need a community to use email - you could still message hotmail and msn email users. It doesn't work for anything that requires community (like social networking definitely does).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+2. I've been in for about a week but can't get anyone else in. so I set up my profile. play around with it but without guides or others to interact with I'm already beyond bored with it.
Also since I don't have any friends on it, I disabled the account sync feature in the system setting but whenever I come back in an hour or so, it auto enabled itself? SOB! I deleted the app.
I really want to use group chat on here, but my friends aren't on this service...I hope it grows.
romedundun said:
Since not many people use the service, we've been treating g+ like twitter where we follow complete strangers with interesting posts just to occupy the stream..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do I even find other peoples posts? The only thing I can find it my failed invite attempts on my stream.
Youll see others ppls posts that are directed to the circle they have you in. If you see nothing, you either have no friends, or they have not shared anything with you.
For instance, I have many circles (groups of ppl), when I post an article/status, I can choose which group(s) to post it to, or indeed, post it publicly. A certain person can be a member of multiple groups, as well.
Perhaps take a look at "sparks" for people/sites to follow.
As said prior though, this IS a closed beta. It has not been released at this stage as a replacement for your favourite social sites. If indeed youve been lucky enough to get an invite, then treat it for what it is. A testbed.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
So far I am liking g+. I think it has a lot of potential, but like others have said it wont show its full capabilities until everyone can join at will. I don't even want to try adding any non-techie friends because I'm worried that the crappy invite system would annoy them and scare them off. The circles are an awesome idea, but my favorite part so far is the ability to have it upload my pics and videos automatically from my phone. Not only does it make it extremely easy to post them anytime you want, it also works like a cloud service to back them up and you can access them from your computer too.
Sent from my GSB Eris
The group chat seems to have a lot of potential.. I been wanting something like bbm but nothing was really all that known to other ppl. Hangout looks good too. I cant wait.. Google needs to hurry up and release this.
Sent from my demonSPEED! Glacier using XDA App
check out socialstatistics.com if you wanna follow people..
This is still a beta test so its a little slow, once Google feels that most of the kinks are hammered out they will make it public.
That's when the flood will open.
I think Google will start packaging G+ as a stock Google-app that will be on all newer android devices. since there are a reported 500,000 android activations daily which means that's 15 million new people in a month. Compared to facebooks 750 million current users its not much, but at that 500k rate could dominate facebook in 4 years.
I have this feeling that G+ may be ready to go public in August
Engadget Article
It turns out that Google will boot all non public profiles after July 31
Facebook just announced group chat, and video chat. http://on.fb.me/pKBugz
Competition is indeed a good thing. No matter who wins the battle of supremacy, we'll all come out winners
Edit: This is a pretty decent review of Google+;
http://bit.ly/qfNrcX
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
I have been using G+ for only 3 days. I think the circle setup is very nice, and the huddle service is a huge jump from facebook. However, I do think that we have to wait until there is a huge increase in the number of user of google+ to see how it compares with facebook. I have only 20 people in my circles. My friends are all reluctant to move over.
I have a feeling that this might become a part of stock android ui as it integrates into your contacts pretty deeply...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App
Anyone having issues with notifications when Google+ unloads itself from the memory? Notifications won't pop up until you open Google+ again. Not an issue with regular notifications since I get an email notification on those. But with Huddle, it kind of defeats the purpose.
the original link.....http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/confessions-of-a-google-junkie-or-privacy-what-privacy/3553
Summary: A lot has been made of Google’s new privacy policy and terms of use. I say bring it on.
There are very few aspects of my life that don’t somehow involve Google. My phone runs on Android, my favorite tablet just got an OTA update to Ice Cream Sandwich (!!!), I use Chrome across all of my computers, I develop AdWords campaigns, I use Analytics to develop metrics for the day job and dive into SEO, I handle many of the CBS Interactive Google webcasts, I use Google Docs almost exclusively for productivity, and my wife doesn’t know where I am half the time until she checks my Google Calendar (which, in fact, aggregate two other Google Calendars).
I’m increasingly turning to Google+ as my source of relevant information and opinions, a function previously reserved for Twitter, and I’ve even dispensed with bookmarks, instead using Google Sites to organize important pages and resources.
I live, eat, breathe, work, and play Google and there aren’t many people more aware of Google’s business model and the amount of data it collects than I. So is it just sheer stupidity and naiveté that has me utterly embracing the Google ecosystem and relatively unconcerned about newly announced privacy policies that have caused so much consternation this week? Before you jump down to the talkbacks to tell me how stupid I really am, read on for another couple paragraphs.
As Larry Dignan pointed out in his post about the new policies last night,
Google noted that it already has all that data, but it’s now integrating that information across products. It’s a change in how Google will use the data not what it collects. In other words, Google already knows more about you than your wife.
From my perspective, though, I can live with Google knowing a lot about me. It knows, for example, that I’ve recently developed an obsession with the electric guitar and have been researching inexpensive models that I might just be able to justify as a birthday present to myself. It doesn’t judge, it just shows me the best deals in display ads on the three models of guitar and 2 models of amps I’ve been reading about the most. My wife isn’t aware of this obsession and her take on it would be judgmental (God love her!): “When will you have time to play guitar? And we’re supposed to be saving money! And what’s wrong with your acoustic guitar?”
Taking this a step further, as Google’s new privacy policies and terms of use do, I should expect to start seeing guitar-related apps in my suggestions in the Google Market and the Chrome Marketplace. Guitarists on Google+ should start appearing in suggested people to add to my circles and Google Reader should offer to download Guitar Player Magazine feeds for me. And, more likely than not, I’ll start seeing more guitar-related ads as well.
Google’s goal, of course, is to sell advertising. That’s about 97% of their revenue. By pulling people like me into their increasingly unified ecosystem, they can demonstrate very high click-through rates to potential advertisers and charge a premium to reach highly targeted and yet incredibly vast audiences.
They need to give me something in return
For me to buy into this, they need to give me something in return. Something to make all things Google really sticky. Like a wide array of free tools from Google Docs to Google Music to Google Voice. And cheap tools that I buy for my business like Google Apps and AdWords. Their new policies are designed to be more transparent, but also to pave the way for these tools to talk to each other better, making them even stickier through a unified experience and more relevant services.
Back to the wife comparison that Larry brought up. My wife knows that every Friday night is pizza night in our house. So does Google, since every Friday around 4:30 I pull out my Android and use Google Voice Search to find the number of whatever pizza joint we decide to patronize that week. Fine. Google, however, can actually do something more useful with that information than my wife can (”Where should I order pizza, sweetheart?” “Wherever, just not that place down the road. Or that other place. And make sure they’re having a deal!”).
Come Friday morning, the ads I see on Gmail or Google search should start being pretty pizza-heavy: Dominos, Papa Johns, and a place or two that has an active Google Offer. As I’m driving home that evening, the GPS on my phone should set off an alert when I drive past a well-reviewed pizza place (assuming I’ve set location-based preferences to alert me to destinations with at least four-star average reviews). And the minute I type a P in my mobile browser, Google Instant should leap into action and display nearby pizza places and a news story about a new place to get pizza in the next town.
We’re not quite there yet, but this is the sort of integration and experience that Google is covering in its new policies and terms of use. I know that my privacy red flags should probably be going off. Google has gigabytes of information about me and is using that information to help its advertisers sell products. That’s bad, right?
Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web
And yet, I don’t think it is. Many of the same techies who cry foul over these new policies have also been pushing for the development of the semantic web to make it easier to find what we actually need in the trillions of web pages floating around the Internet. Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web. When our search engines know what we actually mean, when data on the web automagically becomes information we can use easily and quickly, we’ve arrived.
And the semantic web can’t exist without “the web” (whatever that is) knowing a lot about us. It takes data for a computer to understand our needs and process natural language efficiently. Some of those data will necessarily be fairly personal.
Now, if I start getting spam from pizza places or calls on my Google Voice number from Dominos because Google has sold my contact information and preferences to advertisers, we have a problem and I’ll be waving my privacy flag as high as anyone else. However, when I opt in by opening a Google account and staying logged in as I surf the web, I’m not only consenting to the collection and aggregation of data about me, I’m asking that it be done so that the web and related tools can be more useful to me. This sort of data mining lets me work faster, play easier, and find the best pizza in a 20-mile radius.
For its part, Google needs to remain the trusted broker of these data. No, I don’t like the idea that our government could brand me a terrorist and seize these gigabytes of data under the Patriot Act. The alternative, though, is an ever-growing morass of web sites and tools that I get to dig through manually.
And, by the way, even if I’m not logged in to my Google account as I’m doing it, my ISP knows the sites I’ve visited, too, and could just as easily (if not more so) be compelled to turn over this information to the real Big Brother in all of this.
Far more trust in Google than the Feds
Honestly, I have far more trust in Google than I do in the Feds. Google is motivated by money: they need my trust to keep collecting those data to keep making it easier for me to buy things from Google’s paying advertisers. If that trust is broken by inappropriate sharing of data, then my eyeballs go elsewhere and so do the advertisers who target me via AdWords and AdSense. Our government has no such financial motivation. Money talks.
The fact that the speech recognition on my phone kicks ass because I use Google Voice all the time and it’s learned how I talk might be a little creepy, but it’s far more important that I can do a Google search or send a text while I’m driving without taking my eyes off the road.
Welcome to 2012, folks. The semantic web has arrived. Use it well and let’s keep Google’s new policies in perspective. And Google? Don’t be evil. I have a lot of colleagues who will be pointing, laughing, and saying I told you so if you ever are.
Nice article.
I think the key for Google's continued success is to keep the advertising passive, suggestions when you're searching etc. aren't in your face but they work.
You see a lot of people complaining that they've been searching for something online and then all of the adverts on the websites they visit contain something pertaining to that, and they grumble that it's annoying. Personally, I'd much rather see an advert to something that's relevant to me rather than a cluttered webpage of irrelevant information.
By targeting adverts and increasing their relevance to the individual, they are far more likely to be successful. This means that the revenue per advert is going to improve and websites aren't going to need to cover their website in adverts (at the cost of the user experience) to make it profitable.
Plus given the huge amount of free stuff that google gives you, it's a bit rich for somebody to complain that they're trying to get something back off you.
I too would much rather see things directly targeted towards me then just random ads. And everyone is up in arms about google recording what you do. Well i think of it this way, i'm fine with them getting to know me and my behavior and what i do, as long as they keep providing FREE products for me.
Ahh the good old "If they are going to screw me without consent, I would much rather they knew my name, stroked my hair and whispered sweet nothings into my ear while they did it."
I prefer to treat my online habbits like the strange neighbour a few doors down. Say "hi" in passing, and realise that while they probrobly know more than I would want them to from when I've invited them over for coffee and from peeking in my windows as they walk past, know that I don't actually have to put up with their $#!+ if they become too creepy.
Thats why its important there are alternitives and competition, and that we as consumers don't put our eggs all in one basket and be prepared to protest or move on if they stretch the friendship too far.
I know privacy is impossible in this day and age but that doent mean you have to lie back and take it. "because you know it means well and it does give you nice gifts once in a while"
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.
hungry81 said:
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the author am reliant on Google these days. I'd be happy to look at alternatives. Granted they work on the platforms I needs them to, Android 2.X and 3.2, Linux+chrome, windows XP + chrome, and windows 7 + firefox or chrome. The linux requirement cuts out a lot of things, iTunes/iCloud for example.
Have any suggestions who/where i could go for:
Music
Docs
G+
Gmail
Needs a slick webUI, and the searching ability of gmail
Calendar
I need delegation and the ability for my wife to add me to events and share calendars.
Reader
works on all my devices, and syncs between them
I would very much like my phone to know when I leave work. Now i could do this with some sort of timer, but I end up working somewhat flexible hours, and have a leaving time of anywhere within an hour and a half. I would like it to know that since I now have "buy bread, milk, and eggs" on my to-do list (thanks hun!), that it needs to remind me of that on the way home. Even better if it can just direct me to a store with a deal on one or all of those things.
I like that the first hit in Google I get for cookies is the wikipedia page for http cookies and the second is to pythons cookielib module. Where as I bet my grandmother gets, chocolate chip cookies. The ability for Google search to know that I have a particular artist in my collection, and show me the bind's page near the top of the results without me having to add "band" to my search terms.
Anyways, if and when Google starts selling my data to 3rd parties, I'll export my data and move. Google makes it fairly painless to do that.
Hello guys, this is a small article cum question thread. After reading please give me your views.
When we buy a phone and we start with our gmail id.
They forcefully sync all data, even the gallery (picasa).
I mean why is Google entering in our life so much..
They have every single detail. Contact , location, whereabouts, preferences, taste, when we get up/ sleep...
Every single data is with Google.
Now Google glass... Its too much interference...
I feel like being spy by a person name Google. Prove me wrong, I will be glad.
Before Android, I had Nokia phone. I never felt being spy every time.
I have spend lots of money on my Android phone but im feeling insecured every moment.
Why Google force all to sync the data/ why Google wants to enter in everyon's life?
Are we purchasing Android phones for being monitored 24x7?
Let me know your views too..
Thank you.
Disclaimer:
I am not an apple fan. I have shared experience and beyond this I don't have intension to degrade the goodwill of gaint Google.
Supporting links for this thread
http://m.firstpost.com/tech/how-to-stop-googlefbspyingyou-220138.html?page=1
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=imbkac40t38&desktop_uri=/watch?v=imbkac40t38
Endless....
We've all heard about the "big brother". Before the TV reality shows there was only books and stories about it, there were wars for power and world dominance. May be my words are too strong, but think about it - there are strong arguments in DBZo07's post, don't you think?
Google may be one of the reasons for the next World War. I am sure that there will be one - all of the major civilizations before us have disappeared for various reasons, most of them connected with war and the will of dominance. We will wipe ourselfs too or will become "human androids".
I think that we should think about what will be the next kind of terrorism? I doubt it will be for petrol, gold, money... it will be about information, communication, privacy - and Google are getting even more and more into our life, as DBZo07 have observed. It was only 8 years ago when for most of us smartphones were a joke and look now - hybrids, phonepads, padphones, tablets, docking stations, virtual HDD's (cloud storage)... Now can you leave without Viber, skype, facebook, gmail? No, you can't and if you could you will be searching for better replacements.
When you put all of the things it really seems too much. What if someone uses the information we share virtually each day? What if someone wants more than just money to share or store our information or to communicate with each other? Now they want our money, but tomorrow?
May be someone will want more from us tomorrow... may be we will start to sync our dreams for more efficient sleep time.
Or probably my arguments are nonsense and no one will let these thing happen. I hope so and I believe so - you should believe too
Yes it is bad, but just do like everybody disliking this state, deactivate all you can that allow google to "follow" you.
At the end, androïd is not linux, androïd is "google is watching you OS", so make all you can to hide yourself.
Maybe one day, we'll have a "pure" linux system for smartphones.
@mutha88 : that's what , we are forced to believe Google like God. Turning off auto sync may ease our mind. But still who knows about which data is being snatched with our data plan on all times in the very owned OS of Google. I still can appreciate Microsoft Windows, which is carring on from years after years still there is sense of personal private life being secured.
No doubt Google is an award winning innovative company but why getting personal to the extent of choking privacy.
On other hand, consumers are least concern about privacy now a days. Very trusted Microsoft is trying hard to penetrate phones and data stealer Google is having large pie of market share. It is we who made Google survive and in return we have loss of privacy.
@BombinBasta : yeah, but for development of any OS needs finance. Linux is free open source, hardly people donate. And Microsoft has enough money to carry on their development. Apple already charges too high for thier devices. Whereas Google... makes money from phones, market, various products and who knows what they make from every details of their users.
Seriously, as i heard from childgood that evil ends when they cross thier limits... will there be end of Google anyways!!! I wonder.
May be I'm wrong but their are no proper justifications from Google for interference.
Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk HD
u cant be free of data collection by google...
even if u never sync ur data and use internet on ur android(even if it a vanila AOSP android ) there is code in that to give the data to google.
in todays age of information technology....information/data is everything...WHO HOLDS THE DATA...HOLDS THE POWER TO RULE THE WORLD...
DBZo07 said:
@mutha88 : that's what , we are forced to believe Google like God. Turning off auto sync may ease our mind. But still who knows about which data is being snatched with our data plan on all times in the very owned OS of Google. I still can appreciate Microsoft Windows, which is carring on from years after years still there is sense of personal private life being secured.
No doubt Google is an award winning innovative company but why getting personal to the extent of choking privacy.
On other hand, consumers are least concern about privacy now a days. Very trusted Microsoft is trying hard to penetrate phones and data stealer Google is having large pie of market share. It is we who made Google survive and in return we have loss of privacy.
@BombinBasta : yeah, but for development of any OS needs finance. Linux is free open source, hardly people donate. And Microsoft has enough money to carry on their development. Apple already charges too high for thier devices. Whereas Google... makes money from phones, market, various products and who knows what they make from every details of their users.
Seriously, as i heard from childgood that evil ends when they cross thier limits... will there be end of Google anyways!!! I wonder.
May be I'm wrong but their are no proper justifications from Google for interference.
Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You act like Microsoft doesnt do the same thing. When ever you use any of their programs it is the same. Privacy is a moot point if you use the internet for anything. You would be amazed how many times your personal info is used. Use a Shopping card to get discounts? Tracked. Use a CC for anything? Tracked. Buy anything on line? Tracked. Use any social networks? Yup tracked again.
It is not just Google. If you trust MS so much then why not get a WP?
k2wl said:
u cant be free of data collection by google...
even if u never sync ur data and use internet on ur android(even if it a vanila AOSP android ) there is code in that to give the data to google.
in todays age of information technology....information/data is everything...WHO HOLDS THE DATA...HOLDS THE POWER TO RULE THE WORLD...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This information again shocking.. will there be a respect for privacy is a big question..
Is there any way that code being blocked ...
zelendel said:
You act like Microsoft doesnt do the same thing. When ever you use any of their programs it is the same. Privacy is a moot point if you use the internet for anything. You would be amazed how many times your personal info is used. Use a Shopping card to get discounts? Tracked. Use a CC for anything? Tracked. Buy anything on line? Tracked. Use any social networks? Yup tracked again.
It is not just Google. If you trust MS so much then why not get a WP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad.. Microsoft still a good sided. I'm not promoting Microsoft but everybody have used Windows and this hunger for data wasn't found, maybe Microsoft is too smart to do silently but there is a chance that it may or may not be true. Google openly does all stealing I mean who is going to held them!! We the users are just watching being used all time.
When I took Android , i wasn't aware of Google's hunger for information..
In the end, everyone is happy without Google's justifications...
Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk HD
I would like to point out that you are under no compulsion to connect an android phone to a Google account. You only need to connect your account if you want to avail of their services such as Play Store, syncing contacts, etc. If you can do without them, then by all means you can disconnect your Google account.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
sidthegreatest said:
I would like to point out that you are under no compulsion to connect an android phone to a Google account. You only need to connect your account if you want to avail of their services such as Play Store, syncing contacts, etc. If you can do without them, then by all means you can disconnect your Google account.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree...
As for me I don't like Google's spying so I uninstalled all their apps, including network location and Google framework service, and I use alternative apps for gtalk or Google play. And recently I even made a new email at Yahoo's. I know Yahoo spies as well, but since android is Google at least I don't put all my eggs in the same basket.
If like me you are very privacy concerned there are ways to cut the abusive permissions most apps use.
You need to be rooted, and then use apps like appsettings (in conjunction with xposer app), permissions denied, rom toolbox, greenify, privacy blocker, and the best (but unfortunately not available for all roms) : pdroid and its variants like open pdroid and the like.
For example, recently I downloaded the Yahoo app. Before to start using it I put it through privacy blocker and then changed the imei value and other nosy informations with fake values (thank you privacy blocker and respect to xeudoxus its developer). Then I opened appsettings and blocked other unwanted permissions (thank you rovo and tungstwenty, respect). Finally I started to use it, and when I'm done checking my mails I greenify (thank you oasisfeng and respect) the app to avoid background usage.
Of course when one does such things one doesn't get notifications as soon as a new message arrives, but as for me I don't care since I don't need, and don't want, to be connected and hence spied, 24 hours a day.
It's relatively easy to get rid of the spying, but of course you will loose 2-3 features.
It's up to you...
I did the same with my browsers (opera mini and dolphin), privacy blocker+ appsettings+greenify, and with Mozilla I use an add-on called self destructing cookies.
Another thing is that not only Google spies on us, actually everyone does.
Just have a look at the permissions used by your system (default) applications, it's insane moreover that when one blocks those abusive permissions the apps still work. Don't think that it would be any better with a custom room, it's exactly the same story with cyanogen mode or aosp or pa etc.
What I do is that I remove most system apps (keeping like 10 for my tab, and 20 something on my phone, which means that I uninstall over 100 system apps, exactly 160 on my tab's recent jb upgrade) and replace them with third party apps that are easier to control and whose permissions are easier to block. And of course I block everything I can, system and user apps alike.
One of these days when I have time I'll write a more precise guide on these matters...
unclefab said:
I completely agree...
As for me I don't like Google's spying so I uninstalled all their apps, including network location and Google framework service, and I use alternative apps for gtalk or Google play. And recently I even made a new email at Yahoo's. I know Yahoo spies as well, but since android is Google at least I don't put all my eggs in the same basket.
If like me you are very privacy concerned there are ways to cut the abusive permissions most apps use.
...........
One of these days when I have time I'll write a more precise guide on these matters...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir, this is what I wanted to know. Thank you very much for your valuable time and experience shared here. I know this is serious concern and people like us need a way to be have a sound sleep without virtual spies.
About permissions, Google chrome takes permission to use camera and mic without and command by user.. I mean why Google needs it...again another why...
Your reply was very helpful, thank you...
keep updated me here when you can...
Stay blessed..
DBZo07 said:
Sir, this is what I wanted to know. Thank you very much for your valuable time and experience shared here. I know this is serious concern and people like us need a way to be have a sound sleep without virtual spies.
About permissions, Google chrome takes permission to use camera and mic without and command by user.. I mean why Google needs it...again another why...
Your reply was very helpful, thank you...
keep updated me here when you can...
Stay blessed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure, I'm happy if I could help you...
Google chrome is one of the worst browser when it comes to privacy. If you want to keep on using it try to block the unwanted permissions like camera and mike with appsettings. The problem is that sometimes apps crash after having their perms blocked, and in this case what I do is just uninstalling and looking for another one that does the same job, fortunately there is no shortage of apps on the web
If you can't manage to tame Google chrome just use Mozilla. It has some abusive perms as well but they can be disabled for sure (I use it). Not with appsettings though but with permissions denied (another privacy app, quite powerful but one has to use it with care).
Just get the apps I recommended in my first post (some are paid but they are well worth the money) and start playing with them, in no time you will regain your privacy.
And uninstall as many system apps as you can...
Good luck!
Oh, I nearly forgot! Read my post in the following link, it tells which apps are safe to remove for the galaxy grand:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=39395506
They anonymize all of the usage data as much as possible. If you don't like using Google services but still want to be able to download apps from the Play Store, go into Settings -> Accounts -> your Google account(s) -> uncheck all of the boxes for syncing various services.
Every company collects information on usage in order to better their products and find out how people are using them. They're not reading all of your emails (yes, their computers scan them to show you relevant text ads, but that's all) or coming to your house to film you while you're in the shower. You guys are overreacting. There is not one company who doesn't collect usage data. And if they don't, then they're doing it wrong, because they're developing their products and services blindly. Google is pretty clear about their data collection policies.
unclefab said:
My pleasure, I'm happy if I could help you...
Google chrome is one of the worst browser when it comes to privacy. If you want to keep on using it try to block the unwanted permissions like camera and mike with appsettings. The problem is that sometimes apps crash after having their perms blocked, and in this case what I do is just uninstalling and looking for another one that does the same job, fortunately there is no shortage of apps on the web
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize that Chrome has the Microphone permission so that it can hear you when you use voice search, among other things, right? Your computer browser can also access your webcam and microphone...
I care about privacy as well, but you guys are wearing tinfoil hats. Google does not care about you. They just want to know how to further develop their products.
Product F(RED) said:
You do realize that Chrome has the Microphone permission so that it can hear you when you use voice search, among other things, right? Your computer browser can also access your webcam and microphone...
I care about privacy as well, but you guys are wearing tinfoil hats. Google does not care about you. They just want to know how to further develop their products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I know that this perm is for the voice search, an app that I don't use either.
And I know that in 2013 it's not such a big deal if those big companies collect data about us, apart from spamming us with advs.
But I don't know how it will be in 10 our 20 years, and when I see the way our "democracies" go I rather understand now how to make myself invisible, better to prevent than to cure.
Imagine if Hitler had had this technology...
Those days are gone? I don't think so, the Yankees had Bush for eight years, the French had Sarkozy for five years, they were not modern Hitler but they were going in the same direction, cutting rough in the people's freedom.
They didn't go as far as Hitler but who knows what will happen in the next decades. I'm 44 and since the 90 ies I've seen a worrying drift towards less and less freedom, and it won't get any better for sure, it will only get worse.
Anyway, it's not only about this, it's about those apps using my data plan without asking, depleting my phone's battery and slowing my ram. If Google wants infos he has to pay for it, and I have to agree to sell him those infos.
Cuz my phone didn't come for free, I had to pay for it and I don't see why I should use my data plan to help big Google and co...
unclefab said:
Of course I know that this perm is for the voice search, an app that I don't use either.
And I know that in 2013 it's not such a big deal if those big companies collect data about us, apart from spamming us with advs.
But I don't know how it will be in 10 our 20 years, and when I see the way our "democracies" go I rather understand now how to make myself invisible, better to prevent than to cure.
Imagine if Hitler had had this technology...
Those days are gone? I don't think so, the Yankees had Bush for eight years, the French had Sarkozy for five years, they were not modern Hitler but they were going in the same direction, cutting rough in the people's freedom.
They didn't go as far as Hitler but who knows what will happen in the next decades. I'm 44 and since the 90 ies I've seen a worrying drift towards less and less freedom, and it won't get any better for sure, it will only get worse.
Anyway, it's not only about this, it's about those apps using my data plan without asking, depleting my phone's battery and slowing my ram. If Google wants infos he has to pay for it, and I have to agree to sell him those infos.
Cuz my phone didn't come for free, I had to pay for it and I don't see why I should use my data plan to help big Google and co...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more like, "by using the software on this phone, you agree to Google's data collection policies." Either create your own ROM that doesn't include the code, or don't use the phone. You could go to Apple and use an iPhone, but they do the same thing. Microsoft does the same thing with Windows Phone. Palm did the same with WebOS. Seriously, there's nowhere you can go where anonymous data isn't collected to develop products.
I am glad that there are few more people who take their privacy seriously and knowledgeable enough to know what happening inside phones.
I strongly believe that this topic needs mass exposure. Millions of innocent people don't know what's happening and the risks. Take this topic to social networks and spread. For my part I will post this thread link on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
I would also wish that some of our great developers would come forward and help in this matter.
Thanks for starting this thread.
I knew people will feel thus topic as paranoid. But that's preference.
No problem, speak against topic or support this topic, you will help other members have clear picture of what I want to say. After all critics have role to play too. So thanks to all.
@unclefab thank you for your comment which helped me get my words meaningful.
@silentvisitor that's what I had planned to get the topic wide exposure. Hope, there will be respect for privacy oneday.
Revolutionary changes are required and that can be just hoped.
The only hope I can see is that when the country itself recognises this as an issue than it can impact on world... more and more country joins the cause the stronger will be the impact.
These are just hopes and how future will play that God knows.
Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk HD
Product F(RED) said:
It's more like, "by using the software on this phone, you agree to Google's data collection policies." Either create your own ROM that doesn't include the code, or don't use the phone. You could go to Apple and use an iPhone, but they do the same thing. Microsoft does the same thing with Windows Phone. Palm did the same with WebOS. Seriously, there's nowhere you can go where anonymous data isn't collected to develop products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, true, and actually Apple is worse.
What I don't like, beside the fact that they hijack my connection, my battery and my ram (and I mean, not only Google but most apps), is that they create files about us. It's ok as long as we have a democracy but as I previously said I'm not very optimistic about democracy in the future, remember the infamous patriot act in the States...
For example, Google knows that mister uncle fab has a gmail account. It knows as well that uncle fab goes on this and that website and reads this or that page, buys this and that online, has this and that app on his phone, goes here or there (thank you GPS and Google now) and stops here or there, listens to this or that kind of music, watches this or that movie, takes this and that picture and so on.
Eventually they have a file about uncle fab, and know a lot about his life and his taste.
Suppose now that uncle fab is a commie and someone who disagrees with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he's a muslim who has traveled to some of the so called axe of evil countries (which I did by the way, that's why I take this example, but fear not for I'm no terrorist )
What would happen? If uncle fab lives in the States he may be in serious trouble and get invited to a nice all included stay in Guantanamo, eventhough he's not a terrorist.
Well that's just an example but seriously, what happens with all those files they gather about people? Not to mention facebook, you know what I mean, their data base is huge and includes pictures.
What will they do with those files in the event of the government turning fascist or half fascist?
I'm not a terrorist but I have some convictions and some ideas that would make me a bad guy for a fascist regime and that would bring me to jail.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a bad guy
But, amongst others, I seriously dislike the State's foreign policy and sincerely think that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are crimes against mankind that should bring their authors (Bush and his friends) in front of the international court. I do think as well that endeavors like wikileaks are very good ones and that their informants shouldn't be trialled.
I do think other things as well, it's my right, but under the Bush administration I would have been called a bad American and if they had caught me I would have won a free stay in Guantanamo.
During the Mac Carthy area I would have been called a commie because of my anti capitalistic ideas and would have been sent to jail.
Etc, etc...
So eventhough I'm not a bad guy I rather stay as invisible as I can, no-one knows what will happen in the future but from my point of view it looks pretty grim to say the last.
Regarding your remark about building my own Rom I agree, it's on my list of to do things.
But let's see first how the Mozilla os goes, and if the devs behind the Linux on android project manage to make it work properly for a daily use.
At the end of the day it's a matter of choice as you said, if someone doesn't like Google one can uninstall its apps.
You know, I spent hours playing with the apps I mentioned in my previous posts and I can say that no app knows my imei or my location, and that the only apps I allowed to connect with the internet are my browsers and the Yahoo app whose abusive perms I blocked.
Of course the browsers know my ip but that's all they know and I don't care about it, and if one day I did then I would use a vpn app or tor/orbot.
So I don't see how anyone could squeeze any data from me...
Oh, I just found this on the forum, give it a read:
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/say-sayonara-to-the-play-store-part-1/
If you want privacy, go move to a rainforest in South America or something. Get rid of your phone, computer, internet connection, etc. What you guys are asking for is ridiculous. You want free products handed to you on a silver platter. These companies need something in return. At the very least, they need the information they collect to understand their userbase. I'm a marketing major and computer science minor. Really, I understand that privacy is pivotal to you guys, but you're demanding something pretty ridiculous. This is ANONYMOUS usage data.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2
Product F(RED) said:
If you want privacy, go move to a rainforest in South America or something. Get rid of your phone, computer, internet connection, etc. What you guys are asking for is ridiculous. You want free products handed to you on a silver platter. These companies need something in return. At the very least, they need the information they collect to understand their userbase. I'm a marketing major and computer science minor. Really, I understand that privacy is pivotal to you guys, but you're demanding something pretty ridiculous. This is ANONYMOUS usage data.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound very straight forward. Your comments are brainwashing. You have better way of critical thinking, its appreciable. As a marketing guy you know user have different preferences and taste.
Rarely people are concern about privacy which is not letting this being called as an issue.
Data is used anonymously, is this justified?
Even Facebook says this, than why it has photos and name in their database?
How come Facebook/Google recognize face with exact name if data is anonymous..
Can any of data stealers come forward and give just a short justification and proof about how data is being used?
Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk HD
As Fred as stated, everything you do is tracked and monitored. This is nothing new really, been going on for years. There is only one way around it. That is to remove yourself from all things as stated above. You would be amazed how many times your personal info changes hands on a daily basis. Even utility companies track your usage. Your cell carrier does the same thing. Now I understand wanting privacy but total privacy is a myth that in this day and age is not an option. Now I dont trust the Gov in any way shape or form, to the point of not buying any device that has the fema chip installed. Which is 99% of the devices in the US.
Our app has been banned on Google Play and we don't understand the reason.
We are a small company that developed a rather simple application that shows the users a list of tasks and tracks completion of these tasks. Similar to JunoWallet but a different one.
The app had been released in May and everything was fine until a few days ago the app has been suspended in Google Play Market. The reason was described in the e-mail:
"This is a notification that your application, XXXXX , with package ID YYYYYY, has been removed from the Google Play Store.
REASON FOR REMOVAL: Violation of section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement.
After a regular review we have determined that your app interferes with or accesses another service or product in an unauthorised manner. This violates the provision of your agreement with Google referred to above."
We had no idea of could be possibly wrong, so we asked the Google if it might be a mistake, or result of miscommunication. In response I received this e-mail:
"We have reviewed your appeal and will not be reinstating your app. This decision is final and we will not be responding to any additional emails regarding this removal.
If your account is still in good standing and the nature of your app allows for republishing you may consider releasing a new, policy compliant version of your app to Google Play under a new package name. We are unable to comment further on the specific policy basis for this removal or provide guidance on bringing future versions of your app into policy compliance. Instead, please reference the REASON FOR REMOVAL in the initial notification email from Google Play."
Great but not really helpful. I'm not even sure where to ask or if I'm ever allowed to ask anything how to fix the app.
The list of tasks is provided by a famous global vendor that's integrated into thousands of apps, so it might not be the problem. The only idea we have regarding possible "unauthorised access" is that the app scans the list of installed packages to detect fraud with BlueStacks emulators. But this action doesn't require special authorization, and there are lots of application in the Play market that scan installed apps, even specialised ones, like "App List Backup".
We even could delete this functionality, if we were sure that it's a problem.
I'm pretty sure that we are not the only one who fell in such situation. Does anyone have any experience on how to work this out? Is it possible to approach Google and get practically useful feedback?
My was recently suspended too, for a different reason. Can you please tell me how long they took to reply to your appeal?
shararti said:
My was recently suspended too, for a different reason. Can you please tell me how long they took to reply to your appeal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about the exact number of hours but it was certainly less than a day
I remember there is a on-line feedback in google play, you could ask questions by online phones calls, although it may be not related to the apps, but i think it`s better to be solved by voice communication rather than pale messages,
PS. we`ve met this kind of problem with Apple, as they claim we`re violating the "unauthorized" kind of problem. And we`ve done the resummit that app(revised) back and forth, it`s a quite tough experience.:crying:
Iankicksass said:
I remember there is a on-line feedback in google play, you could ask questions by online phones calls, although it may be not related to the apps, but i think it`s better to be solved by voice communication rather than pale messages,
PS. we`ve met this kind of problem with Apple, as they claim we`re violating the "unauthorized" kind of problem. And we`ve done the resummit that app(revised) back and forth, it`s a quite tough experience.:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. But I was never able to get any number or anything from them. Officially I meant. The most informative thing I get from them was this text: "Thank you for your email. At the moment we're only able to respond to the emails submitted through our contact form in the Developer Help Center." And they simply do not have the form for direct questions. They suggest to use forum and never answer there.
My app was suspended 2 times
My experience:
1. I developed my next app. I Called it "Gmail Reader", and used a gmail-like icon with additional graphics around it. Not very wise probably - but as I saw hundred another apps having gmail logo in their icon, I thought it was OK. Aaand.. Suspended.
2. I wrote a reply to the suspension notification, and I got a machine reply. Then I replied second time, and finaly a man answered:
"While we are unable to provide specifics as to how to bring your app into compliance, please understand that usage of certain app titles and images may cause confusion among users who are searching for the legitimate app from the original creator. Please visit our Policy Help Center for more information and examples on our policy regarding Intellectual Property.
If we can assist you further, please let us know."
So That was it - the icon and the title, I thought.
3. So I repackaged, renamed, changed icon (drawn it myself). Instead of Gmail in the frist place I put "XYZ for Gmail". However, I noticed later, that I forgot in my screenshots on 2 places the previous icon - so not even in the main place, just somewhere in the screenshot.
Suspended again. This time, no answer, I filed an appeal, answered in half day - no dispute, app terminated. But i RECOMMEND to file an appeal - there is a form for that - as you might get closer to the reason why. I got this:
If your account is still in good standing and the nature of your app allows for republishing you may consider releasing a new, policy compliant version of your app to Google Play under a new package name. You can learn more about why your app was suspended by reviewing our policy on impersonation. We are unable to comment further on the specific policy
I have NO idea WHO the hell I impersonated. I would really like to know.. And even more I'd like to receive a warning before suspension.
Up in the corner of developers console there is a questionmark and in certain hours if you click it, instead of EMAIL you will see LIVE CHAT. From that chat I learned, they will not and cannot give you ANY support regarding the policies.
I also learned, that a "account in good standing" means that you can still publish apps.
4. Previous app had thousand unique installs in 3 days. So of course I repackaged....etc.. everything again, now extremely carefully, no Gmail word used in title. But I'm aware now, that I cannot know everything and they can suspend for any reason I'm not aware of - I maybe used some words mattel copyrighted DD SO it is really "fun". Let's see.
That's my story until now, will post again - hopefully will get wiser without further suspensions - it is time consuming sh** !!!
BTW, I wrote a letter to Google Dev Support, so they think of creating support for policies - as there are many developers with good intentions contributing a lot, not knowing WHY they are stopped.
Best of luck to all...
Hello, we are facing same problem for one of our app which is as of now available in India only.
We are curating videos from youtube. We have not taken written permission from youtube or content owner.
We are not monetising anyhow as of now.
However, there are various app who are indexing videos from youtube similarly like us.
Please help us with this sorting it out. As this is very important to us. Also how do we contact youtube for written approval?