Google Photos and Google Privacy

[v_v]

In two somewhat related news items recently Google announced that storage space for Google Photos will be unlimited and that it can be accessed from a number of different platforms, such as Android, iOS, and the Web---which basically means from smart phones and computers.  For those who are seeking such unlimited photo storage space perhaps this service should be investigated.

Even if I were inclined to use such a service---which I am not---it would be wise to have a backup plan if the service were to be discontinued in the future.  I would definitely be leery of placing all of my prized photo possessions in one place without a backup.  One never knows what can happen on the internet.  Plus there are possible privacy issues that I would definitely consider.

In a related announcement Google has also increased their user privacy controls.  From " https://news.yahoo.com/googles-account-hub-makes-security-174257936.html ":

Google has also added a new privacy site at privacy.google.com that answers questions about privacy and security, such as "How does Google keep my information safe?" and "Does Google sell my personal information?" (Google says it doesn't).

For those who may not be aware Google has been plagued by privacy concerns for years.  In Europe they have made a big issue out of it with various governmental agencies becoming involved.  In the USA the tendency amongst most users seems to be just to live with whatever privacy concerns there may be.  Other countries seems to vary somewhere between these two approaches to Google's privacy issues.

As we all know or should know Google is in business to make money.  They make money by gathering information about people or at least the activities of various computers, phones, and whatever else that use their services.  All this information is essentially tied to advertising.  But as we can surmise from the recently publicized activities of the National Security Agency (NSA) in the USA once information is gathered by any source it could be used in many ways not originally intended.  So for some people privacy is a big concern and Google has been under heavy pressure for years to clean up their act.  (Of course Google is not alone in the data-gathering endeavor but it has been under greater scrutiny because of its dominance in internet search activities.)

At any rate those who may be interested in these two areas may want to investigate these recent offerings from Google

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[Digerati]

I would definitely be leery of placing all of my prized photo possessions in one place without a backup

Everyone should always have a multi-level backup policy - and use it. But sadly, many don't backup at all, and of those that do, many only backup to an external drive attached to their computer. Backing up only to an attached drive (or secondary drive in the same computer) is not a good backup plan as it does not protect from floods, fire, severe weather, extreme power anomalies, or badguys breaking into their home and stealing everything (including their list of passwords they have written down and stashed under the keyboard or within arm's reach of their computer chair :(). 

For those who may not be aware Google has been plagued by privacy concerns for years.

That's not really true. That suggests Google has been hacked and compromised and personal privacy information stolen. Not so. The problem (if "problem" is even the right word) is Google's privacy policies have been lax and allowed Google and its affiliates to use users' personal information in "targeted" ways for their profits.

I find it interesting your link for Google is a Yahoo link. Here's Google's Official Blog announcement.

[plodr]

I bought a tablet to take pictures. These most certainly will not be pictures I might want to keep forever. For those, I'll use one of the digital cameras.

Google photos will allow me to move the pictures off the tablet and free storage on my device.

Now to read up and figure out how to use it.  :cheers2:

[v_v]

Digerati,

It was your choice of words "That suggests Google has been hacked and compromised and personal privacy information stolen."  I never said or suggested any such thing.  I chose my words very carefully in saying that "Google has been plagued by privacy concerns for years."  I personally have been watching those concerns for nearly a decade.  "Concerns" is not the same as a hacking or compromising 'event' or 'events.'

While Wikipedia should certainly not be considered that last or most reliable source of information or data you may examine the web page " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Google " and scroll down to the "Privacy" section and also specifically within that section the "Privacy and data protection cases and issues by country" to get some sense of what I was referring to.

As to whether "Google has been hacked and compromised and personal privacy information stolen" I will leave that possibility or topic to more knowledgeable people than myself.  In my original post I was simply providing some of the long-standing background behind Google's new privacy site at privacy.google.com.

I agree with your backup comments.  Yet I can imagine that for most people who use computers such a multi-level backup policy will be beyond their range of concern or interest.  Most people that I know in the 'real world' just want the computer to be like an appliance.  They want to turn it on and they want it to work.  Anything beyond that requires a technician or a repair person!  Given the many hours I have spent trying to solve my own computer issues at various times I can greatly sympathize with that appliance approach.  Alas....

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[Digerati]

I never said or suggested any such thing.

I am just saying it was your choice of words "plagued by privacy concerns" that does indeed "suggest" people's privacy information has been compromised. At least that is one way I took what you said. I appreciate you clarifying that you mean their privacy "policies" has been the concerns - to which I fully agree.

But to that, I fear more what people voluntarily post on social media sites about themselves, and worse, about others. :(