Stop the Google Drive Terms of Service Bogeyman hunt

0. phoneArena posted on 26 Apr 2012, 12:58

Everyone loves to stir the pot and engage in some solid fear-mongering whenever it comes to privacy on the Internet, especially when it comes to Google products and services, but it needs to stop, because all we're getting are biased voices...

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1. Scott_H posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:16 8

Excellent article Michael. And Google's privacy policy is actually quite a bit more generous to users than some of the other cloud storage services (while the ToS are about the same, since you have to be able to move stuff around and share it user-selected people in order to offer a cloud drive service at all).

5. MichaelHeller posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:39 8

Thanks!

2. ngo2dd posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:24 1

We all know how google make money. It is off ads, so even if google don't sell or own the information that you up to cloud, they still use it to collect data on you. That is why many of their service are free or cheaper. Android is free for a reason. I love android but people on this website is not dumb enough to think google is collecting our data.

3. PackMan posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:34 1

Yes, and Google is completely open about it unlike many other companies.

4. MichaelHeller posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:38 7

No one thinks that Google isn't collecting data, but we need to remember the difference between using personal data (aka some dude in the Boston area likes How I Met Your Mother and owns Android products) to sell adds, compared to personally identifiable data (aka Michael Thomas Heller from Waltham likes...).

Google has the personally identifiable data, but can't do anything with it without your consent, and only sells the personal data for ads. Very big difference there.

7. Fluxman posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:49 5

In fact, they don't even sell your info for ads. They have your info in their servers, and they have a bunch of companies that advertise. The ones that pay more, get the name higher on a list that google uses to send ads to you. None of your info leaves their servers, they are the handlers of all the info. Better yet, algorithms do it so not even real people will see that.

8. ZEUS.the.thunder.god posted on 26 Apr 2012, 15:02 0

excellent article Michael. but i think the previous article on the same subject by Daniel P. was quite misleading. i am glad you rectified that.

6. Fluxman posted on 26 Apr 2012, 13:46 4

Great article. I always see people jump on this part of the TOC without actual understanding it and the context. Sometime people just need to chill...

9. dwroberts posted on 26 Apr 2012, 17:19 2

Before I start, I'm really not trying to pick a fight - just trying to contribute to a great article!

The key problem is not "ownership", but use (and abuse) of uploaded material.

For example, if a singer records a song, and then stores it on your hard drive, you could say that he owns the copyright. But it doesn't matter if you have a license to copy, distribute and sell copies of the song.

Google doesn't say that it will sell photos that you upload to Picasa (or Google+). But the legal jargon is deliberately vague: what exactly is involved in "operating, promoting and improving" services? Selling your photos to make more profits for Google?

As far as I'm concerned, you should never sign a contract which allows something on the grounds that you don't think it will happen. It doesn't matter if it doesn't happen today or tomorrow... you have signed away rights to your material. You just have to "trust" Google not to use the powers that you have given them.

At the end of the day, Google could clarify all of this immediately by saying that they will not sell or distribute material that you upload to their servers. The fact that they don't should concern anyone that uses Google.

10. roscuthiii posted on 26 Apr 2012, 23:58 4

Thank you yet again Michael for the meat and potatoes of the issue when everyone else is just being salty.

11. MichaelHeller posted on 27 Apr 2012, 00:46 2

Ha! Love that phrase. Feels like a Caribbean saying to me.

13. dynamiclynk posted on 03 Jun 2012, 21:25 0

To Vague for my taste. With all of the suits won because of vague contracts I think I shall stay away from this.

Dropbox and Microsoft Live Drive are total opposite of the Google TOS.

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