I'm impressed at Google's snoopiness!

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#1036475 4-May-2014 15:59

mattwnz:
eracode: Recently I bought something on Trademe and the seller emailed me the pickup address, say 10 Smith Street. I wasn't sure where that was so went to Google Maps and typed in "Smith". Before I got any further, GM flashed up 10 Smith Street as a suggested search term. That creeped me out a bit.

Was the trademe email sent to a gmail address? If so, google do scan all up your emails, which does suggest why that address popped up. It is quite creepy though, and one reason I don't use gmail.

Not gmail - was xtra/yahoo.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Mark

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#1036479 4-May-2014 16:33

eracode:
Not gmail - was xtra/yahoo.

Using Google Chrome as your browser? They spy on us with everything!! :-)

Dulouz

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#1036480 4-May-2014 16:35

I think this dude puts it really well. Free is a lie

He says he is starting a new mail service where you can send mail anywhere in the world for free and asks people in the audience to raise there hands if they would like to join.

After a good % raise their hands he then adds that before sending/receiving your mail they will open and read all of it. You can guess how may drop their hands after hearing that clanger.

Funny how we take physical privacy so serioulsy yet give our digital privacy away so easily.

Amanon

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#1036501 4-May-2014 17:30

sir1963: The ONLY product Google has to sell is you.

This is one of my favourite images, and I pull it out wherever possible:

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

dafman

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#1036545 4-May-2014 18:38

Ok, so I use Gmail for all personal emails, Keep for all note taking, browse always in Chrome, watch you tube regularly, store my music on Play music, and save everything to Drive (I esp like the way I can automatically save email bills etc straight to Drive).

Quite frankly, my life is an open book for google. I give them information and in return I get amazing information utility in return. If I want to revisit a photo, listen to a favourite album, check a airline booking, have a look at a bill or bank statement, get timely reminders for important (and not so important) things, grab a friend's address, share photos and videos with family and friends, video call my mum... Etc... Etc... It's all there, immediately, at my finger tips on all my gadgets. All of this unthinkable 10 years ago.

So they sell me some advertising. More than a fair trade me thinks.

Geektastic

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#1036547 4-May-2014 18:45

eracode: Recently I bought something on Trademe and the seller emailed me the pickup address, say 10 Smith Street. I wasn't sure where that was so went to Google Maps and typed in "Smith". Before I got any further, GM flashed up 10 Smith Street as a suggested search term. That creeped me out a bit.

I've seen that with tv shows. Watching some random program about Hitler allegedly living in Argentina. It was called Grey Wolf. I wasn't sure if it was a spoof so grabbed the iphone to google it. Got as far as Gre and it came up with Grey Wolf Hitler!!

Scary.

Kyanar

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#1036599 4-May-2014 19:54

Geektastic:

I always get scared by LinkedIn.

People you may know always seems to include people that there is no way they should know I may know..!! They supposedly have no access to my contacts and yet ask me if I know people I have not contacted in 10 years....

The other person you emailed potentially used the LinkedIn contact upload feature and didn't send you an invitation. The instant you do that, LinkedIn infers a connection and starts showing the other as a "Person You May Know" to both parties. It also starts inferring potential linkages to each others contacts as well.

Also, if you install the LinkedIn mobile app, I can't actually prove this, but I think it actually does a contact upload without consent and begins inferring from that.

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khull

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#1036618 4-May-2014 21:06

For me, the only company to get it right so far is Amazon recommendations - the rest are just strange and makes me feel uneasy

Sideface

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#1036620 4-May-2014 21:12

sir1963: ... The ONLY product Google has to sell is you. ...

Sideface

DarthKermit

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#1036625 4-May-2014 21:21

PhantomNVD:

Hi Stuart,

Guess Geekzone is not social site then.

Quick look though your profile-linked posts tells me where you went for dinner recently, your name, marital status, and a partial view of the outside of your house... And that was just 5 minutes manually....

It's truly amazing what we unthinkingly share on discussion sites like this... Me included! :)

I don't think of GZ as a social networking site; it's a messageboard with a few extra features.

Yes, a contraction of my first name is on my profile page, and the first letter of my surname. Calling her the 'Missus' is ambiguous, it doesn't actually give away (to me at least) what our actual legal status is.

If someone (or some bot) really wants to try to obtain as much personal info as they can from my nearly one thousand posts on here, they can. Nothing I can do about what info I've shared on here in nearly two years. It's all good.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

Geektastic

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#1036657 4-May-2014 22:43

Kyanar:
Geektastic:

I always get scared by LinkedIn.

People you may know always seems to include people that there is no way they should know I may know..!! They supposedly have no access to my contacts and yet ask me if I know people I have not contacted in 10 years....

The other person you emailed potentially used the LinkedIn contact upload feature and didn't send you an invitation. The instant you do that, LinkedIn infers a connection and starts showing the other as a "Person You May Know" to both parties. It also starts inferring potential linkages to each others contacts as well.

Also, if you install the LinkedIn mobile app, I can't actually prove this, but I think it actually does a contact upload without consent and begins inferring from that.

I miss the 80's....

Virgil

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#1036706 5-May-2014 06:38

Geektastic:
Kyanar:
Geektastic:

I always get scared by LinkedIn.

People you may know always seems to include people that there is no way they should know I may know..!! They supposedly have no access to my contacts and yet ask me if I know people I have not contacted in 10 years....

The other person you emailed potentially used the LinkedIn contact upload feature and didn't send you an invitation. The instant you do that, LinkedIn infers a connection and starts showing the other as a "Person You May Know" to both parties. It also starts inferring potential linkages to each others contacts as well.

Also, if you install the LinkedIn mobile app, I can't actually prove this, but I think it actually does a contact upload without consent and begins inferring from that.

I miss the 80's....

Lurking ...

Sidestep

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#1036726 5-May-2014 08:36

DarthKermit:
sir1963:
DarthKermit: This makes me glad that I don't use any of that kind of technology. I use Google all the time, but not with any accounts.

Read this to see how hard staying anonymous is

http://time.com/83200/privacy-internet-big-data-opt-out/

Total anonymity isn't possible; even if you have never used the internet.

I do my best to keep a low profile. Why? Because I just choose to.

I don't use credit cards, rarely use EFTPOS, I don't use cellphones, and rarely use WIFI. I don't use Facebook, Twitter or any other social media sites. That's just me.

My partner is on Facebook all the time and I ask her to keep me out of her discussions if she can, as it's just a giant gossip-fest to me.

HAL 9000: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.

DarthKermit

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#1036825 5-May-2014 10:26

Sidestep:
DarthKermit:
sir1963:
DarthKermit: This makes me glad that I don't use any of that kind of technology. I use Google all the time, but not with any accounts.

Read this to see how hard staying anonymous is

http://time.com/83200/privacy-internet-big-data-opt-out/

Total anonymity isn't possible; even if you have never used the internet.

I do my best to keep a low profile. Why? Because I just choose to.

I don't use credit cards, rarely use EFTPOS, I don't use cellphones, and rarely use WIFI. I don't use Facebook, Twitter or any other social media sites. That's just me.

My partner is on Facebook all the time and I ask her to keep me out of her discussions if she can, as it's just a giant gossip-fest to me.

HAL 9000: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.

I'll be more worried when all the advances in AI finally create Sky Net.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

BlueShift

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#1036838 5-May-2014 10:56

DarthKermit:
Sidestep:
DarthKermit:
sir1963:
DarthKermit: This makes me glad that I don't use any of that kind of technology. I use Google all the time, but not with any accounts.

Read this to see how hard staying anonymous is

http://time.com/83200/privacy-internet-big-data-opt-out/

Total anonymity isn't possible; even if you have never used the internet.

I do my best to keep a low profile. Why? Because I just choose to.

I don't use credit cards, rarely use EFTPOS, I don't use cellphones, and rarely use WIFI. I don't use Facebook, Twitter or any other social media sites. That's just me.

My partner is on Facebook all the time and I ask her to keep me out of her discussions if she can, as it's just a giant gossip-fest to me.

HAL 9000: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.

I'll be more worried when all the advances in AI finally create Sky Net.

Stephen Hawking agrees with you.

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