Some of you are aware of how "paranoid" I am, and refuse to have my Calendar and Contact synced via google.
Just before I did my firmware upgrade today, I used an application in the market place called MyBackup, but I carefully avoided choosing to backup to local (SD card) and not Online.
After I flashed the new firmware and made the restore, I discoverd to my horror that all my contacts are now having the symbol "g" within a square, which I understood to be indicative of the fact that these contact are now also stored in Google's server somewhere, and none of the contact are coming from my phone! So, MyBackup restored my entire contact database from my phone to the cloud rather than my phone? There is not single contact entry on my phone now. Everything I have is shown to be from Google.
Anyone knows how the hell could this happen? Is MyBackup a sneaky program which steal all these information and put it to the cloud without my consent?
I'm really really pissed
Now I'm forced to put in dummy tel number and address, birthday to all my contact and let Google get the false data, before abandoning Google phone platform all together. THIS IS EVIL, SNEAKY, UNETHICAL !!!
You really are paranoid .
I don't think MyBackup Pro actually stores all your contacts on some Google server - I think the app just assumes they are Google contacts. I've stopped using it for backing up contacts for a different reason: because it duplicates everything when restoring it - a real PITA. And by everything I mean everything - linked contacts become multiple independent contacts, some of them without any details and impossible to delete without a factory reset. I'm actually using Kies for that now (ironic, no? ).
Do you have a Google account for using the phone with? The simple thing do is to log in there and check whether your contacts are actually in there. If not then they probably aren't.
If you are that paranoid perhaps put the phone into airplane mode when you backup?
I think you are being a bit paranoid here. Besides google might just keep changelogs on the contact which would render you attempt with dummy info useless.
I just checked. I don't see any entry under contact when I signed in. Whew!
But please explain to me why all my contacts now are displayed under the google heading? (You know the display option in contact lets us select contact on the SIM, Phone, or Google?), now all my entries are under google. Yet, I don't see any thing there (yet?)
According to this thread, I think there's still a possibility that my details has already been taken without my permission, although it's not reflected in the contact list in google account.
I'm confused...
To anyone of you thinking that I'm paranoid, one day you will know I'm right. The world just isn't as innocent as you think.
I have to very seriously re-evaluate whether I would want an Android phone. It's way too open, anyone can take information from me, since there is no QA done on the market place applications.
Think someone's had a bit too much wacky tobacco.
GOT you info
I could be wrong but all my contact say Google except the one i use my HTC Sync to transfer my work email from Outlook.
By the way i can see all of your contacts. You were too late!!!
eaglesteve said:
To anyone of you thinking that I'm paranoid, one day you will know I'm right. The world just isn't as innocent as you think.
I have to very seriously re-evaluate whether I would want an Android phone. It's way too open, anyone can take information from me, since there is no QA done on the market place applications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, for starters,
1) The [G] means they have been imported into your Google account. Probably, as mentioned by your backup. Go to Google Contacts and you can wipe them. But no, I don't believe they took them without your permissions.
2) What makes your email addresses so valuable? Do you honestly believe Google cares? Hahaha... Clearly, you don't know anyone who works at Google. I met a bunch and they really are all legends, and they know your rights. They are normal people, not politicians. This is in comparison to Apple people I know, who I post stuff to on their facebook wall, they remove it secretly and tell me by email that they didn't want their manager to see it.
3) If you are concerned about privacy, why can you trust the "MyBackup" program. did you install an applications which isn't open source?
Perhaps you should get a dumb phone or hack up your own firmware and remove Google's services?
You should also consider avoiding entering ANY google account if you don't trust them. Why did you enter them in the first place? To enter the market where Google could track your downloads, your location and your firmware? Seriously, I strongly urge you to sell your Android phone if you don't trust them. Instead, get a dumb phone. I however believe my contacts list is useless to Google, so have no problems sharing information with them
i don't know about that backup program you are using.
however, if you are concerned about the contacts @ google.
just login to your google account, and select DELETE all contacts, in your account.
then it'll be all gone
you can do the same for all the emails too.
once deleted they will no longer have your data on their servers.
eaglesteve said:
Some of you are aware of how "paranoid" I am, and refuse to have my Calendar and Contact synced via google.
Just before I did my firmware upgrade today, I used an application in the market place called MyBackup, but I carefully avoided choosing to backup to local (SD card) and not Online.
After I flashed the new firmware and made the restore, I discoverd to my horror that all my contacts are now having the symbol "g" within a square, which I understood to be indicative of the fact that these contact are now also stored in Google's server somewhere, and none of the contact are coming from my phone! So, MyBackup restored my entire contact database from my phone to the cloud rather than my phone? There is not single contact entry on my phone now. Everything I have is shown to be from Google.
Anyone knows how the hell could this happen? Is MyBackup a sneaky program which steal all these information and put it to the cloud without my consent?
I'm really really pissed
Now I'm forced to put in dummy tel number and address, birthday to all my contact and let Google get the false data, before abandoning Google phone platform all together. THIS IS EVIL, SNEAKY, UNETHICAL !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's BackupPro when it restores the contacts it assigns them as Google. I made the mistake of backing-up and restoring contacts with this and spent the next hour wondering how I've got contacts with 3 Google entries when I was expecting only two.
I have no problem syncing all my data with Google's servers, but I want to remember everyone that the right of privacy is an absolute requirement for a working democracy.
If eaglesteve does not want his data being stored at a central repository then he has every right to freak out when it appears as if his contacts were synced with Google's Servers.
Of course, if he should believe that Google is after him personally, well, then this is probably a bad sign of paranoia
flamingpitofhell said:
You really are paranoid .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same until I saw he's in Australia.... the government over there is screwed up big time. The crap they are trying to do to their Internet is appalling.
I'm also paranoid about the same...i did this to solve (ive not an english firmware so will try to give simmilar instructions):
go to contacts -> menu -> more -> import/export and save all contacts to a vcard on SD, and connect to pc and save that vcard on pc.
Go into settings -> privacy -> "erase all data" (dunno how its called on english firmware)
then i chose to erase data on SD also after unmounting it.
After that i restarted phone without simcard and with volup+home+power i cleared cache and hard reseted it.
After that the phone boots with factory settings and without simcard and keep it that way and connect to internet via wireless after booting.
Then i checked if i had no contacts, there were none so all okay... went to menu, definitions -> "accounts and sincronization" and i added my google account, but i unchecked first the auto sync and data in second plan above (the options above, dunno how they are called in english firmware). Then the google account was added. Then i disabled wireless and checked the options i disabled in last step (the auto sync and the other), i opened the google account i added in last step and disabled all syncs there (sync calendar, contacts and gmail).
After that i went to contacts and restored all contacts via the vcard, all are stored on phone after that (via the same import/export option).
As a final option i went to my gmail and deleted all contacts synced... now the phone is not syncing with google in any way but i can use the market because i have a google acc added...
dunno if i explained myself well, it worked for me that way.
I'd love to hear some worst case scenarios of what you think might happen if mr google checks your contacts and finds your mate Fred's email address.
And also why you'd think anyone would want to know your contacts.
are you worried that your network provider has a log of who you called and when?
if they find Fred's address, Fred is effed.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
well.... i dont like to give my info/data away, just really when needed.... some years ago maybe not, but today, google and other companies have so much info about so much people around the world, and you dont even know if they use it or not, you are not there to check... they can for example see the places you visit more because of gps tracking, if people in some zone visit shoppings a lot and at what times, who your friends are and if they use android and gmail also (by contacts), and assemble strategies for their business based on that, because all we are giving is free info about what we do, who we are, who our friends are....that, for business activities is very valuable. And im not talking about gmail, with all valuable info about everyone, they are able to see all your info since you have all stuff stored on their servers and they dont need to tell to you anything about it and you dont even know they maybe will do it... i may be wrong, but thats my point of view, i didnt had that oppinion since a friend i have, erased all his mails from gmail telling me "google can use all my info for marketing purposes or another stuff"...
They give us free services, but there is no such things as free services... we pay with info to improve their business, thats my point of view...
I'm not concerned with the email of my friends. I'm concerned that their photos, address, birthday, spouse's name, children's name, telephone number, work place number, fax number, and everything is on the cloud, which means any hacker could get it, and the consequence would be serious. It's not giving MY details away. It's giving my friend's details away, and I don't want to do that to my friends.
In Australia, we have this thing called the Privacy law. You just can't come around and grab my wifi address, email login password, and claim that you make a mistake unintentionally. All these data stealings are deliberate.
For those of you saying that it's not a big deal, could you all in your next post show me your real photos, address, name, telephone numbers, birthday, spouse's name, children's name, and the other typical contact info on this forum.
So, now they grabbed my contact without my consent. Have they also grabbed my eWallet password file and are now cracking it?
I can't believe you guys are not seeing problem here.
Nuf said.
as long as google don't try to sell me anything they can do what they want with my data.
I'm pretty sure my bank and credit card company know more about me than google and their sales and junk mail are certainly more annoying than anything google ever did to me.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
i bought a phone off the internet and it says enter password to unlock is there a master code so that i can get into it?
Is it MT4G? Also how do I know that you didn't steal the phone? There are ways to bypass logon password, sim password, pattern sig. Send me the proof that you bought it and ill tell you howto bypass. I don't really wanna help thief's or folks who found other peoples phone and don't want to return it.
I'd say not to help, because they would have contacted the seller for the password and also nobody would sell their phone without doing a complete wipe, which would have also removed their password. My bet is that it's stolen or that they bought a stolen phone, either way it was still someone's phone being stolen.
Ya man I had dev-hd2(leo1024) stolen last year on Dec2010. I even left the kid message and voicemail saying I would pay him 600 cash if he returned it. I have massive amount of data on it and it was fully customized by me. Most damage was business phone numbers which I lost and till today I don't have those contacts.
TmpUsr said:
Ya man I had dev-hd2(leo1024) stolen last year on Dec2010. I even left the kid message and voicemail saying I would pay him 600 cash if he returned it. I have massive amount of data on it and it was fully customized by me. Most damage was business phone numbers which I lost and till today I don't have those contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a google account? Your contacts should have synced to your google account, so you should still have them, just log in to Gmail on your computer.
jdkoren said:
Do you have a google account? Your contacts should have synced to your google account, so you should still have them, just log in to Gmail on your computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was on Win6.5.X 29XXX base and no google/tmob sync enabled. Other than Android none use it nor rely on it as it was my pure dev phone. Was at the bar with gf and lost it didn't even have gps or remote wipe installed as I left in hurry right after I flashed new COM build.
TmpUsr, T-Mobile even has a contact backup app. I rememebr my Shadow running 6.1 had that app. Either way, Backing up should be followed religiously
TmpUsr...did you check your tmobile my-account contact manager?
My contacts were backup up there without me even knowing!
I keep an app called Seek Droid for this occasion. If it gets lost or stolen I can enable GPS from my phone and track it down or even wipe the phone or SD card. Can also get recent call lists. Of course its pointless if they happen to find the program installed but its not listed in the menu so they would have to look for it to find it, which the average thief would not do.
I am in the market for an upgrade to my work phone. I have been looking at the Atrix but I have never been a fan of motoblur due to some preconceived notions I have about it, which I do not know are correct.
When you first log in to the phone, it has you create a motoblur ID (no different than htc). My concern comes in that every account you create seems to store your password in your Motoblur account. Is this correct? If I configure my email through the stock "Corporate Sync" option, will it send my domain credentials and store them on Motorola's server?
Its kind of a security issue if it does in fact do that as we have a strict policy and that is just another point of possible failure.
Thanks!
no it wont store it on motorola servers , shouldnt have any security issues AFAIk i have my corp account on it now and it looks the best ive seen on any android device, native html encoding with the same view as id get on my outlook , im pretty happy with it.
No, it will keep up with all the information, DNS and such, but does not keep your corparate password. I have flashed mine several times and I always have to redo my password for my email.
Well thats a relief. Then why exactly do you have to create it under the motoblur version? Why bother signing in at all?
Ive purchased apps on Google Play using the "Bill My AT&T Account" several times. I have maybe 6 apps purchased this way. Then when Google pushed their "Redeem" option out to my device, it replaced my Billing the carrier option with the "First set up a payment option" forcing me to enter a credit card or use their "redeem".
Contacted Google on the forums ,,,,, nothing. Logged onto their Help files ...nothing but scripted info that is the same for no matter which carrier or device... "its your carrier's blocking"... not true. Ive had several rounds with AT&T and walked through every means to assure no att settings blocks my billing option... att wants money no way they will pass this opp up on customers.
Logged onto Google's g+ and posted on their googleplay , wallet andother groups,.... nothing.
Finally on 11/16 the Bill my AT&T account option was there again!!!! This morning 11/20... its gone again and Googles pushed some update but it doesnt say exaclty what they pushed.
Google does NOT support customers or users beyound what they script online.. Anyone ever get this option resolved if i you had the feature removed prior?
same here
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and updated to 4.2.2 on CM10.1 and the option is gone. I contacted at&t and they said my account is provisioned for it to work (I've used it in the past) and my account isn't past due. Any update on a solution?