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 have a question about data privacy while using Android and/or any Google service or application. My concern was prompted after installing Google Sky last night and seeing their warning about data collection when starting up.
As a marketing professional, I don't particularly care that Google gathers anonymous data such as browsing history and so on to improve their products and services. They're a business providing employment to others, paying taxes, and contributing to our economy therefore they have both a right to, and deserve to, profit from that. But I do have a very large concern over my privacy where personalized information is concerned.
In particular, I'm talking about whether or not Google has access to my contact, calendar, email, or documents data either on the phone, or especially when synchronizing to their servers. My worry is that Google might be 'snooping' around to see my personal information.
Are my fears unfounded? Do any of you know how the OS and their services are working?
Google will gather all the data it can, including emails and contacts, from your phone, browser, chrome os or any other google product you use. Didn't you read news? Google was even sniffering all traffic from open WI-FI networks.
We can hope that this data is gathered anonymously, but I don't think so. Good thing is that me and you are not interesting to google, so they will collect data, but only use it for targeting advertisement etc.
I guess this is a strong argument for staying with WM, WP7 or even iPhone. Privacy is one of our most valuable assets, and should be protected.
BillTheCat said:
I guess this is a strong argument for staying with WM, WP7 or even iPhone. Privacy is one of our most valuable assets, and should be protected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, WP7 would send all your data to Microsoft as it's all in a cloud. Dunno about iPhone, but probably same, Apple would get everything. And even if you won't be using a phone, goverment is still watching you.
So forget about it and use Android.
Hence why Im not moving to Android yet. I still just want a solution to sync my tasks, calendars at a local level, aka Outlook. Lawl.
The best way for a company to check for trends and how their product is used isn't by creating polls or questionaires of some sort. They almost all, whenever possible, use automatic and passive mechanisms. Yes, google does parse my whole mail. I remember having received a email from my collegue principal and on the ad side of Gmail reading an about about "Tired of putting up with your boss". Facebook does the same think, like many other. Thing is, would you rather have free stuff WITH custom tailored publicity or paying for something to be completly free? Google earns with publicity, and since you are in the marketing area you know better than I that trends are everything. They're just trying to make the best (for their own purposes) of us using their tech. Is it creepy? Yes it is... Will it get worse? You betcha... Just check Google's or Facebook's TOS. Google looks like an angel next to facebook's...
Mainly, I don't want to move my life into the cloud until I can do it all (MP3s, photos, docs... Everything).
I love Google. Their stuff works well. However they cap Picasa at 1GB. All my documents are (mostly) in Office format which can convert into Google Docs format, so it's no big deal there. But the Picasa limit is what gets me on my photos.
You can buy more space (like 200GB for $50/yr... cheap) but....... Google shows no love for Google Apps users.
Now, Microsoft on the other hand, gives you their 25GB Sky Drive which would work well. But, their interface is crap. Also- I don't think I can buy more space if I need it.
Also, my Android phone syncs too well with the Google services (contacts, mail, calendar)- I'm not sure if it'd be viable to switch or not. The mail is NBD- I could have Gmail pull my mail, but the contacts and calendar syncing is big for me.
Any suggestions? Or what do you guys do in this situation? Maybe I'll have to ditch the custom domain and become a regular user or something. IDK.
Another downside to Google's method might be the fact I can't map it as a drive. (Useful for syncing back and forth easily- like if I need to load up my music or photos on a phone).
Edit- I might have to resign myself to using Sky Drive because I can't find a way that you can map Google Dogs or Picasa to a local drive (which is necessary for bulk operations).
Use something like Dropbox for photos and files, it starts at 2 GB (free!) and has clients for all major desktop and mobile operating systems
Hello everyone. This is "old" news but y'all should know that Box, cloud storage company, has a deal going on now through March 23. If you create an account through their app, then you get 50 gb free. I have always and will continue to be a firm supporter of Dropbox but there's no harm in taking this offer too. I'm not providing a link cuz its available in the Android Market/Google Play store.
i just signed up for this the other day, seems to work pretty well. the only problem I have with it is not android related, it is that my corporate firewall has blocked access to all online storage so i can't access the files on my computer. They block evernote and everything else useful too.
That's unfortunate, however I can understand why they would deny access to cloud storage sites. It's a necessary preventative step.
I signed up a while back when they were offering 50GBs for LG users using my Inc
Hi all. I'm looking for some advice. After 3 months with my C60 N7 16gb and constantly having to close notifications from my daughter's games, I decided to get her one of her own (she wanted a leap pad)... actually I am got 32gb C90K N7 and am giving her the 16gb.
Should I set up her own gmail/Google account or is it easier to just have another device on my account? Safer / more secure? What are the pros and con's?
I figure I will install SmartApp protector so she can't get to internet without asking, and Pin on the Play store for purchases (if she figures out how to clear cache and data to bypass/erase the Pon, she earned the game!).
She likes zoodles and has a handful of other games etc.
What else should I be looking into regarding management of content, etc? Are there any apps that I can monitor her activity from my N7? Other safety or utility things I should consider? In the event if loss, should I install some sort of remote wipe App?
From a case standpoint, I think I will get her one like mine (CrazyOnDigital rotating leatherr folio). She likes it, it is inexpensive and functional. I looked at the Naabi Bumper... Definitely more study but so bulky. I might try to find something like the portable DVD player case for it so she can Carey charger and stilts to between home and her mom's house.
Thoughts and advice are welcome.
Time to go root and unlock my N7 and play...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
1.) you can always block notifications for specific apps in 'app info' (long click on notification, it'll take you there)
2.) I honestly don't see a reason why you wouldn't make her her own account. Your account probably has credit card stored it, which she could use accidentally (you know, to feed Talking Tom ).
In play store, you can set content filtering, if you're rooted, do go ahead and install adfree (if you haven't already), so it blocks annoying adds (most of them with adult content).
There's soooo many parental apps on play store, that you should just go trough them and see which does what.
http://www.wikihow.com/Block-Porn-on-Android
here's an useful link
I don't know much about users, but can you make the second user account have less privileges? Like on Windows (admin, user) or linux (root, user)
About pros/cons of using the same account:
- she can access your data (gmail, contacts, talk...) you'd need to disable or password protect all those apps, even if you disable notifications
+ you can access her data (but it will merge with yours)
using her own account:
+ she'll use gmail eventually, might as well have it already
+ you can easily follow her location with latitude (but I wouldn't let her take tablet to school anyway, so doesn't really make a difference)
+ you can send her pretty pictures by gmail and google talk to her, if you so choose (when you're away for few days on a trip for example) - I don't think you can google talk to yourself
+ no worries with using your credit card
+ if she google talks to someone, you won't get all the notifications on your tablet as well
I think there's enough monitoring apps on play store that you can easily let her use her own account, if you trust her of course.
And an honest conversation about responsibility isn't out of place. I'm sure she will understand and also appreciate you trusting her, and she'll have something completely hers.
Of course, you can always go on play.google.com to check what apps she's installing, log in into chrome with her account to see history and bookmarks, see her gmail... You know, to check that someones not harassing here, no other reason
I asked a similar question as both daughters getting them for Xmas ,don't mind them having there own account just want any downloads from play store to request a password first and with set age restricted content in play store.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium