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It's so funny to read how Android is adding protection from stalkers - when it comes from fucking Google! :)
While yes: Google has over time become almost pure evil in a lot of aspects - that doesn't mean they are incapable of doing a good thing. We should look to applaud the good the same as we condemn the bad. This isn't perfect but is definitely a welcome step in the right direction.
They mix in some good with the bad, and I think they always have done that. It's part of why they are successful. Someone who is obviously bad all the time won't succeed.
So this is just a strategy and I'm not going to applaud their marketing strategy. But you can, if you want. :)
So I'll pose a question: by your mind everyone working for Google is evil? Every department. Every engineer. There is no saving the ship- so why bother? I have more to expand on this but I'd be curious as to your perspective.
No, almost all people working for Google are good people. They believe it's fine to spy on people to make money. Doesn't make all the people who work there evil. But the core idea is to offer free services in exchange for people's private data. The company slowly but surely removes any privacy online we have as human beings.
It's usually like this. People who work in companies do what they are told. They may even enjoy it. In Googles case, they have a reputation for having great engineers. It's very good for the career to work there.
Please expand on your own ideas.
I am speaking from a position with a fair bit of inside knowledge within the industry. Executive decisions do not mirror the whole workplace. Frequently there are engineers and employees who, despite the position they put themselves in, speak up for the end users cause. This is shown time and again through leaks, inquiries, and whistleblowing. It is an exhausting position to take and in most cases a thankless job. Seeing someone applaud your efforts, regardless of outcome, can be a meaningful morale boost.
Speaking directly to this topic: tags exist and already are being used. Recall that it is not just Google who provides these... apple and other platforms do as well. They have their use which arguably was the intent originally... but as with all tools they can be abused. Apple and Google have acknowledged this but it is difficult to put the genie back in the bottle... so solutions must be provided. This is one of those solutions. It's a start- and will likely result in some people being protected where they otherwise would not have been. That is praiseworthy in my opinion. It is in its own way a check against unregulated tracking that is user controlled. That is good. Does it change the company or its mandate? No. But these are two different things.
So they're making their tag network even more useless to track stolen items. Their network is already so crippled as to be useless.
Tell me you didn't read the article without telling me you didn't read the article
How are they making it more useless?
If a thief steals an item with a tracker, they won't know until the cops come knocking.
If their phone alerts them, now they know to either ditch the item or find and remove the tag quickly. If their phone now allows them to disable tracking for 24 hours easily, they have more time to find and disable the tracker.
I'm not saying these features won't prevent stalking, but they do hurt theft tracking which is a primary purpose most people use these tags for. It seems they can only really be used for lost items, and only if lost near honest people, not opportunistic thieves.
It's a shame stalkers had to ruin tracker tags, but I suppose it was inevitable.
Their own phone won't report the stolen item's location, but other devices around will
That's indeed a shame.
so if I were to steal something just hang in a mcdonalds for an hour or two till the alert appears, then pause tracking for 24 hours and go home and hit it with a hammer? works for me.
I swear google doesn't think this stuff through lol
Being said that doesn't mean it can't bounce off another person's device on the way, so there's that at least
Is this a ploy to get me to leave my Bluetooth on at all times? Hell fucking no. No stalker is that dangerous.
YMMV