BlueWolf Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 So I've been doing a lot of research for an upcoming school project. It's about our privacy on the internet and whether or not the government may violate it in order to find 'terrorists'. I've been doing a lot of interesting Google searches on that one (if the NSA reads this: Hi!), and have stumbled upon quite a few interesting things. One of them is some kind of company called Acxiom that apparently collects personal user data from the internet, collects them for every person it knows and sells them to whoever is interested in them. Read it through for a bit and continued on with my research. I decide to take a short break and grab my phone (which I haven't been using for the entire time) to read some of the unread message. One of them was an update on the driving time to Acxiom in Amsterdam. ...Wait, what? I'm just really spooked here. I KNOW Android can do this, but never have I actually seen it working yet. Let alone some research that I did on my computer suddenly turns up on my phone as a helpful message. This is what does with your information... Why it has to happen with a company that's actually known for collecting personal data is hopefully just a coincidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterchillz Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Probably Google's account synchronisation but it's still quite spooky that such info appeared on your phone. On the other hand ... can I keep Wodak if you like ... suddenly disappear Just kidding though, sorry, you should try doing the same research for something else and see if it gets synched on your phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Probably Google's account synchronisation but it's still quite spooky that such info appeared on your phone. On the other hand ... can I keep Wodak if you like ... suddenly disappear Just kidding though, sorry, you should try doing the same research for something else and see if it gets synched on your phone. Well, yes and no. Chrome on my pc is indeed synced, but Android doesn't do history synchronisation. And besides, it's encrypted with my own custom password so Google shouldn't know my browser history anyway. The only way I think it can do this is that it's solely based on my searches on Google. And no, Wodak stays here no matter what. You come over here first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterchillz Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Well, yes and no. Chrome on my pc is indeed synced, but Android doesn't do history synchronisation. And besides, it's encrypted with my own custom password so Google shouldn't know my browser history anyway. The only way I think it can do this is that it's solely based on my searches on Google. And no, Wodak stays here no matter what. You come over here first Gah, had to try What's the app that you took the screen shot on? Is that the new Google Now thingy? I think it's kind of a substitute for the ex-Google Home or whatever it was called. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it has different access/sync settings than your general Google account. I remember I added it as a widget when I was playing around with my phone and it asked me to create a new account or something, if I remember correctly Sadly, it doesn't work as well in Bulgaria so I removed it. As you said, it's very likely related to your Google searches but I'm interested to know the exact reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Gah, had to try What's the app that you took the screen shot on? Is that the new Google Now thingy? I think it's kind of a substitute for the ex-Google Home or whatever it was called. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it has different access/sync settings than your general Google account. I remember I added it as a widget when I was playing around with my phone and it asked me to create a new account or something, if I remember correctly Sadly, it doesn't work as well in Bulgaria so I removed it. As you said, it's very likely related to your Google searches but I'm interested to know the exact reason. It is indeed Google Now (on Android 4.2). I have deliberately enabled this as I was curious (and I'm not holding up the dream that when I disable is, all this information will somehow not be collected anyway). As a developer it's very interesting. As a user, it's scary how much it knows. In the morning it shows me the route to school as it figured it's one of my frequent visited places... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hmmm, let me get a little paranoid here just for you. . . Considering the search words you've been using to research the topic for the assignment you've probably been ringing all sorts of bells and alarms with the NSA and other governmental bodies. Perhaps this Acxiom is one of their agencies and google wasn't providing the directions for you to get to them more providing THEM with the directions to get to YOU when they collate the data :eek : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hmmm, let me get a little paranoid here just for you. . . Considering the search words you've been using to research the topic for the assignment you've probably been ringing all sorts of bells and alarms with the NSA and other governmental bodies. Perhaps this Acxiom is one of their agencies and google wasn't providing the directions for you to get to them more providing THEM with the directions to get to YOU when they collate the data :eek : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.