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Google Is Testing A Program That Tracks You Everywhere You Go
Google wants to know your every moveGoogle is beta-testing a program that tracks users’ purchasing habits by registering brick-and-mortar store visits via smartphones, according to a
report from Digiday.
Google can access user data via Android apps or their Apple iOS apps, like Google search, Gmail, Chrome, or Google Maps.
If a customer is using these apps while he shops or has them still running in the background, Google’s new program pinpoints the origin of the user data and determines if the customer is in a place of business.
Google gets permission to do this kind of tracking when Android users opt in to the “location services” option in their smartphone’s options menu and when iOS users agree to allow “location services” for Google apps like Gmail and Google Maps.
The program was hinted at in an AdWords blog post from Oct. 1 regarding Google’s new “estimated total conversions” initiative. A “conversion” in this sense is a purchase, and Google is developing ways to track users across desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Google also mentioned that tracking conversions via phone calls is in the works, but has yet to release details.
Business Insider has reported on how Google is using cross-device conversion measurements in its war with Facebook for advertising supremacy. When advertisers are allowed to know as much as possible about users’ purchasing habits, they can target their ads more efficiently and reap the benefits. Measuring conversions is also important because it assures advertisers that their purchases are resulting in increased product sales.
Mobile users who search for products on their phones buy quickly after researching them, according to a Google/Nielsen report released on Tuesday. Consumers spend 15+ hours every week researching products, and more than half make their purchase within an hour after looking it up.
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Comment by Central Scrutinizer on November 7, 2013 at 4:15pm
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Brazil orders Google to hand over Street View data
The Google street view mapping and camera vehicle stands in front of the National Congress as it charts the streets of Brasília, Brazil's capital, on September 6, 2011The Google street view mapping and camera vehicle stands in front of the National Congress as it charts the streets of Brasília, Brazil's capital, on September 6, 2011AFP - Brazilian judges have given US Internet search giant Google until Saturday to turn over private data collected through its Street View program, press reports said Thursday. Failure to do so would mean a daily fine of $50,000, up to a maximum of $500,000.
Google equips cars with cameras and antennas to take photos of streets and houses, which are later posted to a feature in its maps program called Street View. The photos are pieced together online to create a map that a person on a street would see.
According to a complaint from the Brazilian Institute of Computer Policy and Rights (IBDI), the car-borne software also enables Street View to access private wi-fi networks and intercept personal data and electronic communications. IBDI pointed to similar occurences in other parts of the world and demanded that Google reveal if it had engaged in such practices. It said Google had admitted collecting data while insisting they were not used "in its products and services. The US search engine stressed that it had now removed the data collection software from its vehicles.
The case followed press disclosures, based on documents leaked by US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, of massive US cyberspying in Brazil.Targets included President Dilma Rousseff's communications, those of state-run energy giant Petrobras and emails and telephone calls of millions of Brazilians. Google has denied any link to the US electronic snooping, mainly conducted by the powerful National Security Agency (NSA).
But files obtained from Snowden, who is in exile in Russia and sought by US authorities for violation of espionage laws, indicated that NSA can collect data sent by fiber optic cable between Google and Yahoo data hubs. Google told the court the debate on data collection took place in several countries some time ago and was now closed. It did admit that its software can intercept signals from open wi-fi networks.
Google also said it had been in contact with authorities of countries where these incidents occurred, but in the case of Brazil there was no relevant legislation nor a regulatory body. Google and other leading tech companies have expressed opposition to the creation of Brazil-based databases of local customer information, as proposed by Brasilia in a bid to combat foreign spying. Google says in principle it backs proposed legislation enshrining an Internet civil rights framework, dubbed Marco Civil de Internet in Brazil. But it has warned that a proposed amendment to Marco Civil requiring Internet firms to store Brazilian user data in Brazil "risks denying Brazilian users access to great services that are provided by US and other international companies."
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