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  3. Why is Everyone So Scared of Anonymized Data Collection?

Why is Everyone So Scared of Anonymized Data Collection?

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  • M Offline
    M Offline
    Mike Marynowski
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

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    0
    • M Mike Marynowski

      Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

      J Offline
      J Offline
      Jorgen Andersson
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      I think the problem isn't that first step, but rather where you end up when you've been sliding four steps further.

      Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • M Mike Marynowski

        Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

        I Offline
        I Offline
        Ian Shlasko
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Everything you said is perfectly valid and reasonable, as long as you assume that these big corporations are being completely honest. The trouble is, what a corporation says and what it means are really two different things... What they say: "We will only collect anonymous user statistics, and you will not be identifiable in any way" What they mean: "We collect all of your data, and some guy downstairs is supposed to strip out all of your personal information. All of that stuff is cached and logged somewhere, but no one ever really looks at it. It's not secured or anything... We just all forgot about it. Oh, and we also save everything to a special archive in case the government wants to know the intimate details of your life, because, ya know, it's the law."

        Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
        Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

        M P 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • M Mike Marynowski

          Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

          J Offline
          J Offline
          Jeremy Falcon
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Mike Marynowski wrote:

          Why all the privacy hysteria these days?

          It's not where does it start, it's where it stops. It's creepy in some regards, and I mean hell you already can't board and airplane now without exposing yourself to the scanners. It's dehumanizing it what it is. It's a bit too analytical and too logical. We ain't machines. We be people. And sadly, most people into tech know very little about people.

          Jeremy Falcon

          M 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • J Jeremy Falcon

            Mike Marynowski wrote:

            Why all the privacy hysteria these days?

            It's not where does it start, it's where it stops. It's creepy in some regards, and I mean hell you already can't board and airplane now without exposing yourself to the scanners. It's dehumanizing it what it is. It's a bit too analytical and too logical. We ain't machines. We be people. And sadly, most people into tech know very little about people.

            Jeremy Falcon

            M Offline
            M Offline
            Mike Marynowski
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            I understand, but then why not put up a stink once questionable policies get put into the EULA, as opposed to when the reasonable ones are in there?

            J 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • I Ian Shlasko

              Everything you said is perfectly valid and reasonable, as long as you assume that these big corporations are being completely honest. The trouble is, what a corporation says and what it means are really two different things... What they say: "We will only collect anonymous user statistics, and you will not be identifiable in any way" What they mean: "We collect all of your data, and some guy downstairs is supposed to strip out all of your personal information. All of that stuff is cached and logged somewhere, but no one ever really looks at it. It's not secured or anything... We just all forgot about it. Oh, and we also save everything to a special archive in case the government wants to know the intimate details of your life, because, ya know, it's the law."

              Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
              Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Mike Marynowski
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              If you are worried about a corporation being dishonest, then well, the EULA is pointless anyway...they might be collecting all your information and just not telling you.

              I 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • M Mike Marynowski

                I understand, but then why not put up a stink once questionable policies get put into the EULA, as opposed to when the reasonable ones are in there?

                J Offline
                J Offline
                Jeremy Falcon
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Fear sells. Just look at the news. Fear and greed are two of the strongest human emotions.

                Jeremy Falcon

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • M Mike Marynowski

                  Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Mladen Jankovic
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Mike Marynowski wrote:

                  I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me

                  AOL search data leak[^] Ashley Madison data breach[^]

                  Mike Marynowski wrote:

                  Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you.

                  How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did[^] These are some that I can remember on the spot. And how could I forget this one: Betrayed by our own data[^]

                  GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes

                  M 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • M Mike Marynowski

                    I understand, but then why not put up a stink once questionable policies get put into the EULA, as opposed to when the reasonable ones are in there?

                    J Offline
                    J Offline
                    Jeremy Falcon
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    The average Joe will never read a EULA. They're boring. However, some reporter type who is looking to create an uproar to get more readers might, and then make a stink of it.

                    Jeremy Falcon

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • M Mike Marynowski

                      Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

                      M Offline
                      M Offline
                      Maximilien
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      The problem is that we (as consumers) do not know that a company will remove non-anonymous data from their anonymous data; (grossly exaggerated) Most company will probably just have a SQL query with anonymous data from a large database.

                      I'd rather be phishing!

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • M Mladen Jankovic

                        Mike Marynowski wrote:

                        I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me

                        AOL search data leak[^] Ashley Madison data breach[^]

                        Mike Marynowski wrote:

                        Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you.

                        How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did[^] These are some that I can remember on the spot. And how could I forget this one: Betrayed by our own data[^]

                        GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        Mike Marynowski
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        You have some good examples there of why you should be very cautious to agreeing to data collection and take precautions when doing anything you don't want others to find out about, but those don't relate specifically to my examples. I used my examples specifically because in the application example it was *aggregate* usage data being collected, and the GMail example because they *already* have your email contents - all they were doing was scanning them internally to select an Ad for you. On Gmail, while you are looking at your emails. Not on other google services. There's tons of examples of data collection gone wrong, I know, but I'm specifically talking about very limited and targeted usage of data collection.

                        M 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • M Mike Marynowski

                          Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

                          J Offline
                          J Offline
                          Johnny J
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Nobody wants anybody else to know how much Pr0n they have collected! :doh:

                          Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
                          Anonymous
                          -----
                          The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
                          Winston Churchill, 1944
                          -----
                          I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
                          Me, all the time

                          W 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • M Mike Marynowski

                            If you are worried about a corporation being dishonest, then well, the EULA is pointless anyway...they might be collecting all your information and just not telling you.

                            I Offline
                            I Offline
                            Ian Shlasko
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Well yeah... That was my point.

                            Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                            Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • M Mike Marynowski

                              Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

                              L Offline
                              L Offline
                              Lost User
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Mike Marynowski wrote:

                              WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone

                              Yes, they are.

                              Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

                              M 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • I Ian Shlasko

                                Everything you said is perfectly valid and reasonable, as long as you assume that these big corporations are being completely honest. The trouble is, what a corporation says and what it means are really two different things... What they say: "We will only collect anonymous user statistics, and you will not be identifiable in any way" What they mean: "We collect all of your data, and some guy downstairs is supposed to strip out all of your personal information. All of that stuff is cached and logged somewhere, but no one ever really looks at it. It's not secured or anything... We just all forgot about it. Oh, and we also save everything to a special archive in case the government wants to know the intimate details of your life, because, ya know, it's the law."

                                Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                                Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

                                P Offline
                                P Offline
                                PIEBALDconsult
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                And every Joe in IT has full access to everything and can make copies to sell.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • J Johnny J

                                  Nobody wants anybody else to know how much Pr0n they have collected! :doh:

                                  Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
                                  Anonymous
                                  -----
                                  The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
                                  Winston Churchill, 1944
                                  -----
                                  I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
                                  Me, all the time

                                  W Offline
                                  W Offline
                                  Weylyn Cadwell
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  But, I'm already running out of the GBs!

                                  1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • M Mike Marynowski

                                    Please don't set me on fire. Serious question. Why is everyone's "privacy" of such grave concern to them, in the case of anonymous usage data? I understand that mistakes happen, oversights happen and it's possible that personal information could slip in, or based on a process of elimination from the set of data you might be able to narrow down to a likely person, etc. But in the case of agreeing to have anonymized data collected, anyone actually doing so with that data would seem to me to be an illegal use of that data, so of what practical use would this be? There are obviously cases where a data collection policy goes too far and the risk that personal details of importance might leak is too high, but everyone FREAKS OUT and uninstalls a piece of software that adds "You agree that we can collect basic aggregate usage data in the application such as the frequency that each menu option is used." OMGGG MY PRIVACY HAS BEEN VIOLATED!! Slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. This kind of data is used to help improve the application you are using, why wouldn't you want to help the developers make it better? I would like to demonstrate with a specific example of a privacy concern that completely eludes me. Gmail once upon a time decided to start scanning the contents of your emails to deliver targeted ads that are more likely to be of interest to you. Everyone lost their bananas over this. WHY??? They aren't sharing the contents of your emails to anyone, nobody is reading it, they are using a bot to scan the email for keywords and match an ad to it. People are so scared of targeted advertising, I don't get it. If there is going to be a portion of the screen dedicated to showing an ad, wouldn't you rather it be filled with developer tools or services you might *actually* be interested in instead of a random ad? I know I would. Why all the privacy hysteria these days? *Ducks and hides under desk in preparation of being attacked by crowd with pitchforks and torches* EDIT (2015/09/24 11:02 AM) - EPILOGUE: I guess for the most part my question has been answered. There are several compounding factors that add to all the problems: - corporate misuse of the data - companies "promising" to anonymize the data but failing to actually do so through malice or ineptitude - leaks of this misused and improperly anonymized data (added 11:34 AM) - and one *really* big problem that I neglected to take into account, mostly because it hasn't become as big a deal where I'm from as the US: government access to t

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                                    PIEBALDconsult
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    Take it to the Soap Box. In my opinion... the biggest problem is vagueness and a total lack of enforcibility.

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                                    • M Mike Marynowski

                                      You have some good examples there of why you should be very cautious to agreeing to data collection and take precautions when doing anything you don't want others to find out about, but those don't relate specifically to my examples. I used my examples specifically because in the application example it was *aggregate* usage data being collected, and the GMail example because they *already* have your email contents - all they were doing was scanning them internally to select an Ad for you. On Gmail, while you are looking at your emails. Not on other google services. There's tons of examples of data collection gone wrong, I know, but I'm specifically talking about very limited and targeted usage of data collection.

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                                      Mladen Jankovic
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Mike Marynowski wrote:

                                      There's tons of examples of data collection gone wrong, I know, but I'm specifically talking about very limited and targeted usage of data collection.

                                      What really constitute limited, targeted and anonymized data usage? It *might* be very limited and targeted usage (if you choose to believe), but what happens when sh*t hits the fan? AOL data supposed to be anonymous. Another example that I've just remembered: Motorola Is Listening[^] I don't know what their privacy policy looked like, but I'm sure as hell it didn't say they were collecting passwords and send them over unsecured HTTP channel :wtf:

                                      GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes

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                                      • P PIEBALDconsult

                                        Take it to the Soap Box. In my opinion... the biggest problem is vagueness and a total lack of enforcibility.

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                                        Mike Marynowski
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Why would I do that? I prefer a civil discussion and this isn't a rant. I suppose I'm starting to see the problem but freaking out about a reasonable clause in the EULA isn't going to help the situation. If company's receive tons of backlash for even the most basic aggregate data collection then they will just do it without letting you know. Especially the kind of company that will tell you they are only collecting aggregate data but collecting more than just that. The chances of being caught are pretty low. I think perhaps some regulations should be put into place about *exactly* how aggregate data or anonymized data must be stored. I'm not particularly versed in this area so if someone knows more about existing regulations in this regard I would be curious to know. I did a bunch of work in credit card processing and what you can store, how to store it, and how to use is it outlined in exacting detail when getting a new system certified.

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                                        • M Mike Marynowski

                                          Why would I do that? I prefer a civil discussion and this isn't a rant. I suppose I'm starting to see the problem but freaking out about a reasonable clause in the EULA isn't going to help the situation. If company's receive tons of backlash for even the most basic aggregate data collection then they will just do it without letting you know. Especially the kind of company that will tell you they are only collecting aggregate data but collecting more than just that. The chances of being caught are pretty low. I think perhaps some regulations should be put into place about *exactly* how aggregate data or anonymized data must be stored. I'm not particularly versed in this area so if someone knows more about existing regulations in this regard I would be curious to know. I did a bunch of work in credit card processing and what you can store, how to store it, and how to use is it outlined in exacting detail when getting a new system certified.

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                                          PIEBALDconsult
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          It's Politically Charged.

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