GOOGLE PHOTOS FOR MAC COMPUTER UPDATE
GOOGLE PHOTOS FOR MAC COMPUTER ANDROID

So, you don’t need to share them with Apple or anyone else.” What that means is that the analytics is not done on iCloud’s servers, unlike competing cloud-based photo services, including Google’s. Apple’s Photo App “uses machine learning to organize photos right on your device. If you are an Apple user with Google Photos on one of your devices, then here are three further thoughts to keep in mind-assuming the privacy labels don’t convince you to consider switching to an alternative, despite all those extra features.įirst, there’s a serious difference in how Apple and Google analyze your photos to enable categorization, maps and search.

GOOGLE PHOTOS FOR MAC COMPUTER ANDROID

But Google pushes its users, on Apple devices as elsewhere, to set up Google accounts, which means it has a means to store its own unifying data repository for Apple users in the same way as it can on its own Android OS. Google argues that Apple has a unique vantage point with its own users, pulling data from different sources. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has assured that “we don’t use information in apps where you primarily store personal content-such as Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Photos-for advertising purposes, period.” But, even if we ignore that advertising/marketing is on Google Photos’ privacy label, advertising is complex, and it doesn’t need to be directly linked to a specific activity to fuel a profile from which hyper-scale data harvesters can derive staggering value. If that data is linked, then the developer can tie each of those data fields back to you, feeding its profile on you.Ĭhrome Vs Rivals Apple Privacy Labels / so, it really does come down to trust. They differentiate between “data linked to you” and “data not linked to you.” If data is not linked, it enables a developer to hone its services, to manage its performance, to track characteristics of its usage, even to look at the locations where its app might be in use. There’s a little twist with these privacy labels. You can ask yourself whether it’s a coincidence that Google and Facebook have privacy labels that are so out of kilter with Apple’s, that it’s simply a consequence of how those apps work, of you can “follow the money.” Google and Facebook make their revenue from digital advertising, while Apple makes its own from selling devices and a services ecosystem. And so, while Google and Facebook will emphasize that the stark privacy labels associated with their apps enhances their services and our user experience, it also ensures that the $100 billion-plus in ad revenues keep flowing.Īnd so, you can form a view. And while we all like Pizza, the same data analytics can be used to influence our opinions and tailor our social media streams to ensure that we live within our own echo chambers, keeping us engaged and online for longer, selling us more stuff and shaping our points of view.Įvery app, every platform, every service that fuels these profiles simply exacerbates this situation. Each datapoint enables an advertiser to specific the audience it wants to reach. That all seems fairly harmless, but the profiles that companies like Google and Facebook can build on each of us is much more granular than this. We also may use your IP address to determine your approximate location, so that we can serve you ads for a nearby pizza delivery service if you search for ‘pizza’.”

GOOGLE PHOTOS FOR MAC COMPUTER UPDATE

MORE FROM FORBES Why You Need To Update Your Samsung 5G Phone After Critical New Warning By nullĪs Google explains, “if you watch videos about baking on YouTube, you may see more ads that relate to baking as you browse the web. That’s why Safari blocks trackers whereas Chrome is trialing its convoluted, flawed FLoC solution to maintain its targeted ad machine.

Everything we’re now talking about as regards privacy flows back to that simple premise. And the more tailored and targeted those ads are, the more likely you are to respond and buy, and the more money Google can charge its customers to show you those ads. It makes most of its money by selling access to you by showing you ads. If you don’t buy its devices and services, it doesn’t make money. And that’s credible because Apple is a product company. Apple sets out to put user privacy first, it has become one of the company’s unique selling points. But there is a fundamentally different approach to privacy here as well-and ultimately it comes down to trust.

Google photos for mac computer