Google Trust: Doubling Down

For the past two weeks, I've discussed the role of big data in my life, both as something to use with at least one eye open and as the terrain that my daughter must navigate as she grows.  And then October 4th happened.

On that day, Google announced a variety of products with most of the focus going to their new Pixel phones.  But they also announced their Allo messaging app, a new 4K Chromecast and their Google Home voice assistant.  It was that last that caught my eye.

G-Oogie in the House

The Google Home is the Big-G's answer to the Amazon Echo.  There have been many comparisons and discussions about the product and how well it will compete in this consumer niche.  It is also a smart home product, so of course I need to pay attention to it.  But I've done more: I've ordered one.

It won't show up for a while, but when it does I'll be sure to do a hands-on.  Instead, I want to continue with the trust theme for one more week.  This product goes much farther in asking us to trust Google.  Farther even then we must trust Amazon with their Echo.

Hello.  Are you still there?

The biggest trust issue with the Google Home is its microphone.  Like the Echo, it is always on.  Which means it is always listening.  Sure, it's not supposed to listen unless you speak the command words, "Okay, Google" first, but to work it needs to be constantly listening for those words.  We have to trust that it is only sending information to its servers for informational parsing when those words are said and not ALL THE TIME.

To their credit, Google has put in a safe guard for those of us who are feeling paranoid.  On the back, at the top, is a microphone mute key.  Which is nice, but it may not be enough.  Think about the use case for that key.  You have to remember to turn it on before doing anything that might be interesting to Google.  And everything is interesting to Google.  A few instances that came to mind:

• You: "Crap, we're out of milk."
• Google: fills you browser with ads from local dairies.

• You to your SO: "Why do you always leave the [darn] lights on?"
• Google: fills your browser with ads for smart bulbs and switches.

• You to your daughter: "It's that Jerry kid again.  I thought you told him to stop hanging around?"
• Google: fills your browser with ads for non-lethal weapons and notifies the local authorities about both Jerry and your potential for violence, especially after listening to that episode with the jam jar lid.

There have been rumors of this kind of thing happening already, mostly around Facebook and their messenger service.  Of course they denied it.  And I only sort of believe them (see paranoia above).

The other issue with the mic muting key is that it makes the whole device kind of useless.  If I'm going to pay money for it, then I WANT it listening.  I don't have to buy it.  But I do want the convenience.  Which is, of course, how they get you.

There are other things you can do to check on this aside from pressing the button.  Identify the IP address of the Home device and monitor its data usage through your router.  It should spike when you ask it something and be all but dead when you don't.

I [want to] believe that it will be true to this pattern.  I really do.  I want to believe that advertising is the worst that Google will do with my data unless strong-armed by the Patriot Act.  I'm used to advertising.  As a child of broadcast TV and radio, of browsers and pop-ups and blockers and malware, I'm used to that stuff and have learned to deal with it.  I'm not okay with it.  My world would be better without it, but as long as that is all that is being done, I can live with it.

But will this go farther?  Is this really the first step towards the real surveillance society?  Will I have to be careful with my proto-Turret's in the comfort of my own home or will everything I say end up on the front page of Google News?  That's when I worry that I'm a later day Winston Smith.

This is Schmoid, torn between his privacy and laziness, signing off.