With this nasty trick, Google is cheating on smartphone users

With this nasty thing, Google leads you by the nose

Consumer advocates from seven European countries want to act against the possible misuse of data from the Internet giant Google. They accuse Google of using tricks to prevent users from stopping tracking the location.

The associations of Norway, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland and Sweden have lodged a complaint with their respective authorities concerning data protection, the European association announced on Tuesday. Consumer Protection (Beuc).

Consumer advocates argue that US society is violating the European General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) by persecuting user sites. "Places can reveal a lot of information about people, religious beliefs, political beliefs, health status and sexual orientation," the group said in a statement.

The Android operating system of Google is present on about two billion smartphones in the world. The company uses various tips to ensure that users enable or do not stop position tracking. The collected data would then be used for a variety of purposes, including targeted advertising.

How to fool Google users Android and iOS

The following example shows how Google is asking its users to enable more features that allow the group to collect countless data.

Dark Pattern Design: The trick is simple and effective

Technology companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and many others are using the so-called "dark pattern" to entice their users to features like location, facial recognition, and more. – although they do not wish it at best. In this example, the user is prompted to always click on the clearly visible blue button. Many users will miss the discreet button "No thanks" in the left margin.

At Google, for example, the message "Unlock more features of the wizard" makes users curious. Since the blue button sounds initially safe ("Get Started"), eager users will usually continue to click the blue button ("More", "Enable", "Continue"), without reading anything – and already have accepts the data collection itself.

According to the experience, Google and its collaborators know that it is very likely that users always click on the same button and, after several screens, no longer read carefully what they activate. .

The prosecution of privacy advocates: Google uses the "dark pattern" knowing that many users would not accept data collection if the start button called "Enable" or if the "No thanks" button was prominently displayed .

Google has no legal reason to use this data and therefore violates EU law, said consumer advocates. Consent of users to collect and process data is also not given voluntarily in these circumstances.

A Google spokesman said On request, users can emit the default location and modify or suspend it at any time. Depending on the settings, it is possible that the data continues to be collected to improve the user experience.

These tips are common in the software industry: At Microsoft, for example, a click on the "X" at the top right suddenly activated the update to Windows 10 instead of closing the update message. Apple repeatedly presses iPhone users iCloud and Facebook wanted to seduce its users with a dark pattern to activate facial recognition.

Apple "sells" its users to Google

"Google's thirst for data is obvious, but the fact that users are being misled to track and monetize any movement is breathtaking," said Monique Goyens, executive director of the European Consumer Protection Association.

The thirst for Google's data is also affecting Apple's users: Google offers many popular apps, but also iPhone users, including Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Inbox, Photos, Translator, Assistant, Chrome, etc. Manufacturers sign a $ 1 billion deal with Google, which prunes Google on iOS devices as Safari's default search engine. Critics accuse Apple of selling its users to the Google data rack.
(Oli / aargauerzeitung.ch)