WTF - I know Google employees troll this forum to build brand and influence, but squelch criticism? Come on. What ever happened to the 'don't do evil' company?
Or maybe that "criticism" is just not very good and merely a rehash of the same (weak) point made so many times on this very page already?
"con people into letting Google track them" - how does this enable any _more_ tracking than existed yesterday? The only thing I see it enables is to share the data that already exists about the user with the people that user appoints (and trusts, hopefully).
Disclosure: Google employee, but nothing to do with location services.
First, I really appreciate the reply. So, thank you.
It may seem a rehash (and, it partially is). But, there are readers who are either unaware or have forgotten that Google doesn't give away services for free. Google is an advertisement and tracking company, not a benevolent technology supplier.
The Google collective is obviously way smarter than any of us. So, who really knows how they plan to profit from this service. My guess: It gives them further reach beyond Android devices. It requires people who may otherwise quickly turn off location services to keep it on. And, it allows them to bypass COPPA via implied parental consent.
Look, I've worked in this industry. And, tracking devices (AKA people) is massively profitable. And, the profit increases exponentially. That is, the profit per signal increases as the number of signals and devices grows. Furthermore, at the highest levels of coverage density, it becomes possible to even make accurate conclusions from the empty spaces (i.e. people without devices).
My (totally scientifically unfounded) suspicion is that people who decide to turn off Location Services also won't install this app (or will enable the app selectively, if they use LS that way so far)
