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| This week, we've dived into the murky world of tracking, of companies like Facebook, Google , Amazon and Apple following our every footstep. |
| We've learned: |
| —How Facebook and Google are the most voracious of data consumers, tracking us on smartphones even if we're not using their apps. |
| —Under the guise of "opt-in", the companies say these features are accepted by consumers, who are urged to do so in order to grab another app feature. At no time in these smartphone popups do the companies actually spell out in black and white that doing so will enable them to track our every move. |
| —Amazon is recording our conversations at home and in the car, via the Alexa personal assistant, even if we don't use the "Alexa" wake word to start the recording process. |
| —Apple is using its stance on privacy as a marketing tool, to woo consumers who are uncomfortable with buying a competing device that grabs more information to turn around and re-sell. |
| So which one of these top four companies has the most to apologize for? |
| All of them. Let us count the ways. |
Apple |
| We begin with the company behind the best-selling consumer device in the world, Apple and the iPhone. It's great that CEO Tim Cook regularly makes speeches decrying rivals practices on privacy. But, come on, Apple! You could stop Facebook and Google from spying on people overnight, by simply changing the usage rules of the iPhone. You turn on a switch, and no company could ever use the iPhone to track people. |
Google |
| I love that the search giant can tell me how long my morning commute will take and, better yet, make meaningful autoplay selections on YouTube, where it knows my musical taste really well. |
| But the Location History feature has got to go. It's intrusive and helps only one party –Google, to sell more personalized ads. Google says I opted in for it. I don't recall doing that, and, if I did, was Google upfront about what I was signing up for. |
| I found this clear, upfront language, not in the pop-up urging me to change my settings, but on a help page. Location History "saves where you go even when you aren't using a specific Google service." Or, in other words, even if you don't have a Google app opened, like Google Maps or Waze. |
| What would happen if Google was actually upfront with consumers? |
Facebook |
| So many people believe that the Social Network records our phone conversations to listen in and serve us up ads that Facebook was forced to put out a blog post denying it. "We show ads based on people's interests and other profile information – not what you're talking out loud about." |
| Instead of denying things that many believe to be true, why not be upfront with the public Facebook and actually explain why these ads are so good at showing up immediately after being discussed with our friends? |
| Let them know that it's just how you've mastered location and sign-on data, coupled with knowledge about our ages, interests, friend circle to hit us up with like-minded ads. |
| When asked why these ads appear, instead, Facebook directs us to click the "Why am I seeing this ad?" button in the post, which basically just says it's there because the company wanted to advertise to people like you. |
| Come now, we can do way better. Be straight with us, please. |
Amazon |
| In using the number one e-tailer, we realize what the game is all about. We sign-in, shop for stuff, and Amazon takes notes. It tracks our likes and purchases and, in turn, can recommend products we might like in return. |
| That's all fine and good. |
| But along with that, it throws ads for those products that follow us around the Web. That's sometimes useful, in reminding us that we forgot to click buy, but most of the time annoying and creepy. |
| Amazon says we can change the ad settings, but people shouldn't have to go to the bother. |
| At home, the Echo speaker records our interactions, usually when confronted with the Alexa "wake" word, but not always, as when snippets of a USA TODAY staff meeting were recorded, and the Alexa word was never mentioned. |
| Amazon has dozens of help pages to opt out of things, but they're not easy to read, and I would argue confusing to many. |
| Why should I have to opt-out in the first place? If I buy an Amazon-branded TV or the popular Fire Stick streaming player, why should I have to go in and "opt-out" of personalized ads? Unless you tell me up front that I'm getting a deal on the TV in exchange for this service, which wasn't the case at least for this reporter when he bought a Fire TV set. |
| And fix Alexa so it stops recording us without the wake word. That's creepy. |
| Bottom line: We love using Google and Facebook's free services, and we don't mind dropping $1,000 on a shiny new iPhone or $100 for a smart speaker, but do we all like being tracked in exchange? |
| Perhaps it's time we all stand up and scream "STOP!" to tell the companies we're not OK with being tracked – or else it's only going to get worse. And Apple needs to stop putting the blame on us for not changing our settings. It needs to change its setting permanently, to put a stop to the snooping. |
| Subscribe to the new #TalkingTech newsletter, usat.ly/2qaIVVQ, the #TalkingTech podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Tunein and wherever else you like to hear great online audio. and follow me on Twitter, @jeffersongraham and on Facebook.com/jefferson_graham. |
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