Remember what it felt like when Nest Labs was acquired by Google and Automatic Labs was acquired by Sirius/XM. Though I stuck with the products, I worried about data privacy. Though as an early adopter of both, it was a tough decision.
Now reading this makes be think about Sense: Google, Amazon Seek Foothold in Electricity as Home Automation Grows - WSJ
What do you all think?
Itâs already a stretch for me to give my data to the âcloudâ with no local control, but Sense has gained some trust from me in my dealings with support and my understanding of why they need everyones data.
That being said, Sense sells our data or sells out to an Amazon or Google my meter gets sold instantly. There is plenty of other energy monitors out there that will give me what I need, even though they donât look as nice or have Mhz sampling.
i assume you have read - Sense Home Energy Monitor: Privacy Policy
Its one of the best âplain englishâ policyâs Iâve read.
But to your point, if they are acquired, then what.
I by no means have given up on privacy, but at the same time I do sort of wonder what choice we actually have.
I think the issue with Privacy these days is that unfortunately, our data is so valuable, no one, or very few people, would actually be willing to pay what it costs to buy your privacy. I read an article yesterday about home insurance paying up to $200 for a click through on an advertisement because conversion is roughly 40% of click through to purchasing a policy.
People often talk about an Ad free Facebook, or Hulu. The problem is, they are making so much money off of our data that they will never do it. I know there is a push for more disclosure and opt in when you sign up for a service and I think that is great. but then I also think that you will get services who wonât let you sign up unless you opt-in. So you now have a clearer idea of who they are selling your data too, but you still have to allow that data if you want the service.
So for now, I think our data is in good hands with Sense. If they are eventually acquired by Amazon or Google, or honestly, at the moment Iâm looking at Schneider Electric, we as users will have to make a decision. Do we trust the company they are being acquired by enough to keep the service? Or do we ditch the box and ask them to scrub our data before the asquission.
Is is unfortunate that it comes down to it, but it is the reality of capitalism. The companies make products to make money. Even if they made a product because they want to improve peopleâs lives and not to make money and just to break even, they still have to make money. Often, by allowing the company to make money, they can then help more people, therefore furthering the original purpose of the company.
I just read the same article and came to post it. Sense has itâs arm up way up high hoping to get attention - my guess is from Amazon.
I think the flip side is true as well. The cost to operate many of these cloud-based services is far from free, and most people would NOT pay a cost plus rate if they were offered the version without ads and with complete data privacy. I think only Apple has made a go of taking the âkeep your privacyâ approach, and they get dinged on pricing for hardware and services.
Completely agree. Do I like spending almost $1000 on a new iPhone? Not really. But I do feel better about my data on it than I do Samsung that comes pre-loaded with bloat ware. 100% Is it the reason I buy Apple? No, but it helps.
Apple has only marketed âprivacyâ now because they have been anything but private. To their defense, they have a very large user base and many donât use strong passwords, but pretty much every âleakedâ celeb pics or accounts are iPhones with a hacked iCloudâŚ
Just saying, privacy is up to yourself and the risks youâre willing to accept for modern usability.
You are talking about security breaches. We were talking about data privacy. Two different things.
A security breach is directly related to your data not being private but I understand your point.