iPad

[swake]

Does Google scan and index the content of your Hangouts chat sessions so it can sell you to advertisers and marketers? You know, the way they do your search history and gmail?

[Hoss]

Does Google scan and index the content of your Hangouts chat sessions so it can sell you to advertisers and marketers? You know, the way they do your search history and gmail?

Probably no more than Apple does.

[swake]

Probably no more than Apple does.

Apple has said specifically they do not do scan imessage or mail and cannot read your text messages or even provide them to law enforcement even if they wanted to. Google has asserted their right in court to sell your information in searches and gmail and that users have no expectation of privacy. You are Google's product that they sell.

[Hoss]

Apple has said specifically they do not do scan imessage or mail and cannot read your text messages or even provide them to law enforcement even if they wanted to. Google has asserted their right in court to sell your information in searches and gmail and that users have no expectation of privacy. You are Google's product that they sell.

Google used to say the same thing....

[sgrizzle]

Google used to say the same thing....

No they didn't

[cynical]

The terms of service for the free gmail service have always granted google very broad rights to content contained in emails, as well as content on google drive. Those rights even extend to google owning the data. That is why lawyers are advised by the bar association not to use that service to store client data. The commercial, for-pay google apps service is different. Google promises that the data remains the property of the account holder and that google won't use it for any purpose other than as needed to maintain their service. I suspect that using the google apps for business version of google drive to store child pornography might be an exception, since use of the service for illegal purposes is prohibited in both the free and paid versions of the service.

Google isn't alone. There are office suites out there such as the CloudOn service claim ownership of any content created using the service or software. Caveat emptor.

People just click through the terms of service when signing up. I read this morning that a London wifi hotspot planted a provision in their terms of service that granted the proprietor ownership of the subscriber's first born child. No one caught it. http://news.yahoo.com/britons-sign-away-first-born-children-free-wifi-222708987.html

No they didn't

[Conan71]

The terms of service for the free gmail service have always granted google very broad rights to content contained in emails, as well as content on google drive. Those rights even extend to google owning the data. That is why lawyers are advised by the bar association not to use that service to store client data. The commercial, for-pay google apps service is different. Google promises that the data remains the property of the account holder and that google won't use it for any purpose other than as needed to maintain their service. I suspect that using the google apps for business version of google drive to store child pornography might be an exception, since use of the service for illegal purposes is prohibited in both the free and paid versions of the service.

Google isn't alone. There are office suites out there such as the CloudOn service claim ownership of any content created using the service or software. Caveat emptor.

People just click through the terms of service when signing up. I read this morning that a London wifi hotspot planted a provision in their terms of service that granted the proprietor ownership of the subscriber's first born child. No one caught it. http://news.yahoo.com/britons-sign-away-first-born-children-free-wifi-222708987.html

iTunes current user agreement is now 55 pages long.  Seriously, why does a user agreement need to be that freaking huge?  Seems like you could encapsulate the rights to purchase, playback and share your purchase in a few pages or less.

[Hoss]

iTunes current user agreement is now 55 pages long.  Seriously, why does a user agreement need to be that freaking huge?  Seems like you could encapsulate the rights to purchase, playback and share your purchase in a few pages or less.

John Oliver posited in his rant about net neutrality that "the way to hide something evil is to hide it inside something boring.  The entire text of Mein Kampf could be inserted into the iTunes agreement and you'd still click on agree..agree".

http://youtu.be/fpbOEoRrHyU?t=9m50s

[heironymouspasparagus]

Somewhat related...almost...

Has anyone used Opera Mail (client) - as replacement to Outlook?  (free)

Or Postbox?  Same use....  (not free - $10.)

[cynical]

There's always a history behind contract bloat. I suppose that it started out as you suggested but accreted more and more language as the law and Apple's experience evolved. I have seen one contract expand from 6 pages to 45 pages in a single renewal negotiation. How many commercial contracts now provide for mandatory arbitration and bar class action suits? How many include language that attempts to bring torts (there's a huge overlap between duties that arise from contract and duties that the law imposes anyway) within the purview of the contract so as to bar recovery of incidental and consequential damages and punitive damages. Language dealing with purchases made on someone's account, perhaps by someone lacking capacity to enter into a contract, e.g. their teenaged child, that the account owner didn't authorize. One of these days I'll take the time to read the agreement. I'm an Apple customer several times over, but I don't buy music, movies, or books from iTunes.

iTunes current user agreement is now 55 pages long.  Seriously, why does a user agreement need to be that freaking huge?  Seems like you could encapsulate the rights to purchase, playback and share your purchase in a few pages or less.

[Conan71]

There's always a history behind contract bloat. I suppose that it started out as you suggested but accreted more and more language as the law and Apple's experience evolved. I have seen one contract expand from 6 pages to 45 pages in a single renewal negotiation. How many commercial contracts now provide for mandatory arbitration and bar class action suits? How many include language that attempts to bring torts (there's a huge overlap between duties that arise from contract and duties that the law imposes anyway) within the purview of the contract so as to bar recovery of incidental and consequential damages and punitive damages. Language dealing with purchases made on someone's account, perhaps by someone lacking capacity to enter into a contract, e.g. their teenaged child, that the account owner didn't authorize. One of these days I'll take the time to read the agreement. I'm an Apple customer several times over, but I don't buy music, movies, or books from iTunes.

Damn attorneys.