Beyond the privacy concerns I wouldn't want my front door to disable itself because my Google Account was suspended because YouTube's content-identification algorithm picked up a snippet of a song in the background of a video upload. Only to find due to automated support computer-says-no the only way to get it re-enabled was to hope my complaint about it goes viral on Twitter or makes the front page of HN.
Amazon did the same thing in Germany. A customer misused their return policy and got locked out of their Amazon account. Amazon refused to let the customer access their bought videos. Although a court ruled that illegal, I now only do one thing with each account.
It's Google, so they'll probably force you to create a YouTube account to watch videos recorded by your security system, put adverts for private security services over the top, share what time you're usually out of the house with third parties, and then shut down the service after a couple of years.
We've heard reports of google shutting off account access with no recourse because a person made the wrong youtube comments. Imagine if you got locked out of your house because an automated system misinterpreted a comment you made on a Taylor Swift video.
If I had to describe google in one word it would be - creepy.
Google has never made a product that did not collect data in a unique manner from its other products. Between that, the dark patterns, and this recent experience, google the company and the people that work there just give me the creeps.
From previous comment:
"I uploaded a picture to google maps as part of a review. About a month later I get an actual notification on my phone - hey do you want to share this picture you took in City Park last weekend? It creeped me out beyond belief. Google had been rifling through my personal pictures in the background while I was going about my life. It was an enormous breach of my personal space and it is just one example of many related to google."
Additionally, I very much want an internet connected smoke alarm. But I would want something from a trustworthy company. And currently google does not fit that profile.
I get not wanting your data used for advertising and NSA.
But I don't understand why people intentionally give their photos to a system for processing, apparently happily let it be used for advertising and government surveillance, but then get upset when it's used for features. You're rely happier with everyone spying on you and pretending they aren't?
I uploaded one photo to Google Maps. It looked through all of my photos then decided a different photo was was a good candidate for "sharing".
It was a surprise for me since I forgot I left access to my photos on. iOS 14 resolves this by letting you choose which photos you allow an application to have access to. This cannot come any sooner because that was disturbing.
edit: I shared the original photo because I believe in helping other people.
To be clear here. I didn't give _all of my photos_ to Google. It was presented to me as a user that I was uploading a single photo.
Google then took liberties with that permission to an extreme. And it was personally revolting to me. I cannot overstate my absolute disgust with what happened there.
