[sharcerer]

Result of not focussing on trust enough. Google is going to have more of this problem. Google really has a problem understanding the compound effects of trust and perception and dealing with it. By now, they should have taken some concrete privacy enhancing steps which might be made for short-term but good for long term trust, as usage of GCP, G Suite, AR will depend a lot on their trust factor. Sundar is really coming off as weak in this regard.

[deadmutex]

I think they have taken privacy enhancing steps, though public perception isn't easy to change. A lot of people (including HN users) still mistakenly think that Google sells user data, or medical history is being used for ads, etc.

Disclosure: I work at Google, but my opinion is my own.

[sharcerer]

Yeah. I know they have, enhancing Permissions in Android, making data deletion etc more visible. And I don't think they sell data. Personally, as a student I think they've provided incredible positive value to my life. But I wonder how GCP, Google Health will gain big customers because Google has clearly abused their power in certain areas.

[bitL]

That might be true now, but who knows where your current employer will be in 10 years and if they by then even remotely match your current values. We are already seeing cracks forming and it makes difficult to trust them with our most sensitive data. It was easier 10-15 years ago, not so much these days.

[joshuamorton]

I honestly don't get this: the reverence with which Google treats user data has only increased over time. What gives you the opposite impression?

[sharcerer]

personally, I do think that Google handles user data well. some people here might get triggered, but I don't have problem with it. I am talking about the perception problem for Google among big cos, which will impact GCP and Google Health. Though, frankly I hope now these cos realize that Amazon is some trustworthy alternative either(as some corp thought in the mentioned article), Amazon was in a honeymoon period for the past 3-4 years, now with their face recog, Ring etc. the attention has shifted to them.

[kristianc]

> That might be true now, but who knows where your current employer will be in 10 years and if they by then even remotely match your current values.

You’re just cutting the cord of falsifiability here. Because none of us can see 10 years into the future, you’ve made it impossible for anyone to disagree with you or even have a reasonable discussion. It’s an intellectually dishonest position to take.

[saagarjha]

Not really. Google has had a track record of collecting data on people, in addition to signs that tremendous changes in its corporate culture; it’s not unreasonable to speculate where they may go with that in the future.

[sharcerer]

Collecting data is not bad, not being transparent/untrustworthy is bad. Now, when these health deals are going on, the companies worry that G will claim data or do something nefarious. And even though I am a Google admirer( enthusiasm has waned over the past 2 years), I also fear that they'll keep making BS moves. My disappointment with Google is mainly due to the cultural changes and the mismanagement, because that was the thing which attracted me to them when I was in grade 9-12, and now in college, I keep getting frustrated by the stupid product decisions in many of their apps( i mean forget messaging, the reminders in Google app/ assistant are a mess). Like it seems some teams are really incompetent.

But, I somehow am really unimpressed by Pichai. I know Pichai, Cook, Satya are the executive types, but of all 3 Pichai seems to have the lowest vision, in every interview he speaks, it's like he's being very careful, like no enthusiasm at all.