Most people think of Google as an advertising company—and that is how they make their money—but I think it’s more accurate to describe them as a surveillance company. The surveillance is in service of the advertising, of course, but if you look at almost any of their products, you’ll see that its real function is surveillance.
What to think, then, of Google’s doe-eyed explanation for the hidden microphone in their Nest security device? It was, they say, an error. A mistake. The microphone was never supposed to be secret, they just forgot to mention it in the specs. Not to worry, though, they absolutely cross-their-heart-promise that it’s never been turned on. As Tom Zeller tweets, “…consumers should probably be forgiven if they don’t trust the company’s after-the-fact promises that it never spied on them.”
Google can, at least, say that they’re not as bad as Facebook but that’s not much of a recommendation. Like Facebook, their intent is to accumulate as much information about you as they can. How much do you think it costs Google to run Gmail? Why do you think they provide it for free? Those are good questions to consider if you’re still telling yourself that your private information is boring and not worth anything.
This latest incident is just another reason, if you needed one, to avoid Google whenever you can. That’s especially true of any in-home device they’re offering. A useful rule of thumb is that Google devices are surveillance devices. If you like the idea of being on the Truman Show, by all means put Google’s microphones all over your house. If you don’t, don’t.