After Google purchased Nest, many questioned the acquisition’s nature. For some, it was considered Google being lazy about connected home devices and technology, simply choosing to flex their monetary muscle and snatch up the best in the business. Others worried about Google’s quest for more personal info. At the DLD conference in Germany, Nest’s Tony Fadell answered some of those concerns.
Fadell set out to discuss concerns of potential privacy issues with Google purchasing Nest, and was quick to highlight their current data gathering is all about devices, saying “The data that we collect is all about our products and improving them.” From there Fadell said that, as of right now, there are no changes being made to the current privacy policy.
He also made it seem as though any changes would follow Google’s other strength: opt-in. “If there were ever any changes whatsoever, we would be sure to be transparent about it, number one, and number two for you to opt-in to it” Fadell said, putting it in the same vein as Google’s myriad of services asking for permissions. While those services — and presumably, Nest in the near future — work better by allowing Google access to your data, you can still do so without the prying eyes of Mountain View.
Fadell also reminisced while he looked to the future, saying that his discussions with Google were exhilirating. He and Larry Page were on the same page, and had a similar vision for connected home technology. While the partnership may be amicable on their end, some still aren’t convinced it’s forthright. On the Nest-Google partnership, Fadell said “This is a hand and glove fit”. That’s what some people are afraid of, though.
Source: The Next Web
i have a gen 1 nest and recently bought our first nest protect; and i LOVE that google has acquired nest. nest made great stuff – they still are in fact – but i see the potential for google’s influence to have a great positive impact.
of course, as a computer engineer myself i’m something of a geek and not nearly as paranoid about google as many others seem to be. from my perspective google has done extremely well to preserve my privacy and with that they’ve earned my trust. the same can’t be said of many companies. google isn’t perfect, but they are near the top of the heap and that’s about the best i could hope for.