After months and months of speculation around the release of Google Drive, it finally came.
Of course, a big drop like this wouldn’t be complete without some fierce debate about privacy policies, right?
Right.
Take this tweet for instance:
Pretty straight forward and clear, right?
After all, the screenshot attached to this tweet is from CNET News and looks pretty straight forward.
- But how can Google get away with this?
- How can they lay claim to user’s data?
- Is Google really this evil?
I dug a little deeper and actually found a counter article to the Google Drive policy debate, Stop the Google Drive Terms of Service Bogeyman Hunt.
Great read, let me summarize it for you.
Read all of Google’s Terms of Service. It starts off with:
“You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”
Followed by:
“We do not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google unless one of the following circumstances apply: with your consent; with domain administrators; for external processing; for legal purposes.”
Hmmmm. Maybe this is a “bogeyman hunt” after all?
But what about all that nasty verbage CNET News was going on and on about?
Let’s put it into context, shall we?
“When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps).”
See what CNET did there?
PhoneArena put it best:
The first bunch of verbs (“host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works”) all cover the process ofmaking your content useful. If Google can’t host or store your content, it disappears, which is of no help to you. If Google can’t reproduce your content, it would be impossible to have the syncing across devices that makes Google Drive, Music, or Photos useful. Modifying and derivative works covers anything from auto-correct in a document to translations or fixing the color of a photograph.
Then, the last few pieces (“communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute”) covers being able to share your content, but only if the requirements are met from the Privacy Policy above. This means that Google can post your photos, videos or docs to Google+, but only if you say so (or for some odd reason a judge says so.) The same goes for e-mail, or even sharing a link.
This makes sense.
Google isn’t riffling through your files looking to crack the next big idea. They already hire people to do that, they don’t need to steal your ideas.
After looking at the big picture, I’m not worried about what’s going to happen to my data. It looks pretty clear to me.
Will I be using Google Drive?
As for me and my house, we will continue to use Dropbox. I already paid for a full year, so I’ll wait until then to decide.
What about you?
[Image via Jon Wiley]
Phil Schneider says
Thanks for bringing some clarity to this issue, Eric. I was a bit concerned till I read this post. Well done, sir.
Eric Dye says
Thanks, Phil! I was the same way, I’m glad I dug a little deeper.
Tim says
Google is an advertising company that will continue to offer great services in an effort to cultivate you as a product to sell to their customers, the advertisers. This sets up a relationship where the user is inherently out of control of their content. That doesn’t mean google drive is evil, it’s just another attempt to suck your digital life into their business model.
Daniel Berman says
Well put. Would it be revolutionary to ask what would happen if we innovated beyond. “offer something for free and then monetize it with ads”? Have we really devolved to the point where any free consumer service is ultimately just more online billboard space for sale?
Eric Dye says
Spot on, Sir!
Kevin says
I’m gonna stick with Dropbox 🙂
Eric Dye says
Word.
James Cooper says
Think I’ll be sticking with dropbox. I’m up to over 5gb free with referrals and it just fits with how I work so well.
Eric Dye says
You’re awesome.
Chandos says
And don’t forget that right now, with the dropbox auto upload of photos from a camera, they give you 500mb….and once you fill that…500 more…until you hit an extra 3gb I think?
Eric Dye says
True!
John says
Thank you for this post! I’m such a Google fanboy I don’t really care what they do. 🙂
But I’m glad to hear there’s nothing to worry about.
Eric Dye says
LOL! Cool.
John says
I posted this article on my podcast page and it got a couple comments.
http://goo.gl/s2GCh
Eric Dye says
Awesome! Thanks for the share, John!
Johnathan says
I have a Dropbox, but Google drive offers me more space for free, so i think ill try it out. I find it much easier to sign into one account for all of the services i need than to sign into several services across the web. I love Google and support them with their marketing techniques because i mean come on they need some way of making money and if offering awesome products for free or at a low cost, with minimal ads then so be it.
Eric Dye says
The signing in is huge, plus, they’re doing better and better about multiple sign-ins for those of use who manage more than one Google user account.
Curtis says
How can I edit my files using Microsoft’s web-based editor that are stored on Microsoft’s Skydrive if Microsoft doesn’t have any control over my files? If Microsoft’s server cannot control my files, then I have no way of editing them with Microsoft’s web-based tools.
Microsoft and Google both have legal permission to control and modify my files stored on their cloud services. If they didn’t have permission to modify my files, I would never be able to edit them in the cloud.
Eric Dye says
Very good point.