# New To Android And Unhappy



## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

I just got a Schok Volt Sv55. I have entered NO contacts. I have Contacts disabled. I copied one picture from my computer to the phone. Immediately, I'm asked if I want to share my photos with xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx (my sister's name). The photo had no info connecting it to my sister. This is scary. How does this happen?


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

likekinds said:


> I just got a Schok Volt Sv55. I have entered NO contacts. I have Contacts disabled. I copied one picture from my computer to the phone. Immediately, I'm asked if I want to share my photos with xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx (my sister's name). The photo had no info connecting it to my sister. This is scary. How does this happen?


Google is responsible. If you have Android, you're going to have to live with Google. They own the world.


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

All I want to do is make and receive calls, take pictures and transfer them to my computer. I've read so many articles on how to turn this phone to a dumb phone. All sound promising, but don't deliver. Is there such a way?


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Start with this: Remove Chrome


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

I did that.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Your phone already makes calls. Turn off all notifications for apps. When you take a photo with your camera, you can attach the phone to your computer via your USB Charging cable and it will come up as a separate drive. Browse that drive to the DCIM folder which holds all of your photos. You can drag and drop these photos in that folder to your Pictures folder on your computer.


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

Yes, I've been doing all that. I was concerned as to how Google connected my sister to me. It dawned on me. I am listed in her gmail contacts. Google took the privilege of looking into her contacts, getting my email address and then suggesting to me that I share pictures on my phone with her. Nothing illegal, a little shady. 

I'm in the process of downloading all my gmail emails. Then I will close my Google account and go to Proton


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

likekinds said:


> I just got a Schok Volt Sv55. I have entered NO contacts. I have Contacts disabled. I copied one picture from my computer to the phone. Immediately, I'm asked if I want to share my photos with xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx (my sister's name). The photo had no info connecting it to my sister. This is scary. How does this happen?


did you email your sister prior to the incident?


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

No


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Do your User Google Chrome? Do you use Google Search? How about YouTube? GMail, Google Docs, Google Translate, etc etc. If you sign into any of these Google apps, they have your contact information and they probably have access to your Contacts list, How to Manage Your Google Privacy Settings


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

No to Google Chrome and to Google Docs, others...yes.

I first gave thought to this over 20 years ago. Let's say there's a person who is obsessed with privacy and does not want Google to have their phone number. They go to great lengths to prevent google getting that number.

They have a YouTube account and lots of YouTube friends. These well meaning friends add this person's phone number (and lots of other personal information) when they fill in the Contacts blanks for their YouTube contacts.

Now, Google has this person's phone number without this person's permission. It may matter little, but I give Google as little information as possible. When adding contacts to gmail, Google gets their first name only, even though they go so far as to provide blanks for the person's place of employment, their position on the job and lots more.

I now have a free Proton account and if I really like it, I'll go for the paid account. I figure 4 pounds a month is pocket change if it helps prevent even further invasion of my privacy.


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## kdugan (Jun 2, 2009)

This is pretty much Ancestry by Google. They make the links.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

All tech companies collect personal data, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon etc etc. If you want to remain totally anonymous, put your aluminum hat on and disconnect all devices from the internet.


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## likekinds (Sep 30, 2007)

Complacency is the reason we have so much invasion of our privacy. No more. No less.

If you don't want your name to be on a list, you're out of luck. If a company has a mailing list of 100,000 names and you don't want your name on that list, your name will be added to a list of names that are not to be mailed. This is reasonable. How else would the company know who not to mail to. I can accept this.

But when Google provides spacesto be filled in for email contacts and those spaces include:

Prefix
First name
Middle name
Last name
Suffix
Phonetic first
Phonetic middle
Phonetic last
Nickname 
Company
Job title
Department
Email
Phone
Country
Street address
Street address line 2
Post town
Post code
PO box
Birthday
Website
Relationship
Internet call


and no one will question this practice....WE ARE IN TROUBLE

It's not that information is being collected about us, it's the extent of that collection. It may not be important to you to know which department your contact works in or what their title might be. It is important to Google that they know...and no one wonders why.

Anyone who thinks those spaces to be filled in are for their convenience rather than for Google's data bank is as green as a gourd.


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