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Re:Waymo in Portland by Cider9986 on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @03:37PM (#47939490)
Thank goodness that Waymo has no plans to use the cameras recording you in the car for targeted ads.

I will feel so secure and private being recorded at all angles in a car I don't own and can't sue.

"Waymo: ‘no plans’ to use in-car camera data for targeted ads"

(https://www.theverge.com/news/644770/waymo-interior-camera-a...)

Re:Waymo in Portland by Barbing on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:12PM (#47940027)
How about a Waymo competitor that uses nonporous, impervious materials for the interior, and automatically sanitizes itself in between passengers? You pay with Monero and logs are only kept long enough to solve any murders you might've committed, and for the next rider to report if you still managed to mess something up.

OK there might be some problems with this idea. But if I'm paying with credit card and it's attached to my name, they should be able to rely on the next passenger to report if I've damaged the car, right, and they could stop recording me?

Heck they could provide a camera with a physical cover that makes a 90 decibel sound when it opens, and it could check the car in between riders. "promise no peeping" definitely not good enough when minor physical hardware privacy measures are so inexpensive.

Re:Waymo in Portland by fhka on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @03:46PM (#47939600)
I also don't understand why people aren't more upset about the privacy issues. They have your whole travel data, your face, your voice, "private" conversations.

And the people in the Philippines who can intervene in the "self" driving can comment on your bodily features if bored.

Re:Waymo in Portland by bitpush on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:19PM (#47940114)
> I also don't understand why people aren't more upset about the privacy issues.

Because nobody is forcing you to take a Waymo? I dont think it is as hard to understand.

Its like saying "You dont understand why people arent more upset about spicy food because your stomach cant handle it.."

Re:Waymo in Portland by xnx on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:26PM (#47940208)
> your voice, "private" conversations.

Waymo microphones are only activated when you contact support.

Re:Waymo in Portland by GuinansEyebrows on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:42PM (#47940446)
truly not trying to be snarky here but i don't understand why you would place this level of trust in an Alphabet Inc brand.
Re:Waymo in Portland by xnx on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @05:40PM (#47941211)
Of all the organizations with access to my data (e.g. ISP, social networks, cellphone service provider, current US government, etc.), I absolutely trust Google the most.

Do you think Google is lying about the microphone?

Re:Waymo in Portland by GuinansEyebrows on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @05:53PM (#47941361)
> I absolutely trust Google the most.

why?

Re:Waymo in Portland by hnav on Wednesday April 29, 2026 @12:31AM (#47944186)
robust culture of data protection because of lots to lose
Re:Waymo in Portland by GuinansEyebrows on Wednesday April 29, 2026 @10:57AM (#47949350)
here's why i don't think that holds water:

i no longer believe a company of alphabet's size cannot weather a "controversy" around surreptitious data collection. too many people accept this possibility as a matter of course.

beyond PR, alphabet, like every other company at or near its size:

    * has obviously bribed the current administration
    * they can afford a relative slap on the wrist should any financial penalty be imposed
    * and of course, NSA letters continue to allow the federal government to receive whatever data they wish to ask for
Re:Waymo in Portland by guywithabike on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:49PM (#47940543)
> I also don't understand why people aren't more upset about the privacy issues.

I think a lot of people are starting to realize that despite years of doom-and-gloom finger wagging about privacy, their lives have never actually been negatively impacted by the horrors of targeted ads and, if anything, are materially improved (free internet search engines, free email, free social networks, and so on).

Re:Waymo in Portland by tencentshill on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @05:41PM (#47941228)
It recently became very real for a lot of people. The US government is buying that harmless advertising data to target, locate, and arrest/deport people. If I was an immigrant of any legal status, I would now absolutely think twice about providing a real name or address to any online service. Any benign good-faith "its only for ads" argument has been destroyed within the last year. GrapheneOS/Librem/Pursim should start advertising heavily in immigrant communities.

This also intertwines with the coordinated ID push for many social media networks. It builds an effective framework to target anyone. Trump casually designates people "terrorists" already.

Re:Waymo in Portland by xnx on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @04:25PM (#47940194)
> I will feel so secure and private being recorded at all angles in a car I don't own and can't sue.

This is even worse in an Uber where the drivers can put cameras anywhere and do anything with the recordings.