🧐 Do I trust Google?

This blog post is my unfiltered, not heavily researched thoughts on Google.

Recently, I came across a blog post by Greg Morris and this is how the blog post was ended:

Every time new Pixel phones come around I toy with the idea of using something different, I ultimately won’t due to my love of the Mac and Apple Watch, but mainly because I don’t trust Google either!

The first question that crossed my mind is why doesn't Greg trust Google and the second question is "do I trust google".

I am not naïve, I understand, Google's entire business's backbone is advertising. It's an advertising company, and that is not a secret. In addition, Google tries to do a lot more than being a search engine. Some of those efforts do not work out well. Google Reader and Google glasses comes to mind. I was sad when Google shutdown its RSS service. I was also upset when they shut down Inbox.

Google has shut down many many services. There is a website dedicated to Google Graveyard.  I also do not want to mention how many chat apps Google has made over the years, only to shut them down in a couple of years. So far, it's not looking good and therefore when Google does something new, I am careful not to invest too much time into it.

Having said that, there are many Google services that have been running reliably for years, even decades. Examples include Gmail, Android, Maps, YouTube, Google Photos, Google Keep, etc. Not only are these services working well, they are still regarded as the best in their respective fields and for YouTube, there isn't any other alternative. Google Search isn't great, but it still is free and gives access to information to anyone and everyone (not just to people who can afford it).  Google's Chrome has been the most popular browser in the world for many years. Google's Chromebook is widely used computer in education. Many schools on this planet cannot afford an iPad. However, from what I have read, Chromebook is just a better system for education compared to iPads. There are schools that previously were iPad first, have moved to using Chromebooks.

All the above builds trust and confidence that Google can deliver reliable service at scale with no to limited monetary outlays. This point should not be understated.

None of the above, changes the fact that Google's profits come from advertising, which relies on data from individuals using their service. Data is a very important commodity for Google and for this reason, Google has top-notch security. Therefore, from a security perspective, I am comfortable keeping my data with Google. Somewhat of a concern for me is privacy. As far as I know, not a single service offered by Google is end to end encrypted. Ideally, Google Drive and Google Photos should have end-to-end encryption. It's not all roses in the end-to-end encryption world though. There are serious tradeoffs which I detailed in my blog post "Why I am stuck on Dropbox".

Despite Google publicly stating frequently that it does not scan emails for advertising. It's in their terms of service:

People just do not seem to believe Google. Google is listed public company and I am more inclined to take their word. Honestly, most times, it's the only option users have. For example, when Apple says everything that happens on the iPhone stays on the iPhone. We believe them, but how do we know for sure? We take their word at it unless proven otherwise.

This brings me to Google's Pixel devices. I am a fan and have been since the Google Nexus days. Google Pixels aren't always the best devices in their category, but its hardware design and software aesthetics appeals to me. It's an outstanding balance of quality, design and just fun.

Despite my fondness for Pixel devices, every single one of them had at least one issue. Clearly, Google's expertise in making hardware requires polish. However, the Google Pixel Fold and Google Tablet have been great. I still have the Google Tablet. The design of the Google Pixel Tablet ensures it is always charged and ready to use. iPad desperately needs something similar or something like MagSafe.

Long story shot, it's time to put money where my mouth is. Currently, I use the following Google services daily:

• Google Search
• Youtube
• YouTube Music
• Google Photos
• Google Calendar and Google Contacts
• Gmail
• Android 

I also pre-ordered the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (yes I hate the name) and Google Pixel Watch 3 (it's so pretty and a round watch face makes sense to me).

Therefore, it is clear; I use Google Services and I trust them, within reason, of course. I only use Google services where objectively, they are the best for the specific task. For example, for file sync, I use Dropbox. It's just better. The search in Google Photos is so much better compared to Apple Photos or any other photo service. For search, Google is just better.

Anyway, it's good to document my thoughts on Google. It's important to understand what Google is about and whether you can make peace with that. I certainly have.

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This blog post written entirely on MacBook Pro 2016