“Google Changing Privacy Protections for Assistant, Plans to Auto-Delete More of Your Audio Data - Gizmodo” plus 2 more |
- Google Changing Privacy Protections for Assistant, Plans to Auto-Delete More of Your Audio Data - Gizmodo
- Google Fi gets a cheaper “unlimited” plan, bundled cloud storage - Ars Technica
- Google Fi Launches A New Unlimited Plan - Ubergizmo
| Posted: 23 Sep 2019 07:30 AM PDT  In recent months, it became clear that Google, Apple, and Amazon were all guilty of having humans review audio recordings collected by digital assistants. Today, Google's trying to mitigate some of the backlash by updating and clarifying its policies on what it does with your audio data. In July, a Google subcontractor leaked over a thousand Google Assistant recordings to VRT, a Belgian news organization. While it wasn't exactly a secret that Google employed humans to review and transcribe recordings, the leak resurfaced concerns about accidental recordings in which the "Hey Google" wake word wasn't used, and how securely Google stores sensitive audio data. In response, Google spun the leak as a security breach and defended human review as a necessary part of improving speech recognition across multiple languages. It then paused human transcription globally as it reviewed its policies. The first change Google's making directly deals with human review. In a blog, it noted that customers were always able to opt-in or -out of its Voice & Audio Activity (VAA) setting during Assistant setup. However, it wasn't necessarily clear from the previous language in its terms of service that humans would be reviewing audio recordings. To fix that, Google says it will highlight the fact "that when you turn on VAA, human reviewers may listen to your audio snippets to help improve speech technology." Existing users will also have the option to review their VAA and reconfirm whether they still want to participate. Google also said it plans to add an option to adjust how sensitive a Google Assistant device is to the "Hey Google" command. Meaning, you could make it stricter to reduce accidental recordings, or temporarily more relaxed in a noisy setting. Also on the agenda is automatically deleting more data and beefing up privacy protections for the transcription process—though Google didn't give much detail on these fronts. With regard to privacy, Google merely reiterated that audio recordings were never associated with individual accounts and that it would add "an extra layer of privacy filters." Google did not immediately respond to Gizmodo's request for comment to clarify what that actually means. Advertisement As for data deletion, it said it would improve its process of identifying unintentional recordings. More concretely, Google noted it would update its policy "later this year" so that the audio data of VAA participants would be automatically deleted after a few months. On the surface, these are all good things—especially the bit where Google says it will highlight human review in its VAA opt-in process. It bears reminding that right now, human review is still a necessary part of improving voice and speech recognition. Even with improved or stricter auto delete measures, you can't be 100 percent sure that a digital assistant won't accidentally record a conversation and send it off into the cloud for some underpaid contractor to listen to. If you want zero chance of that, you're better off not opting into VAA at all, or eschewing voice assistants altogether. Advertisement  |
| Google Fi gets a cheaper “unlimited” plan, bundled cloud storage - Ars Technica Posted: 17 Sep 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Google Fi, Google's MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) cellular service, is launching a second plan for users today. Besides the original pay-per-megabyte plan with unlimited calls and text, Google Fi is now launching a full blown "Unlimited" plan (with throttling after 22GB) for $70, and it comes with 100GB of cloud storage thanks to a bundled "Google One" membership. In 2018, Google Fi introduced "Bill Protection," a tweak to the pay-per-MB plan that capped monthly bills at $80, making it an "unlimited" plan that throttled after 15GB. This new $70 plan is $10 cheaper and comes with more unthrottled data, and the bundled 100GB of Google One storage saves you another $2 a month. Google One is a monthly subscription service that gives you more storage for your Google account. Free Google accounts get 15GB across Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos, and Google One allows you to purchase anywhere from 100GB to 30TB of online storage. The new Fi plan supports Google's family bundling, too. The unlimited plan is $70 a month for a single person, $60 a month each for two accounts ($120 total), $50 each for three accounts ($150 total) and $45 each for four accounts or more ( $180 total). With this plan, you'll get 22GB of unthrottled data and 100GB of storage per person, not shared across the whole family, which sounds like a good deal. So there are two Fi plans now, the new "Unlimited" and the older "Flexible" plan:  The two Fi plans. There are two classes of device support for Fi. Phones that are "Designed for Fi" (here's a compatibility list) let you combine service from Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular into one big super network and get an always-on VPN. In the past year, Fi was expanded to work with non-Fi phones, but instead of switching between three services, you just get T-Mobile service with the Fi pricing and services intact. The Fi Store is also offering 50% off Pixel 3s right now to "celebrate" the new unlimited plan. This also works out to be a clearance sale, since the Pixel 4 is right around the corner.  |
| Google Fi Launches A New Unlimited Plan - Ubergizmo Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:59 AM PDT  If unlimited mobile plans appeal to you, then you might be thrilled to learn that Google has announced a new unlimited plan for its Google Fi MVNO service. Given that this is Google, it won't just be a standard unlimited plan and it will actually come with the addition of a Google One subscription. Advertising According to Google, "The new Unlimited plan gives you unlimited data, calls and texts at a low cost for multiple members of your family. You'll also be covered when you connect with friends and family at home or abroad, as our plan includes free international calls from the U.S. to 50 countries and territories, and unlimited data and texting abroad in 200 destinations at no extra charge (and with no setup required). " Previously, one of the unique selling points of Google Fi is the pay-as-you-use system, where you only pay for whatever data you consume. However, if you're a heavy data user, then this unlimited plan could be of interest to you. The new plan will be priced at $70 for a single line, but will decrease in cost the more lines you use. It will also come with 100GB of Google One cloud storage for your backups. That being said, it should be pointed out that while it is unlimited, there is a bit of a catch. According to Google, speeds will be throttled after 22GB of usage (per month), and that video streaming quality could be downgraded to 480p. However, if you're still fine with all of this, then head on over to Google Fi's website for the details. Filed in . Read more about Google. Source: blog.google  |
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