So Google is now preventing people from removing location data from photos taken with Pixel phones.
Remember when Google’s corporate motto was “don’t be evil?”
Obviously, accurate location data on photos is more useful to a data mining operation like Google.
From Google: “Important: You can only update or remove estimated locations. If the location of a photo or video was automatically added by your camera, you can’t edit or remove the location.”
It’s enshitification in action.
Source: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6153599?hl=en&sjid=8103501961576262529-AP
#technology #tech @technology #business #enshitification #Android #Google @pluralistic #infosec
@ajsadauskas @technology @pluralistic Google claims a religious exemption that trumps your privacy concerns: “The data from your camera is sacred to us and our business model, and we, via our operating systems and applications, strictly forbid you from profaning that data.”
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It is NEAT though to have a map with all your photos. I have just removed Google from my photo workflow instead and I autoupload them to my selfhosted Nextcloud and view them using Digikam.
@ajsadauskas
How has this anything to do with Pixel phones? As I understand it, this is about the Google Photo service. You can’t edit exif data in it, and location data is part is exif. You can, however, turn off location data in your phone, or edit exif data in an external app. Or am I mistaken?
@technology @pluralistic @samuel@kallekn @technology @pluralistic @samuel Google Photos is the default gallery app on Google Phones.
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If a photo is not taken with your phone, Google Photos allows you to manually enter a location.
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Google Photos also allows you to remove this location.
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If a photo is taken with your phone, the icon to edit or remove the location is greyed out.
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Tapping the information will produce an error message.
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The ability to edit the location data of photos you’d taken used to be there, but has been removed. I’m not the only person to notice this, there’s a support thread about it on Google’s own website: https://support.google.com/photos/thread/110092925/regression-location-no-longer-editable-if-the-camera-added-it?hl=en
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And with that I continue to inch closer and closer to giving up and getting a linux phone…
@RassilonianLegate @technology @pluralistic I have to say, Plasma Mobile is certainly looking increasingly tempting…
I’m also looking for a Linux phone. I don’t even need broad app support. I need calls, text (including MMS), and a web browser.
You don’t know if any active communities on the subject, do you?
Edit: I’m willing to donate, I’m just not sure who to donate to
Get a PinePhone Pro. It can do all of those things. I’m typing on mine now with the keyboard case.
I have a non pro pinephone. But it’s been a minute since I’ve used it. Where is it at with software? If I go home and update it all the way, which is the most usable OS?
I’d love to make the switch