Google readying 'Mobile Meter' app that offers rewards for tracking mobile usage..!

Google already knows better than most how we use the internet. Now it wants to dig a little deeper and monitor your app usage as well. Engadget has learned that the company is readying a new mobile service that compensates users if they allow their mobile behavior to be monitored. We're told that the project, known internally as "Mobile Meter," utilizes iOS and Android apps that intelligently monitor app usage and web browsing habits and send the data back to Google.

Google refused to comment, as it usually does on what it considers "rumor and speculation." However, our sources tell us that the Mobile Meter program will be totally voluntary. Participants will be required to give their consent (or opt in) before joining. Google isn't the first to reward users to gather mobile trends either: Nielsen has been conducting research into mobile trends with an Android app.

Google already passively collects data to improve its apps and resources. The Google Maps app, for instance, regularly feeds back location metrics to enhance the service. Since Google won't comment, we don't know exactly which app and web metrics it intends to track with Mobile Meter. However, it will presumably enable the company to evaluate the different habits of Android and iOS users, gaining an important insight into Apple's ecosystem. We're also told Google will anonymize all of the information it collects to ensure the privacy of its panelists. Given Facebook and Google's previous mistakes, where private information was made public, Google will need to be transparent over how the opt-in service uses the data it gathers.
Source : http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/14/google-mobile-meter-tracking-ios-android-app

Google's Going to Start Sticking Your Face and Name in Ads..!

This was bound to happen. Following Facebook's highly controversial attempts to make social endorsements ubiquitous on the site, Google just announced a Terms of Service update that will enable the company to use your name, photo and endorsements in Google's advertising network.

So how does that make you feel? Google obviously wants you to feel okay about the changes. The company assured users in its announcement blog post, "On Google, you're in control of what you share." (Emphasis Google's) And that's technically true. You can opt out of the face-flaunting new feature through this settings page in Google+, but if you don't do anything, Google says it will use your information without explicit consent.

Ugh. Doing anything from leaving a YouTube comment to starring something in Google Play to giving it the +1 treatment will cause your face to show up on ads. (Users under 18, however, will not appear in ads.) Google is also somewhat vague about who will see your face: "So your friends, family and others may see your Profile name and photo, and content like the reviews you share or the ads you +1'd." Facebook, however, is less vague: "If you have selected a specific audience for your content or information, we will respect your choice when we use it."

Although the new changes don't sound awesome, Google's learned from Facebook's mistakes in a way. Facebook similarly uses your likeness in so-called Sponsored Stories, however you can't opt out. When Facebook started doing this, users freaked out and said that Facebook hadn't properly notified them about how the social network was using their endorsements. And when we say "freaked out," we mean "filed a class action lawsuit"-which they won-prompting Facebook to change the site's privacy policy. The FTC has since opened an investigation into the matter.

Obviously, Google wants to avoid the shitstorm that Facebook has endured, so they're trying to be better communicators. That doesn't detract from the fact that the search giant is going to start slinging your face and name all over the internet without your explicit consent. You'll be notified with some banner ads on Google's homepage before the new Terms of Service goes into effect on November 1. But it's up to you-and only you-to opt out if you don't like that.

Source : http://www.gizmodo.in/software/Googles-Going-to-Start-Sticking-Your-Face-and-Name-in-Ads/articleshow/23987477.cms