Google TRUSTED CONTACTS is a horribly designed notification spam machine

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> Date: May 10, 2018 at 3:28:06 PM EDT
> To: nnsquad () nnsquad org
> Subject: [ NNSquad ] Google TRUSTED CONTACTS is a horribly designed notification spam machine
>
>
> Google TRUSTED CONTACTS is a horribly designed notification spam machine
>
> https://plus.google.com/+LaurenWeinstein/posts/NHr69TWioE6
>
> So I suddenly start getting email notifications from people I've never
> heard of supposedly sharing their locations with me. Some new phishing
> technique? NO, it's GOOGLE! Their TRUSTED CONTACTS app allows anyone
> to start sharing their location with you WITHOUT asking first if you
> want to receive these notifications! UNBELIEVABLE. AND IT GETS WORSE!
>
> While you receive these as emailed notifications, and there is a
> Google website where you can see who is sharing their locations with
> you, there apparently is no way to make them go away from the website!
> You have to install Google's Trusted Contact app to do this. (What if
> you don't have smartphone or don't understand what's going on? I guess
> you're just you-know-what out of luck!) 
>
> Wait, there's more! To install the Trusted Contacts app, you MUST
> enable location history and location sharing -- two features I
> normally do not use. 
>
> So after plowing through all this, I figure out how to delete and
> block these unwanted shares. Then I delete the Trusted Contact app,
> and have to go digging around on the Google websites and Google Maps
> Android app to turn off location history, delete the location history
> that now exists, and disable location sharing again! 
>
> If there was any easier way to do all this, I couldn't find it. The
> design and user experience is beyond dismal. Hey Google, are you
> drunk?
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren 



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-a538de84&post_id=20180510155715:5468C422-548C-11E8-B33D-EF694D347606
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com