Nest users are concerned that they have just opened their homes to Google

Jan 14, 2014 08:00 GMT  ·  By

The ink has barely dried on the deal between Google and Nest and critics are already screaming about privacy concerns.

Why? Well, they’re pretty justified. Users originally signed on to share their private data with one company, namely Nest, and now the agreement is transferred to another one.

It’s not your run-of-the-mill company either; it’s Google. Given the Internet giant’s history with data sharing and the fact that it makes its money by collecting user information that it sells to advertisers, it’s fairly easy to understand why everyone is so concerned.

When you deal with the likes of Google, Yahoo and Facebook, you know what you’re getting yourself into and where and how your private data will be handled. But with Nest, a device you let into your house and mount on a wall, allowing it to learn your daily habits, Google wasn’t originally a part of the deal.

Nest was already involved in collecting data that would help the company improve the products and services and users were relatively ok with this, though even then they showed some reluctance.

Either way, privacy activists are having a field day with the news about Google and Nest. Let’s paint the picture. Nest contains motion sensors that can detect movement within a home. Basically, it can predict where a person spends most of its time when at home, when the user comes home and goes out, when it goes to work, what time it goes to bed.

Combine that with all the other data Google has on an individual and you get a fairly accurate description of your daily life.

The scandal hasn’t even reached maximum levels yet. When Google pushes for Google+ integration for Nest users (which is very likely to happen at one point or another), that’s when the loudest complaints will be made.