05/06/2024
Just Now:
An ADT (home monitoring/security) salesman knocked on the front door. I opened and listened attentively to the kid's pitch until he said, "A lot of people don't know this but ADT and Google are effectively the same company now and..." at which point every alarm in my head screamed "never!"
I responded, "So it's not enough that my phone listens in on everything I say even though I've instructed Google to NOT do so and now Google prefers to watch me undress, come and go, know when AND count the number of times my doors and windows open or close, how precisely many people are at home, where they are, what they're doing, what they look like, build biometric records and profiles of every living soul willing to pay Google to monitor me like cattle? Have you heard of a country called China where this kind of authoritarian tracking is the law? And do YOU really wanna play a part in the destruction of your own privacy and freedom... AND MINE?"
Him: blank stare. "So would you want to take advantage of this for free for 1 year as a model home in this neighborhood?"
Me: "It's enough that the vacuum cleaner knows where every piece of furniture in this house is and how to put itself back on the charger.... so, no."
I did some checking after he left.
In 2020, Google bought 6% of ADT and promised this "next gen" security system. Google and ADT's security package: Google screens and cameras and ADT's software, sensors, and hub. Google's plans for a security system are starting to take shape.
Notice the words: "starting to take shape."
