Google Duo, Hangouts & Meet
Summary
Google Duo, Google Hangouts, Google Meet. Three services provided by Google. Google Duo is a video call app simple to use that can hold up to 12 participants. Google Hangouts allows video calls up to 25 participants, but also can be used for phone calls and text chats. Google Meet is Google's business-grade video conferencing option, for up to 100 participants, built into a paid version of G Suite.
Breach History
Has there ever been a breach or data leak?
Date of last breach
October 2018
A Google+ software update that occurred in November 2018 which contained a bug affecting the Google+ API. This led to approximately 52.5 million Google users having their data breached; however, Google claimed that this information was only available to third party app developers for only six days and was not misused in any way.
Privacy Checklist
Is any kind of biometric data collected (health, heart, voice, etc.)?
Are you able to delete your data / the data collected about you?
Does it use cookies, telemetry, or third-party tracking scripts?
Is the privacy policy user-friendly (easy to understand)?
Does it have parental controls?
Does it use encryption to protect your data both in-transit and at-rest?
Does it get regular software and / or firmware updates?
Does it require you to create a strong password?
Is there a system in place for managing security vulnerabilities?
Does it have a privacy policy?
How Can It Snoop?
Does it have a camera or request / require access to a camera?
Does it have a microphone or request / require access to a microphone?
Does it track your location or request / require access to location data?
Account Requirements
Does it require an email address to use?
Does it require a phone number to use?
Does it require an address (home or office) to use?
Payment Options
Are you able to use a credit card as a payment option?
Are you able to use a cryptocurrency as a payment option?
Are you able to use PayPal as a payment option?
Are you able to use cash or gift cards as a payment option?
What Could Go Wrong?
Google Duo is end-to-end encrypted, which ensures calls are very secure. Hangouts and Meet do not but still have some encryption. Google does a pretty good job with security, and many people use Google products. However, since it is Google, Google uses all personal information to serve relevant ads in products and services.
How Does It Share Your Data?
Google collects information on users that can include names, birthdays, email, phone numbers, location, and apps you use. Google uses personal information to show relevant ads in Google products, on partner websites, and in mobile apps. Google states that customers own their personal data and there is no selling of this data to third parties. However, Google does get paid by these ad-promoters.
Good Things
- Google's security system is secure and heavily encrypted.
- Easy to use and can connect many people at once.
- Updates apps around three times a year for updates and security issues.
Bad Things
- Personal information is stored in Google, they use personal information for ads.
- Not many cons besides personal information storage from Google.
Final Thoughts
By using Google products, Google obtains information such as your search history, location, websites and apps you have used, videos and ads you have seen, and more, which allows them to target you with personalized ads. Google also suffered a major data breach in 2018, which exposed the information of about 52.5 million users. Therefore, Google should not be wholeheartedly trusted to protect your personal information.