The world is becoming a scary place to live in. My Android
phone peeps into my Gmail. It digs out my flight details, my check-in dates at a
hotel, the weather in the city I am in, the weather in the city I am going to
and puts all the information on my screen.
Really. I was amazed to read that my flight was delayed just
by looking at my phone. I did not have to click on any link. It automatically
scanned my Gmail, checked for the status of my flight and let me know. It also
wished me a safe journey.
This GPS location thingie is becoming a nightmare. What if I
don’t want anyone to know? My friend went to her mom’s house for two days. She deactivated
her Facebook account because she didn’t want her in-laws to know (who, by the way,
live in the same city as her parents.) She didn’t want anyone to 'check her in' anywhere at all!
The day we landed in San Francisco, the Boy bought a new
mobile number. He started getting random calls from people asking him where he was!
Obviously, it was a mistake. My brain started working in myriad ways. I told
him that he checked-in on Facebook at the hotel earlier in the morning. Maybe
someone is tracking us and wants to rob us. Overdose of Discovery ID and
National Geographic I tell you.
This is not all. The way these devices store and use information
can be embarrassing. Now I saw Ye Jawani Hai Deewani in an Islamic country.
They did not show ‘the kiss’. How could I miss a Ranbir kiss. So I looked for
it on Youtube. A few days later, the Boy was looking for something on Youtube
and was amazed to see the suggested videos for me to watch (I was logged on to
Youtube while looking for the video). I HAD to disclose the reason lest he
thought I watch Mallu porn.
You have to see the suggestions for his id – NewYorkers react
to Google Glass, India vs Pakistan 1996, Android 4.3 on Nexus 4. Ah, I am the
lech of the house.
Ofcourse it has an upside.
I can never get lost. I can always find water. And I can always turn off
my GPS, my internet and everything that makes a phone smart. But what if I
forget?
Earlier, if I didn’t want my parents to spy on me, I would
just delete Internet Explorer history. Now I have no clue what all to delete! I
mean, if I don’t want to be spied on, I will have to Google the whole
process.
Thank God my teenage days are behind me. I pity the kids of today –
they have no privacy whatsoever!
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| This is just timezone that the phone spied on. I should have taken several other screen shots too! |
