Google+ profiles will soon be used to identify callers
Caller ID in today’s digital age is something to be desired. Most modern caller ID services will only promise information about businesses and other public numbers, but personal identification seems to be an afterthought if you don’t have the caller in your address book.
Google wants to change that. The company has announced that the new Android 4.4 KITKAT dialer will soon be able to show your name and Google+ profile picture to callers if you so choose. It’ll simply identify you using the phone number you have tied to your Google+ account. Don’t worry, though — this number is private to the world if you want it to be, and will only be used for the behind-the-scenes work that is needed to make this whole thing tick.
It would be natural for people to be resistant to accept this sort of feature, what with all the horror stories about the NSA collecting cellular data and spying on communications, and all. I’m personally a little less paranoid and less worried (I have nothing to hide in my rather boring life), but I wouldn’t blame people for wanting to opt out of this particular feature. You can head here to change your account settings in preparation for this feature, which Google says should be coming our way in 2014.
[via Google+]