Nest: any future changes would be of completely transparent and opt-in nature
Google shocked the world last week when they announced they were buying Nest for $3.2 billion. Nest creates connected home products such as smoke detectors, CO2 monitors and thermostats. Their products allow consumers to monitor and adjust home conditions while they’re away, and gives folks advanced thermostat control that you might not find in simpler, cheaper products.
But not everyone was willing to throw streamers and blow horns over the occasion. Nest’s new connection with Google had a lot of folks worried about its future, with many thinking Google would try and get their hands on yet another source of data to better target you in their main business of advertising.
Nest and Google tried to nip those fears in the bud by reiterating Nest would continue as an independently-operated entity and that Google didn’t have plans to dip their hands into the information cookie jar. Now, they’re doing even more to help ease folks’ mind.
Speaking at he DLD Conference in Munich, Germany, CEO Tony Fadell mentioned that they currently had no plans to do anything than what was already on their roadmap, which is not a bad idea considering their acquisition deal has yet to be finalized. It’s never wise for a company to get too far ahead of themselves in these sorts of situations, so we wouldn’t be surprised to learn Google really is keeping good distance.
That could change in the future, though, and Fadell says users won’t have to worry then, either:
If there are ever any changes whatsoever, we will be sure to be transparent about it, number one, and number two, for you to opt-in to it.
In other words, if Google does, in fact, do something like use Nest’s data to integrate information about your home’s condition into Google Now or possibly use it for advertising, you will know about it and you won’t be forced to use it.
Not all of us are so paranoid to believe Google would finagle our data without telling us, so it’s nice to get some reassurance for those who are. For now, we’re just going to sit back and watch how this exciting marriage plays out.
[via The Next Web]