Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) recently announced plans to make encrypted user data automatic on the upcoming Android L operating system. This announcement comes after Apple’s confirmation that iOS 8 was encrypted to protect users. Interestingly enough, both companies offered data encryption for some time, however many users didn’t know about the feature or didn’t enable it.
Google responds to Apple
During Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s official announcement yesterday, the company’s chief executive officer Tim Cook took a dig at rival Android claiming they don’t swipe user information to sell stuff. The company’s representative elaborated, “We don’t ‘monetise’ the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud and we don’t read your email or your messages to get information to market to you.”
Google responded with their take on privacy matters explaining, “For over three years, Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement. As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won’t even have to think about turning it on.”
Apple and Google are not the first phone makers to offer data encryption. Canadian tech giant BlackBerry which encrypted data for quite some time.
Google makes encrypting feature automatic
Google is designing a special feature that automatically encrypts information, only a person with the password can unlock information. Apple and Google’s latest actions show the tech industry is taking consumer privacy seriously. A few weeks ago, Apple got into trouble over leaked celebrity photos.
Customer privacy is something all tech companies, especially those who make smartphones and other mobile devices, should take seriously. It is necessary to let customers know how to protect their personal information (such as photos, videos, or contact information) from prying eyes. Apple and Google are the two leading tech companies in the mobile market which only makes this move even more important.
