Why Android's 'kill switch' is a good thing

22 comments | 133I like it!
October 17, 2008, 01:47 PM —  PC World — 

Everyone's all a-twitter over the so-called "kill switch" found in Google's first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. Here's the thing, though: Not only is it not a big deal -- it's actually a good thing.

The story, in case you haven't heard, involves a clause in Google's Android Market terms of service, linked to the new phone. The line states that if Google finds "a product that violates the developer distribution agreement," it "retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion." In other words, Google can delete stuff off your phone without your permission. At least, that's how a lot of people interpreted it.

The missing link

That cursory explanation, while not entirely untrue, leaves out one important thing: the fact that the clause states a removal will happen only if a developer violates his agreement. But semantics, as we all know in this week of presidential debating, can be misleading -- so I turned to Google for a straight-talking explanation.

"The Android Market is designed so developers can make their applications easily available to users," a spokesperson tells me. "While we encourage that community aspect, we are also very careful with the safety and security of the user. In limited cases where an application has a malicious intent, we will remove it from the Market and potentially uninstall it from user devices to ensure the safety of the Android Market community."

The Apple comparison

Now, you might remember the maker of another unnamed phone, which happens to start with a lowercase "i," offering a similar explanation when someone found a remote delete function on its device a few months ago. You might also remember that plenty of people weren't too pleased with that revelation.

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Comments

wow very

wow very interesting

http://www.jaiderbertoli.com/blog/9-blog/11-google-android-g1-apps
| reply

googles intent isn't

googles intent isn't important, its their sole discretion if the TOS was violated and then they can just remove anything they want and then after its gone they can say its malicious.
on the other hand the fact that its in the TOS basically means if this happens to you, then you shouldn't be surprised.
| reply

Right on the money

Its a good thing except if:

a) a hacker finds a way to control the kill-switch and mess with other people's devices.

b) google abuses its remote control over people's devices, ie eves-dropping, recording GPS locations and extracting profiling information for marketing/search/advertising purposes.
| reply
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Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann

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