

Ask HN: Do you use Google Now? - mkaziz

I kind of wanted to get a general feeling on how people feel about Google Now. I&#x27;m severely tempted to install it on my Nexus, but am balking at Google knowing my location history over time.<p>Do you use Now anyway? If not or if you have concerns, what are they?
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tokenadult
Yes, I use it. Once Google Now gave me a fantastically useful recommendation
for an Indian restaurant when I was on a trip out of town. The restaurant was
within walking distance of my hotel, but I never would have known it was there
without Google Now. That alone made me glad I have Google Now on my Nexus 4.

[http://kckormasutra.net/](http://kckormasutra.net/)

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elyasali
I'm finding Google Now to be a very cool idea. I know Google is constantly
mining my data for ad purposes. Google Now points some of that in my
direction. It's still feels like it's in beta, let's hope it doesn't get the
Google Axe.

On a side note with Glass and Google Now, I can't help but think Google will
want to listen in on my daily conversations and serve relevant ads. Like if
I've been talking about how I need to get my oil changed, then Google could
send me a coupon to a Jiffy Lube nearby. Or maybe just drive my car there!

P.S. Great place! Congrats on the find.

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jongibbins
Google Now is great if you travel a lot by road and have regularly occurring
destinations and/or at regular times. It has a great ability to predict "Are
you going to xyz?" \- If you answer yes, it already knows where you are going
and presents the satnav all ready to go with traffic reports etc. I find that
so so handy.

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mrschwabe
I try not to use anything related to Google. This includes their technologies
like Go and AngularJS. Not that the NSA has necessarily compromised those too,
but it's a matter of principal; the same reason I don't shop at Wal-Mart or
eat at McDonalds: I do not trust them to do the right thing.

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mkaziz
Do you actually succeed at this? TMK there's no decent alternative to Gmail
and Gvoice, the two things that keep me hooked the most.

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mrschwabe
Not sure about voice, but a decent alternative to Gmail is Zoho's email
solution.

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kintamanimatt
Nope. Google Now would piss me off no end so I disabled it. It'd constantly
disturb me with crap I didn't need to or want to know. In fact, it really
didn't contribute any value to my life and at times just felt creepy.

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junto
Partially on.

I find it too creepy. Especially after the Snowden leaks. My life isn't that
interesting, but still. If my location data could be anonymised somehow then
I'd be more happy allowing Google access to my location data.

I do use the reminder feature though, which is part of Google Now I believe.

TL;DR: I have location sharing switched off on my Nexus 4 because I find it
intrusive. Google Now is switched on, but useless without location data.

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mkaziz
So I guess I should just keep it off. I wouldn't be surprised of Google does
track my location anyway despite location services turned off, and just
doesn't show it to me.

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IvyMike
The phone company already knows your location history, so I'm like why not.

The annoyance with Google Now is the fickleness of what it decides to give
you. "This would be the perfect time for card X" means it will probably be the
one time it doesn't show up.

"It's 2am, he's leaving a concert somewhere strange in Los Angeles... let's
show him the "Drive to Work" card."

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teddyc
Yes, I use it and I think it is pretty cool. Mostly, it is just a quick way to
navigate to what I need on my smart phone without having to open the app
folder, find the app, navigate to the item of interest within the app. It also
integrates nicely with calendar events and Google Keep. You might be able to
use it (in limited capacity) without sharing location data.

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relaunched
I travel a lot and have standard routes, so flights, drive times, etc are
great. Also, it knows the sports teams I like, so the info is usually around
when I want it.

However, the most amazing thing is when I get email receipts with tracking
info in them, I get a card that reminds me of it, with a link to check the
status.

Pretty amazing and only getting better.

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eswat
I used to until 4.4 introduced Web Updates, so Google Now would bug we with
updates to websites I don’t even remember visiting or haven’t been to in ages.
They said in Help that there was a way to turn off that feature but I was only
able to turn off specific cards for each site…

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contextual
No. Searching on Google is akin to using a public washroom where video cameras
have been installed.

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thrillgore
I do a lot of driving to get around, and Google Now has been a huge help in
the very simple things I need my phone to do -- navigation, scheduling, and so
forth.

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jayadeeptp
Yes, I use it to check weather and get traffic updates. quite less information
is shown on cards. But, if you are not using it, you aren't missing much!

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mattdotc
I use it to know traffic and weather, as well as keep track of shipments, but
I do not use Web Search History.

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jamesjguthrie
Yep, I like the way it tells me how long my journey to uni in the morning is
going to take.

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hhimanshu
Yes

