I've experienced enough about Google to believe that their experience could be exactly what was described.
On the other hand looking at links like https://angel.co/pingjam I have to admit that they were doing something that was going to feel a lot like privacy invasion. Knowing who you were calling, and using that to target relevant ads?
Facebook is now scanning SMS on Android, ostensibly for 2 factor authentication, but it's easy to see them mining the data for advertising purposes. I wonder how Google will react to that.
On the other hand looking at links like https://angel.co/pingjam I have to admit that they were doing something that was going to feel a lot like privacy invasion. Knowing who you were calling, and using that to target relevant ads?