I just side-loaded Android Lollipop and I found that one of the additions is Google Fit, a Google fitness tracking app. Similarly, Apple and Microsoft have launched such apps and devices. There are also numerous third party apps on the various mobile platforms. These apps are great for motivation, organization, and for learning more about yourself through data mining. I'm a big believer in big data about myself, but only when that data is owned by myself.
However, I am finding it extremely difficult finding an app that allows me to do these things, but not let the app company or other parties have that data to mine or sell.
I'd like an app that can track movement/location, steps, in which I can log calories, build plans, and export the data to csv for personal data analysis, but stores this data locally or in a cloud with encryption.
Is there such an app? While in my phd program, there is no possible way for me to have the time to build this for myself.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday November 20 2014, @10:57AM
Let's see: when the fitness app sees I've quit exercising, will my health insurance premiums go up?
And if you think I'm kidding, think again: the dystopian future Google has in store for us is nearer than you think. That innocuous-looking fitness app is probably yet another tool to reach that goal. Me no want, nosiree...
(Score: 2) by BradTheGeek on Thursday November 20 2014, @11:33AM
Yes, because having your phones GPS on for years has changed your car insurance premium. Or the fact you google pars and drugs has increased your health insurance. I hav a small tinfoil hat, but yours takes the cake.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 20 2014, @12:50PM
You are right and you are wrong.
Yes insurance rates haven't gone up. But Big Data analytics is used to extract more money from people [washingtonpost.com] - that is the fundamental value proposition of Big Data, if it weren't doing that merchants wouldn't pay for it, they expect a return on investment. And the one thing we can count on is that it will only get worse.
(Score: 2) by novak on Thursday November 20 2014, @06:13PM
Well, it's not really happening yet to THAT extent but it is coming in small doses. For example, you can get a lower car insurance rate if you carry around their black-box. And things you post on facebook can affect your insurance rates. http://www.insurancequotes.org/auto/your-social-media-could-affect-your-insurance-rates/ [insurancequotes.org]
So no, your health app won't effect your rates YET, but how long will it be until they start giving discounts to people who are willing to exercise and use the insurance companies app (and raising the price on those who don't)?
Paranoia is just reality on a finer scale.
novak
(Score: 3, Informative) by mtrycz on Thursday November 20 2014, @11:11AM
Your *only* chance on having the things you want is searching on FDroid for an opensource app. Otherwise you *could* install AFWall+ and block one of the apps you mentioned, but they would probably *not* let you export your data to cvs/whateverformat anyway.
This is just too precious not to track, for any party. Good luck with that!
In capitalist America, ads view YOU!
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Thursday November 20 2014, @02:40PM
You can also use something like XPrivacy under the XPosed framework, or even AFW Firewall to block any internet communication from on of the other fitness tracking applications. Note that XPosed does not currently work unbder Lollipop because of the ART runtime.
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Thursday November 20 2014, @11:50AM
Unless you are rolling your own, or gutting an open source offering, your chances of finding software that doesn't want to use your information for their own benefit is close to '0' (and by 'close' I mean slightly less than).
Data is one of the future's commodities. It's half way there now, but sometime before my cats learn to open the cans of food on their own (and subsequently kill me in my sleep) it will be traded openly. Some company's entire strategies will be built on "legal hacking" (such as corporations are already a protected class in the eyes of the legal system, just look at the banks) used to feed their supplies of all the data they can glom. I wouldn't be surprised if even medical data was eventually sold.
We are truly becoming the product, even those who don't directly participate in the digital world. What's next after our data? Well, what's that soylent stuff made out of?
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Thursday November 20 2014, @04:55PM
It does seem so. It just seems that if that data has value then people should harvest it and own it for themselves.
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by karmawhore on Friday November 21 2014, @06:23PM
=kw= lurkin' to please
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday November 20 2014, @12:41PM
Maybe not a phone? Like 20 years ago Garmin (a hand held GPS maker) had the tracking / mapping / exporting all taken care of. Maybe not the caloric conversion but thats all pretty bogus and just a semi-calibrated multiply away from the movement data anyway.
Having to buy a new device is not as bad as it sounds, in android world most non-root non-sideloader type people will only get 5.0 when they buy a new phone. My "ancient" first get nexus tablet was upgraded this week to 5.0 and it works fine and is marginally faster than the 4.0 series, its organizational not technical. Not to mention economic (BUY a new phone don't upgrade it...). There's talk that my Sprint MVNO phone provider might get us 4.4 sometime next year? Maybe? Then maybe 5.0 later? So whatever 5.0 solution you may find, something like 90% of the population won't be able to use it till 2015 or much later. There are still Chinese off brand tablets sitting on store shelves with 2.0 series android, or so I'm told.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 20 2014, @01:37PM
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pytrainer/ [sourceforge.net]
GPL 2+
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 20 2014, @02:31PM
Be careful. The GPL is a viral license; any muscles you will build up using this program will automatically be GPLed and therefore automatically up for use by anyone who wants!
(Score: 1) by Darth Turbogeek on Thursday November 20 2014, @09:46PM
As long as she gets on top when she's using a couple of muscles in particular, I'm okay with that
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 20 2014, @03:08PM
cool
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MrGuy on Thursday November 20 2014, @04:19PM
If it's on your personal phone you use to connect to the internet, or any device capable of connecting to the internet, then it's highly likely data will be sent.
So use a device that can't. Buy an old Android phone (super cheap on eBay), load an appropriate OS and app, then take out the SIM card and disable WiFi and/or go to airplane mode. Presto - an offline personal health device.
The data can't get off the device if the device can't communicate. Heck, if you're feeling fancy, leave bluetooth on so you can use a Fuel band or similar - just leave the long-range stuff off.
(Score: 3, Informative) by buswolley on Thursday November 20 2014, @04:52PM
This might work if i stores the tracking data locally. I think most store it in the cloud. But point noted.
subicular junctures