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Connect 4.15 Confusing Contacts permission question

In case anyone wonders about that new contacts feature: "Our new contacts feature can securely store your contact list on our servers. Adding Contacts to Garmin Connect allows you to use safety features like LiveTrack, incident detection and Assistance. Without Contacts, these features will be disabled. [..] Would you like us to add contact information that you have previously stored in Connect?"

On first view it looks as if your entire phone's contact list will be uploaded to Garmin servers, but "information that you have PREVIOUSLY stored in Connect" is something else. I tried it and it only uploads the single email address I have previously used for livetrack.

0 alexeames over 6 years ago

Yes. Same here. Just two emails (one of which is mine to check how LiveTrack works).
I pointed this out to the guy who was upset about this in another thread, but I think I was studiously ignored.
People like feeling outraged, it seems. :rolleyes:

0 AntonGu over 6 years ago

If only e-mail (or whatever) used for LiveTrack is being transferred, then Garmin could have been clearer that it's not the whole phone contact list they want. That "previously" is very easy to miss or misunderstand, and then it looks like a data grab.

Would you mind sharing how did you check the scope of the transferred data? I'd appreciate that.

0 Bit over 6 years ago

When I entered the email address for Livetrack, the app had only one entry listed under "Contacts"; the email address used previously. It does not search in the phones contact list to find an email address while I type it in under "Invite friends". To me that seems a better arrangement than before, but of course I can't check if my contact list was not somehow uploaded, I just think it would be too much of a risk for too little gain for a reputable company like Garmin who have improved lots to comply with GDPR, to retrieve contacts that are of no use to them. It is just the choice of words that could be clearer I guess.

0 alexeames over 6 years ago

I'm guessing this is retroactively asking for permission for something which was already happening. Quite likely the contact info for 'Livetrack contacts" was already going on the servers and someone realised this was a breach of GDPR so they started asking for it. Also quite likely that in order to be properly compliant they had to ask permission for Android contacts (even if not using them - but I can't tell if they are or not - I doubt it to be honest. I don't think Garmin has Facebook ambitions).

0 alexeames over 6 years ago

If only e-mail (or whatever) used for LiveTrack is being transferred, then Garmin could have been clearer that it's not the whole phone contact list they want. That "previously" is very easy to miss or misunderstand, and then it looks like a data grab.

Would you mind sharing how did you check the scope of the transferred data? I'd appreciate that.

When you grant permission for access to contacts it shows you the LiveTrack contacts. It's impossible to say whether or not it does anything with any other contacts.