Jan 24 6:20 PM

Outed by Google: Trans community raises privacy concerns

by The Stream Team @ajamstream

A logo for Google Inc.'s Android operating system is displayed on an advertising sign.

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Google's latest operating system for Android, called the KitKat, has faced criticism from transgender users who say it fails to protect their privacy.

A key feature of the software is Google+ integration with contacts, SMS messages and texts. Attention was drawn to the potential problems this update poses for trans users when a trans woman named Erika Sorensen was inadvertently outed to her coworker. The software update makes the Google Hangouts instant messaging chat platform the default for all messages, so when Sorensen texted a coworker, her name appeared as Erika rather than her previous male name she was still using at work.

Erika shared the experience of being outed by Google's KitKat software update on Twitter:

View the story "Outed by Google: Trans community raises privacy concerns" on StorifyOuted by Google: Trans community raises privacy concernsLatest Android operating system integrates Google+, causing confusion and inadvertent outings for trans users.Storified by AJAMStream· Fri, Jan 24 2014 15:20:12Yep. KitKat outed me. If you and the recipient have android & you message thru Hangouts it sends a gchat even if you only have their phone #Erika SorensenThe HR person I wanted to be my first point of contact for coming out isn't in the office today, of course.Erika SorensenIn 33 states it is legal to fire someone solely for being transgender. While Sorensen is not a resident of one of those states, she pointed out the potentially disastrous consequences of an outing like hers for many trans people. There're trans ppl for whom this tech flaw would get them fired, w/cascading consequences. There're trans youth who'd be outed to parents.Erika SorensenMany trans ppl lose everything or nearly so when they come out. This could've been utterly disastrous.Erika SorensenInvestigative reporter Violet Blue combed Google's product forums and found many trans users expressing similar privacy concerns about KitKat's Google+ integration. I don't remember actually giving this detail to Google, nor can I find anywhere within the settings where anything other than "Nora" is listed as a personal detail, but I'd really like it if, perhaps, I could get the undesirable legal name delisted, so that only the name I actually go by on a day-to-day basis is visible. I don't know how many other people can see me listed as such, but it's really kind of unpleasant and outing, and a bit triggering really, to see that every time I look at a hangout history or my app store details.productforums.google.comI frantically searched through the google+ page and the youtube settings and found no option to remove connections. Eventually, I was forced to delete my entire google+ account, hoping that would at least remove my legal name from my home page... But it DIDN'T. My youtube home page still displays that information loud and clear, even though I DE-ACTIVATED MY ACCOUNT. This does not make me feel safe. I feel like my personal privacy as a human being has been stolen from me.productforums.google.comMy sister is transgendered and has yet to legally switch to female, and because of this has yet to change her name on her Google+ since she has professional contacts on her page. Until we used Google Hangouts for the first time this weekend, I had just changed her name in my contacts, and with the exception of a few e-mails, everything was showing her new name.productforums.google.comGoogle regards complaints like these as a "user error," or a failure on the part of the user to understand all that a new software update entails before choosing to install it.

Google + has long been accused of being trans-unfriendly. When it launched, Google+ did not allow users to use anything but legal names. In response to criticism, Google amended this policy to allow for "established identities."

The KitKat Android update is part of a general Google policy of making users' identities congruous across all of their products. In 2012, Google Vice President of Product Barry Horowitz wrote, "It’s important to remember that when you change your name in Google+, you’re changing it across all services that require a Google Profile."

For some users, this policy has resulted in consequential loss of control over their identities. Violet Blue described this difficulty in compartmentalizing one's identity on Google products as a "loaded gun pointed right at anyone whose privacy is what keeps them alive."

What do you think? Should Google modify their user profile policy? Leave a comment below.

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Outed by Google: Trans community raises privacy concerns

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