Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai Takes Jibe at Apple, Says ‘Privacy Cannot Be a Luxury Good’

Posted by Rajesh Pandey on May 09, 2019 in Google, News

Sundar Pichai

Apple has always highlighted the fact that all its products and services are built with user privacy in mind. The company values the privacy of its users like no other. However, there’s also the fact that the high price of Apple products essentially puts them out of reach for many thereby putting a luxury tag on the whole privacy aspect. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has now taken a jibe at Apple for this very thing in an op-ed written for the New York Times.

Pichai says in the op-ed that “privacy cannot be a luxury good” which can only be available to people who can “afford to buy premium products and services.” While Pichai’s statements are definitely true, it comes at a time when Google announced a number of privacy-focused announcements at Google I/O 2019. Facebook also did something similar last month when Mark Zuckerberg promised a version of Facebook that’s more respectable to a user’s privacy.

Our mission compels us to take the same approach to privacy. For us, that means privacy cannot be a luxury good offered only to people who can afford to buy premium products and services. Privacy must be equally available to everyone in the world.

In the past, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has frequently made remarks of how Google invades user privacy and mines their collected data to create new features and to earn money. After all, Google’s primary money-making business is still to show targeted ads to its users. While these statements are true, it is clear that Google realizes the importance of privacy in this day and age and is looking to turn a new leaf in that aspect.

We Want to Hear From You

It is definitely quite ironic to see Google’s CEO take a jibe at Apple for anything that’s related to privacy. The company’s recent efforts towards user privacy are commendable, but is it enough for you to trust the company with your data? Drop a comment and let us know!

[Via New York Times]

Subscribe to iPhoneHacks Daily Newsletter

Sign up for our iPhoneHacks Daily newsletter to get the top Apple news stories delivered to your inbox.