What Google can -- and can’t -- do with the data it acquires with Nest

[Commentary] The $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest will bring a whole new class of personal data under Google’s control: information about what happens inside your home. So it’s not surprising that privacy questions are already looming large.

In reality, Nest’s privacy policy puts constraints on how the information it collects can be used. But that still appears to leave Google a fair amount of latitude -- and it hasn’t ruled out policy changes in future to make even greater use of the data. Nest founder Tony Fadell said privacy issues were very much on his mind when he began talking to Google about an acquisition: “They very much convinced us that they really hold privacy as a tenet of what they do everyday. Our data is not going to get co-mingled with their data unless there is incredible value and the customer sees that value and they opt in.” There are two aspects of Nest’s current privacy policy that have a bearing. One is that it will do nothing to stop Google from getting its hands on all the data that Nest’s devices collect. Nest only needs a customer’s explicit approval if it wants to hand the data to a third party. Google won’t be a third party once the acquisition is completed. The other relevant part of the privacy policy is the one that limits how Nest -- and, in future, Google -- can use the data it collects: “We use this information to provide and improve Nest products and services, including information and recommendations about your energy use. We may use your email address to send you this information, or to ask you to participate in surveys about your Nest use.”