Neon, the No. 2 social app on the Apple App Store, pays users to record their phone calls and sells data to AI firms

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/neon-no-2-social-app-195058607.html

92 points · 19 comments · view on lemmy.world

19 Comments

Speculater@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 334d

Call you friend, have them turn on GPT voice, you do the same. Corrupt the data set and make money!

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz · 21 pts · 334d (4 replies)

okay they're building evil, HOWEVER

one of the only instances I've heard of people's data (fucking hate calling it that) being paid for instead of just straight up stolen

ActuallyGoingCrazy@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 334d

The "Fetch Rewards" app that pays you to scan your receipts (and all the spinoff ones) is another example. It's one that I don't use but been recommended it by my coworkers.

SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 333d (2 replies)

Grocery store discount cards have been paying people for their data for a long time. I guess it's not money being deposited into people's bank accounts, but the discounts people get from using those cards is compensating people for their data. A lot of credit cards have points and rewards for the same reason. They aren't giving out discounts and rewards because they're nice people, they do that so you'll sign an agreement to allow them to sell your data.

It just seems to be accepted by everyone that pretty much every purchase using a card is tracked and the data sold to various marketing scumbags. The only time people get bothered by it is if their own government purchases that data... data which is being sold on an open market to scumbags around the world.

Mikina@programming.dev · 4 pts · 333d (1 reply)

I'd say it's the other way around - you're paying extra for not consenting to tracking, so it's similar (and even worse) model that i.e Facebook has. There's no way the discount card discount is not factored in the normal price calculation, and I vager most shops are counting on the product not being sold for a bit until it's it's turn for a discount.

SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 333d

Whether you are paying extra if you don't use a discount card or you're paying less if you do use the discount card, either way you look at it, there's more money in your pocket if you walk out of the grocery store after using a discount card. So you have money by handing over data to whoever the store is selling it to.

Why would you think of using a card (taking an action) as the default, as opposed to not using a card (no action) as the default?

Tronn4@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 334d

LodeMike@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 334d

Its probably #2 because such apps were banned until recently. There are infinite ways to make rankings. Something being first, second, etc. doesn't mean anything in particular.

eah@programming.dev · 7 pts · 334d

In America, you pay for app. In Soviet Russia, app pays for you!

scytale@piefed.zip · 6 pts · 334d

I’ve never even heard of that app.

Kissaki@programming.dev · 5 pts · 333d (2 replies)

When calling others not on the app? No way that is acceptable under law without the other party's consent.

maus@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 333d (1 reply)

Answered in the article. It only records your side of the call.

rollerbang@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 333d

While likely true, is it any better? I still think the other party should agree as well.

amgdvx@programming.dev · 4 pts · 333d

At least they are being honest and even pay you, this is strange to see

pound_heap@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 333d (1 reply)

People are free to whore out themselves

Turret3857@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 332d

People are free to judge people who give up fundamental rights for pocket change

meowmeowbeanz@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 333d

Gig economy reaches its final form: people literally selling their vocal cords for lunch money while corporations build billion-dollar AI models from the scraps.

The terms read like dystopian fan fiction - "worldwide, exclusive, irrevocable, transferable" rights to your voice recordings. They basically own your ability to speak forever, but hey, at least you earned enough for a Big Mac! The "anonymization" claims are particularly hilarious when voice biometrics can identify you from a whisper.

What's genius about this scam is that they've convinced reddit bros that $19/hour is good money for permanently surrendering biometric data. That's below minimum wage in most states for creating training data worth millions to AI companies. But frame it as "empowerment" instead of exploitation and watch people line up to commodify themselves.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱 Achieved peak surveillance capitalism while making it feel like liberation. This is dystopian innovation at its finest.

RaoulDuke@piefed.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 334d (2 replies)
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happysplinter@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 334d

Can I dang on them cherries, mama dee?

entwine@programming.dev · 2 pts · 333d

I see you are a man of culture.