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Clover looks interesting
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Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Jul 15, 2021 at 02:47 PM
I agree that the inconsistencies between what the developers categorically say on the website and what is spelled out in the privacy policy are troubling. I reached out to the Clover team with my concerns. I got an almost immediate response from the primary developer (Tom) and was told that their policy is what they say in the FAQ:
“We do not track any personally identifiable information. Additionally we do not sell or share user data with third parties.
“We do track anonymous application usage data (such as feature usage) to help inform our product direction and roadmap. We also track application errors which may include user information such as page titles and user names.”
The privacy policy, he said, is boiler plate from their lawyers.
Small developers like this are going to have these kinds of issues. They rely on their lawyers to handle this stuff and trust that it is just a formality. It is good to let them know that these details matter to potential users. Tom thanked me for bringing this to his attention and said he is going to confer with the lawyer to fix the inconsistencies. Nevertheless, I suspect their won’t be too much, if any, change in the privacy policy as any investors in the company will want their asses covered.
Personally, I am going to trust the developer’s word. Clover has real potential to be a game-changer for me. Of course, I am in no way trying to convince anyone else to trust them.
Steve
Posted by exatty95
Jul 15, 2021 at 03:57 PM
Steve,
Have you started using it from scratch, or have you cobbled together a way to get existing notes from another app?
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Jul 15, 2021 at 04:46 PM
I have been using it from scratch. To be honest, my notes are scattered over so many apps that an import feature wouldn’t do me a lot of good, but that is currently a missing feature, as is export.
There are other missing features… such as you can’t yet drag and drop a PDF into a doc.
This is the problem with beta releases. It’s a bit like getting a steak grilled on just one side. It looks and smells like a steak… gets your appetite going, but then you turn it over and realize its still just a slab of beef. But it is raw meat for CRIMPers like me.
Steve
exatty95 wrote:
Steve,
>
>Have you started using it from scratch, or have you cobbled together a
>way to get existing notes from another app?
Posted by Simon
Jul 15, 2021 at 06:02 PM
That is one thing I would never do. The bottom line is their policy, not their word. Plus, if you look at the actual wording in their policy it is clear they are looking to datamine to sell adverts. Why does a company telling me they are interested in helping me create, organise and process my thoughts, need to know my network service provider, phone number, what website I’m coming from and what website I’m going to after I leave their app? There’s also the troubling statement that if they sell the company they have the right to sell your data.
I used to be keen on supporting startups and the like, but in the last 10 years the number that have sold out to big conglomerates has stopped me supporting. I sometimes wonder if they create a product, make it a big hit and then sell it and retire.
There’s also no information on who’s running CloverApp. There is no “about” page, no address, no mention of GDPR nor where your data is stored, nor if it’s encrypted…I could go on.
My most valued asset is my data. There is no way it is being copied onto a server who-knows-where and entrusted to people who don’t identify themselves.
I would really urge caution. If Cloverapp is genuine, they will address these issues (which they should have done at startup). Transparency is paramount.
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>Personally, I am going to trust the developer’s word. Clover has real
>potential to be a game-changer for me. Of course, I am in no way trying
>to convince anyone else to trust them.
>
>Steve
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Jul 15, 2021 at 06:17 PM
Regarding where the data is stored, they say this in their FAQ:
“Your data is secure. Clover uses Google Firebase to store all user data which is encrypted both at rest and in transit using HTTPS. For more information on how we store and secure your data please refer to the Google Firebase Privacy and Security page.”
Admittedly, the website isn’t very informational about the company, but if you join the Slack Community you’ll see they are four guys.
Frankly, I’m not sure what they are going to learn about me that Google hasn’t already found out.
Steve
Simon wrote:
That is one thing I would never do. The bottom line is their policy, not
>their word. Plus, if you look at the actual wording in their policy it
>is clear they are looking to datamine to sell adverts. Why does a
>company telling me they are interested in helping me create, organise
>and process my thoughts, need to know my network service provider, phone
>number, what website I’m coming from and what website I’m going to after
>I leave their app? There’s also the troubling statement that if they
>sell the company they have the right to sell your data.
>
>I used to be keen on supporting startups and the like, but in the last
>10 years the number that have sold out to big conglomerates has stopped
>me supporting. I sometimes wonder if they create a product, make it a
>big hit and then sell it and retire.
>
>There’s also no information on who’s running CloverApp. There is no
>“about” page, no address, no mention of GDPR nor where your data is
>stored, nor if it’s encrypted…I could go on.
>
>My most valued asset is my data. There is no way it is being copied onto
>a server who-knows-where and entrusted to people who don’t identify
>themselves.
>
>I would really urge caution. If Cloverapp is genuine, they will address
>these issues (which they should have done at startup). Transparency is
>paramount.
>
>Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>>Personally, I am going to trust the developer’s word. Clover has real
>>potential to be a game-changer for me. Of course, I am in no way trying
>>to convince anyone else to trust them.
>>
>>Steve