5:45 PM The carriers, Google and Apple all seem well positioned to know even more about their users than they did before

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

May 31, 2011

1 Min Read
Who Owns the Mobile Cloud?

5:45 PM -- Interest in users streaming and storing data and content is growing amongst service providers, vendors and mobile developers.

An IDC report, highlighted by Data Center Knowledge, suggests that "over 80 percent of mobile app developers said they are building or plan to build mobile websites this year" in hopes of staving off cross-platform and operating system fragmentation.

Which is interesting and all, but my first thought in all of this is, if we are storing more and more of our valuable personal data on a remote server somewhere -- who owns the mobile cloud?

It seems like the carriers, as well as major vendors like Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), are in the best position to claim some ownership of the cloud. Recent revelations about Apple and Android storing user location data on the phone give me -- and maybe you too -- a slight pause about how much of my personal data I want stored on carrier or vendor servers.

Even though they say they don't use it, it's an incredible amount of information that your carrier or phone provider can glean about you. Before we get our heads too far in the clouds I believe it is worth considering who owns that data and what they might do with it.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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