Outed by Google: Trans community raises privacy concerns

Latest Android operating system integrates Google+, causing confusion and inadvertent outings for trans users.

Storified by AJAMStream· Fri, Jan 24 2014 15:20:12

Yep. KitKat outed me. If you and the recipient have android & you message thru Hangouts it sends a gchat even if you only have their phone #Erika Sorensen

The HR person I wanted to be my first point of contact for coming out isn't in the office today, of course.Erika Sorensen

In 33 states it is legal to fire someone solely for being transgender. While Sorensen is not a resident of one of those states, she pointed out the potentially disastrous consequences of an outing like hers for many trans people.

There're trans ppl for whom this tech flaw would get them fired, w/cascading consequences. There're trans youth who'd be outed to parents.Erika Sorensen

Many trans ppl lose everything or nearly so when they come out. This could've been utterly disastrous.Erika Sorensen

Investigative reporter Violet Blue combed Google's product forums and found many trans users expressing similar privacy concerns about KitKat's Google+ integration.

I don't remember actually giving this detail to Google, nor can I find anywhere within the settings where anything other than "Nora" is listed as a personal detail, but I'd really like it if, perhaps, I could get the undesirable legal name delisted, so that only the name I actually go by on a day-to-day basis is visible. I don't know how many other people can see me listed as such, but it's really kind of unpleasant and outing, and a bit triggering really, to see that every time I look at a hangout history or my app store details.productforums.google.com

I frantically searched through the google+ page and the youtube settings and found no option to remove connections. Eventually, I was forced to delete my entire google+ account, hoping that would at least remove my legal name from my home page... But it DIDN'T. My youtube home page still displays that information loud and clear, even though I DE-ACTIVATED MY ACCOUNT. This does not make me feel safe. I feel like my personal privacy as a human being has been stolen from me.productforums.google.com

My sister is transgendered and has yet to legally switch to female, and because of this has yet to change her name on her Google+ since she has professional contacts on her page. Until we used Google Hangouts for the first time this weekend, I had just changed her name in my contacts, and with the exception of a few e-mails, everything was showing her new name.productforums.google.com



Google + has long been accused of being trans-unfriendly. When it launched, Google+ did not allow users to use anything but legal names. In response to criticism, Google amended this policy to allow for "established identities."

The KitKat Android update is part of a general Google policy of making users' identities congruous across all of their products. In 2012, Google Vice President of Product Barry Horowitz wrote , "It’s important to remember that when you change your name in Google+, you’re changing it across all services that require a Google Profile."

For some users, this policy has resulted in consequential loss of control over their identities. Violet Blue described this difficulty in compartmentalizing one's identity on Google products as a "loaded gun pointed right at anyone whose privacy is what keeps them alive." Google regards complaints like these as a "user error," or a failure on the part of the user to understand all that a new software update entails before choosing to install it.

What do you think? Should Google modify their user profile policy? Leave a comment below.