two can play this game. allow me to pick apart out of context quotes from the post.

Data isn’t inherently good or bad, useful or useless; therefore, access to data does not equal access to insights that will be beneficial to product development (and, ultimately, user experience).

yes, data is neutral. the application of said data is what enhances the product/user experience.

Throwing data at a problem doesn’t necessarily make it solvable, but it certainly causes the challenges and chance of errors to soar.

more data generally leads to more accurate conclusions that can be drawn from the data.

Before the advent of Google, people managed to get to work and appointments on time quite often.

seriously? this argument can be used against any innovation and is insane. example: before the discovery of fire, people managed to eat meat. technology enhances the experience.

Data is not knowledge, nor is it necessarily even accurate

no one is arguing that it is.

Dustin’s subsequent statement that “advertisers do not get my information from Google” is, I believe, incredibly misinformed

it's not. google's data is not shared to advertisers.

Privacy is not a binary mode, but rather a complex spectrum

fair point.

With all due respect to the author

lol, sure.

Where entrusting personal data to a product or brand may provide benefit to some, it can equally deliver misery to others

agreed, the best example i can think of is Apple's iCloud photo breach last month. though no other product in recent history has violated privacy on this level. (though it's really a security issue, but it seems like we're treating the two as the same thing these days.)

By handing over our information without regard for its sanctity and value

this last bit is compelling, though the societal problems with sharing private data is a user issue. so many people agree to permissions of an app without ever reading them. users are always notified of data gathering, it's on them to take it seriously.

The argument from the original post was so weak that it hardly deserved a rebuttal but Cole did a great job either way. Apps shouldn't need to rely on violating the privacy of their users (even with consent) in order to function 100% properly.

Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt has said “Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.”

Doesn’t exactly make me comfortable.

I don’t think the private-information-for-advertising way is not worth having or can’t make a better experience, I think the problem is that companies such as Google and Facebook can cross the line of responsibility and tend to keep pushing themselves further over it as time goes on.

Data is not knowledge – that’s a great point.

I get the vibe this person has never had to build something requiring personalization before.