But the move also raises plenty of questions. For instance, does Google intend to profit solely from sales of Nest’s hardware or does it see other opportunities to make money from these gadgets, perhaps by placing ads on screens? And what will happen to all of the data generated by Nest’s gizmos? That is more than an academic question given Google’s chequered history on data-privacy issues. Nest says its existing privacy policy will not change for now, but has not ruled out modifications in future. Expect privacy activists to turn up the heat on Google at the first sign of any shift in position.
