• Google announces drastic privacy changes across products; users can't opt out
    47 replies, posted
[img]http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/01/24/National-Economy/Images/googile_irishhq.JPG[/img] [quote]Google will soon know far more about who you are and what you do on the Web. The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine. Google has already been collecting some of this information. But for the first time, it is combining data across its Web sites to stitch together a fuller portrait of users. Consumers who are logged into Google services won’t be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect March 1. And experts say the policy shift will invite greater scrutiny from federal regulators of the company’s privacy and competitive practices. FAQ: What exactly will Google be able to collect and integrate? How does this affect me? The move will help Google better tailor its ads to people’s tastes. If someone watches an NBA clip online and lives in Washington, the firm could advertise Washington Wizards tickets in that person’s Gmail account. Consumers could also benefit, the company said. When someone is searching for the word “jaguar,” Google would have a better idea of whether the person was interested in the animal or the car. Or the firm might suggest e-mailing contacts in New York when it learns you are planning a trip there. But consumer advocates say the new policy might upset people who never expected their information would be shared across so many different Web sites. A user signing up for Gmail, for instance, might never have imagined that the content of his or her messages could affect the experience on seemingly unrelated Web sites such as YouTube. “Google’s new privacy announcement is frustrating and a little frightening,” said Common Sense Media chief executive James Steyer. “Even if the company believes that tracking users across all platforms improves their services, consumers should still have the option to opt out — especially the kids and teens who are avid users of YouTube, Gmail and Google Search.” Google can collect information about users when they activate an Android mobile phone, sign into their accounts online or enter search terms. It can also store cookies on people’s computers to see which Web sites they visit or use its popular maps program to estimate their location. The change to its privacy policies come as Google is facing stiff competition for the fickle attention of Web surfers. It recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing last week to meet earnings predictions. Apple, in contrast, reported record earnings Tuesday that blew past even the most optimistic expectations. Some analysts said Google’s move is aimed squarely at Apple and Facebook — which have been successful in building unified ecosystems of products that capture people’s attention. Google, in contrast, has adopted a more scattered approach, but an executive said in an interview that the company wants to create a much more seamless environment across its various offerings. “If you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services,” Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy for product and engineering, wrote in a blog post. “In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” she said. Google said it would notify its hundreds of millions of users of the change through an e-mail and a message on its Web sites. It will apply to all of its services except for Google Wallet, the Chrome browser and Google Books. The company said the change would simplify the company’s privacy policy — a move that regulators encouraged. Still, some consumer advocates and lawmakers remained skeptical. “There is no way anyone expected this,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy advocacy group. “There is no way a user can comprehend the implication of Google collecting across platforms for information about your health, political opinions and financial concerns.” Added Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus: “It is imperative that users will be able to decide whether they want their information shared across the spectrum of Google’s offerings.” Google has increasingly been a focus of Washington regulators. The company recently settled a privacy complaint by the Federal Trade Commission after it allowed users of its now-defunct social-networking tool Google Buzz to see contacts lists from its e-mail program. And a previous decision to use its social network data in search results has been included in a broad FTC investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is private. Federal officials are also looking at whether Google is running afoul of antitrust rules by using its dominance in online searches to favor its other business lines. Claudia Farrell, a spokeswoman for the FTC, declined to comment on any interaction between Google and regulators on its new privacy changes.[/quote] [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-tracks-consumers-across-products-users-cant-opt-out/2012/01/24/gIQArgJHOQ_story.html]SOURCE[/url] Edit: Actually you can opt out [url]http://google.com/ads/preferences[/url] Click Opt-Out. You can also check what they know about you.
if there's anyone i trust with this data it's google
This reminds me of the post about the guy who was kicked out of their house for advertisements of gay sites on his facebook page.
[QUOTE=Protocol7;34389505]if there's anyone i trust with this data it's google[/QUOTE] they sell your information to everyone and anyone, so i doubt theres much trust to be had
Seems harmless enough, until they sell all your data to advertising companies.
[QUOTE=Bobie;34389554]they sell your information to everyone and anyone, so i doubt theres much trust to be had[/QUOTE] What are they going to do with my info? Give me advertisements tailored to my hobbies/likes? Oh gosh that must be awful
Jokes on you google I have yahoo mail!
[QUOTE=Bobie;34389554]they sell your information to everyone and anyone, so i doubt theres much trust to be had[/QUOTE] In that case why haven't I been bombarded with spam emails?
[QUOTE=The golden;34389632]Damn right they are. You would be a fool to think they were doing anything else.[/QUOTE] So the fact that they have de-listed Chrome from Google for 60 days is irrelevant then.. Google's stuff appears at the top when you google for stuff because its that popular.
Not that it's any related to this especific news, but have you noticed that google has turned a little evil lately (ever since Sergey Brin took over as the CEO)? [editline]25th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Jsm;34389681]So the fact that they have de-listed Chrome from Google for 60 days is irrelevant then.. Google's stuff appears at the top when you google for stuff because its that popular.[/QUOTE] plus if you google "browser" every major browser appears except Chrome
[QUOTE=barttool;34389696]plus if you google "browser" every major browser appears except Chrome[/QUOTE] I get the Wikipedia page for Chrome and a link to the install page. It's different for everyone.
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil[/url]
The ad categories are spot on.
Apparently I can't opt out, since it complains about missing cookies. Guess that's [I]Adblock+'s[/I] and [I]HTTPS everywhere's[/I] work.
[QUOTE=The golden;34389825][t] http://filesmelt.com/dl/Capture357.JPG[/t] Notice how it's an ad, not just a search result.[/QUOTE] They are paid ads. Just because its Google ads from Google doesn't make it strange. Judging by the fact that Google de-listed Chrome for breaking its rules they operate seperately so for those ads to have appeared the department responsbile for Chrome has purchased ads from Adsense, probally via a third party advertising company who manages all of Chromes marketing. [editline]25th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Van-man;34390146]Apparently I can't opt out, since it complains about missing cookies. Guess that's [I]Adblock+'s[/I] and [I]HTTPS everywhere's[/I] work.[/QUOTE] If you can't opt out then I [I]think[/I] it means you can't be opt-in'd either.
Uhh, if I understand correctly, this only changes the Google ads to something relevant to my interests?
[quote]Your categories Below you can review the interests and inferred demographics that Google has associated with your cookie. You can remove or edit these at any time. Arts & Entertainment Arts & Entertainment - Comics & Animation - Anime & Manga Business & Industrial - Transportation & Logistics - Mail & Package Delivery Games - Computer & Video Games Games - Computer & Video Games - Shooter Games Games - Online Games - Massive Multiplayer Games - Puzzles & Brainteasers Games - Roleplaying Games Online Communities - Photo & Video Sharing - Photo & Image Sharing Reference - Language Resources Your demographics We infer your age and gender based on the websites you've visited. You can remove or edit these at any time. Age: 18-24 Gender: Male[/quote] Woah, this is kinda scary. Though I can't say it isn't really surprising. I have AdBlock running 24/7, though, so I've never seen any of these tailored ads.
Google is "trustworthy" in the sense that they haven't snapped and completely abused the power they hold/sell all the information they have. Yet. But I still feel very uncomfortable about this surveillance in general and I'm somewhat paranoid about being associated with wrong things because of missing context or general misinterpretations by the system. Am I impatient for closing the last 20 YouTube videos before the 30 second mark? Or did I just leave open a lot of music and tried to close all of it after restarting my browser and being overwhelmed by the earrape? Am I a gun nut or am I gonna run amok soon because of my age group and because I look up a lot of gun designs and how to build explosives out of simple things? Or am I doing research on that stuff for the sake of writing a narrative while avoiding the mistakes a lot of people make if they don't do that research? I remember someone talking with another about how to murder a person and the police that had put surveillance on the phone line got active - only to find out the guy was talking about his crime novel. In France I think, maybe from around '08-'09.
Google is "trustworthy" now, but what say in 10 years? I trust no website.
Scary, but I don't think Google will abuse the information any time soon.
This reminds me of Origin. Also, one of the reason I don't use a lot of my private information except for Name and Surname, and even then I changed it not long ago to more conspirative once.
One of the advantages to these policy changes is under 18's will finally (legally) be allowed to use several of Google's services. ( G+ as the big one. )
So now when I type "Santorum" into my search engine I will get the results that...no wait...I'm not sure which is worse.
[QUOTE=Shugo;34390466]Woah, this is kinda scary. Though I can't say it isn't really surprising. I have AdBlock running 24/7, though, so I've never seen any of these tailored ads.[/QUOTE] How did you get to where it told you this stuff? I'm guessing you have to have a gmail account?
Ahaha, awesome, Google changed my gender and put me into the completely different age group because I put bullshit info into my YouTube account when I made it. :v: Facepunch knows my nationality better, too.
Oh no, Google will know that I'm interested in technology news and video games.
WELP, I guess I can't use Google for my porn-searching anymore :v:
I think this is good. I mean it's not as if some guy sits there watching what you do, it's aggregate data no one looks at or cares about apart from you, and it stops you getting adverts for viagra (unless, of course, you need it) [editline]25th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Bobie;34389554]they sell your information to everyone and anyone, so i doubt theres much trust to be had[/QUOTE] Please, tell me your sources Or did you just pull that out your ass
I wonder what google will think of the porn I watch.
Uhh... ... is it bad that I used a YouTube account to watch some of the videos from the "Not Porn Porn" thread?
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