Changes Coming to Google's Privacy Policy
By: Big 2 News Staff
Updated: February 23, 2012
For millions of Americans, Google represents the center of their digital
lives.
In the morning most people do some variation of the following every single day: check the headlines on Google News, send emails using Gmail, use Google Maps for driving directions, or Google's search to find information.
Google knows almost everything about you. Which is why privacy watchdogs are sounding the alarm about Google's new privacy policy. Beginning next month, the company is going to keep track of your activity across all of its sites and build a profile of you.
Google says it will use the information to improve its services. Services where, for example, a user is more likely to get better search results.
Critics say the company is stomping on privacy to bolster its advertising and in turn increase its profits. "If there are things that you want to keep private about your life. those records are all there. If there are things that you actually want to keep others from knowing about you those will be in here."
Those already nervous about Google's influence, pounced when it became known last week that the company exploited a known weakness in the Apple's Safari browser, millions of users had their searches tracked.
Johnathan Mayer, the Stanford Researcher, who uncovered the Safari breach say on the surface it may not seem like a serious transgression, other popular browsers, by default, allow Google to track web searches. And the end result, users got more targeted ads.
But for some, web searches believed to be private, were not. And that Mayer says opens the door to private information being exposed by rogue employees, internet hacking and more.
As for the new policy, Google acknowledges that quote, " People have different privacy concerns. Our goal is to be clear about what information we collect, so that you can make meaningful choices about how it is used.
The concerns over Google come as the Obama administration prepares to lay out a new online bill of rights today. The policy will set guidelines for how Internet companies should treat consumer data.
In the morning most people do some variation of the following every single day: check the headlines on Google News, send emails using Gmail, use Google Maps for driving directions, or Google's search to find information.
Google knows almost everything about you. Which is why privacy watchdogs are sounding the alarm about Google's new privacy policy. Beginning next month, the company is going to keep track of your activity across all of its sites and build a profile of you.
Google says it will use the information to improve its services. Services where, for example, a user is more likely to get better search results.
Critics say the company is stomping on privacy to bolster its advertising and in turn increase its profits. "If there are things that you want to keep private about your life. those records are all there. If there are things that you actually want to keep others from knowing about you those will be in here."
Those already nervous about Google's influence, pounced when it became known last week that the company exploited a known weakness in the Apple's Safari browser, millions of users had their searches tracked.
Johnathan Mayer, the Stanford Researcher, who uncovered the Safari breach say on the surface it may not seem like a serious transgression, other popular browsers, by default, allow Google to track web searches. And the end result, users got more targeted ads.
But for some, web searches believed to be private, were not. And that Mayer says opens the door to private information being exposed by rogue employees, internet hacking and more.
As for the new policy, Google acknowledges that quote, " People have different privacy concerns. Our goal is to be clear about what information we collect, so that you can make meaningful choices about how it is used.
The concerns over Google come as the Obama administration prepares to lay out a new online bill of rights today. The policy will set guidelines for how Internet companies should treat consumer data.
