In a recent blog announcement, Google execs managed to freak out privacy-conscious web surfers when they revealed that they are in the midst of rewriting their privacy policy, which will now consolidate their users’ information from all of Google’s services. The freak out is primarily concerned with the fact that Google is not, as of yet, offering their users an opt out option. So if you use any of Google’s many services – including YouTube and Gmail – the personal data storage the company utilizes can reveal details to the public that you may not be comfortable revealing … unless you want to stop using Google altogether.
Google reps don’t want you to fear. They recently pointed out that this consolidation has been going on for quite a while. For instance, if someone is typing a word into their calendar, a name from their contacts will pop up by auto-complete, via their address book in Gmail. Now, the company says, this will be the policy for all of Google’s products and services. The reason for the change, they say, is that now they’ll be able to target users with more specific ads.
It’s enough to make a lot of people very unhappy, as recent polls have suggested that a majority of Google users are considering closing their various accounts.
This isn’t the first negative publicity Google has faced. Google+, their social networking site and answer to Facebook, has already utilized info from its users into their searches. This hasn’t been sitting very well with either of its major competitors, Facebook and Twitter, who have raised a ruckus about the slippery nature of the slope Google is embarking upon.
The director of Google’s privacy sector recently blogged about the necessity of such a blanket privacy act, as there are already 70 privacy documents already in effect. This new policy, the company says, will be much more clear and understandable for Google’s users.
Analysts, however, aren’t surprised at this turn of events; many feel that, though disturbing, it is in the line of their business model, which, through searching and advertising, attempt to uncover what is relevant to their users. What does surprise them are the clumsy ways that Google unveils its announcements, particularly since many Americans are especially prickly when it comes to privacy. Google’s newest policies mean that, soon, they’ll know more about you than your closest loved ones.
But “competition” also seems to be the name of the game, as this move will give Google a stronger position as it squares off against Facebook. The company’s new policies will make targeting ads toward specific users much easier and thus more effective than using random ads that a non-interested user could easily ignore. Just remember that, if you aren’t logged in to any of your Google-related accounts, privacy becomes a non-issue, as none of the programs will recognize you.
If you’re studying at one of the top online computer science programs to attain one of the best computer science degrees in the country, perhaps someday soon you’ll be able to address some of these issues.
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