noiseredux wrote:
^this method says it will "pause" the data collection. Does that mean it is basically a way to "opt out" manually?
From the article JT included:
When you click on "Remove all Web History," a message appears that says " Web History is Paused." What this means is that while Google will continue gathering and storing information about your web history it will make all data anonymous, that is, Google will not associate your Web History information with your online accounts and will therefore be unable to send you customized search results.
Google's ability to gather personalized information about you by assigning data to your Gmail and YouTube accounts will remain "Paused" till you click "Resume."
I took this to the next level and deleted my Google account when this was announced. The company has lost my trust, and not just due to this. Deleting the Google account also removed my Youtube and Gmail account, but I'd rather do without those services than patronize the company at this point.
As for search, I now use http://duckduckgo.com. The results are perfectly fine, and it even does some things better than Google (e.g. small list of dis-ambiguations at the top of results, dynamically loading "pages" of results, favicons in results).
Google has always tracked data/what you browse to serve ads relevant to your interests but with the option turned off it was never linked to your Google account.
If you have GPS options turned on with an android phone and opted into them accessing that, if you opted into their ad services, if you used a google account they have always tracked what you searched and where you were.
But now they are linking it across platforms. So the data is linked to Google+, Gmail, Youtube and Google Searches. Not just showing you better ads on sites and more "relevant" search results. They have also decided to make it where you can't opt out, which to me is the sucky part. The rest is just kind of "meh".
Google announced on April 13, 2007 that it had come to a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick for US $3.1 billion in cash. DoubleClick is often linked with the controversy over spyware because browser HTTP cookies are set to track users as they travel from website to website and record which commercial advertisements they view and select while browsing. DoubleClick is considered to be malware by several commercial organizations (Adaware, Symantec, Spybot) which detect it and provide the tools to block/remove it.
DoubleClick has also been criticized for misleading users by offering an opt-out option that is insufficiently effective. According to a San Francisco IT consulting group, although the opt-out option affects cookies, DoubleClick does not allow users to opt out of IP address-based tracking.
Ok I don't like this either, but it's only attaching your web history to your accounts if you're logged in. I just went through the process, logging into an account I rarely use, and it only had one piece of search history saved. Facebook does the exact same types of things if you leave your facebook account signed in and go galavanting across the web. I ALWAYS sign out of any accounts when I'm done at a site.
Outside of that, they're doing the same stuff they've always done. Run a search and your search gets attached to your IP. Depending on the site, this search info is saved for 1 or 2 years. Which can of course be tracked back to you by anyone with proper clearance. I would question of course whether there is such a thing as "proper" clearance for anyone to do such a thing, but it's still old news.
Jrecee wrote:Ok I don't like this either, but it's only attaching your web history to your accounts if you're logged in. I just went through the process, logging into an account I rarely use, and it only had one piece of search history saved. Facebook does the exact same types of things if you leave your facebook account signed in and go galavanting across the web. I ALWAYS sign out of any accounts when I'm done at a site.
Outside of that, they're doing the same stuff they've always done. Run a search and your search gets attached to your IP. Depending on the site, this search info is saved for 1 or 2 years. Which can of course be tracked back to you by anyone with proper clearance. I would question of course whether there is such a thing as "proper" clearance for anyone to do such a thing, but it's still old news.
I thought that Facebook does keep some kind of tracking cookie that collects info on you even if you log out, provided the sites you pass through have the "Like" button.
(maybe they don't do that any more after they were called on it, I'm not sure what the current status is)
According to Google's transparency report, in the first six months of 2011, they received 5920 requests from government offices for user information, and complied with 93% of these requests. From these requests, info for 11057 google accounts was given.
Gamerforlife wrote:Remember when the internet didn't suck? Megaupload gone. Google not caring about your privacy. Facebook ruling everything. Youtube being full of ads. I could go on and on
Remember when there wasn't an internet? Of course you do....
