From the way the article puts it, I really can't see a problem.

People should know that Google is a big business... It covers many websites and they run a lot of services. It shouldn't matter if you enter a piece of information on one part of the service, because it's the same people running the data no matter where you turn.

I think it's interesting how it will be able to recognise people and things in one program if you're connected by another. The whole 'personal dossier' sounds a bit extreme, but it will just be a lot of keywords and the such. Advert services have gone on for years, so that should be nothing new - Some of which actually scan the webpage you're on and look at the text you've just written to create tailored advertisements.


The only bad thing is the phone users who signed into a contract with one deal, but are being offered services which they might not want. Aside from that, I think this can only be beneficial. I would have to see more information on it.

But if you are paranoid, and don't want a website to know anything about you, it is simple... Don't tell the website anything about yourself!

expat wrote on Mar 1^st, 2012 at 9:57am:

Yeah, you have it right. Gmail, G+, Youtube, ect. The new privacy changes mainly only affect account users.

machineman9 wrote on Mar 1^st, 2012 at 9:32am:


How is it paranoid if you don't want a website to know anything about you?  Where I live and what I like is none of their damn business and in 15 years of surfing the web, I have seen a lot more reason to withhold this information than I have seen benefits from giving it. 

Desire for privacy does not equal paranoia... 

Yet no one seems to have the slightest qualms about voluntarily furnishing intimate personal information to myspace, facebook, twitter et al.

Webb wrote on Mar 1^st, 2012 at 6:29pm:

Deleted my FB account for that very reason. Sales of information is a highly lucrative business, and ole Zuck is worth enough without my help!

Don't get me wrong. For me anyway, it's not a really matter of privacy. It's about allowing yourself to be exploited so someone else can make money. I just don't find the benifits of using services like those offered by sites like Facebook or Google, to be a fair or even trade off for the use of my information. It's just the principle of it.

Well sure. Now it's called targeted advertising.

Groundbound1 wrote on Mar 1^st, 2012 at 7:48pm:


If someone knocks on your door or rings you up to sell said kettle, then you can't get much more targeted than that. Targeted advertising is just a new name for an old product, nothing more, and a name that some advertising guru got paid a $hit load to come up with.

Matt

Baloney.  If a salesman came to your door trying to sell you a kettle, he didn't take every scrap of personal information he could wring out of you, bundle it with 20,000,000 other people's info, then sell it to the highest bidder without your consent. 

Again, you guys seem to think there is something wrong with privacy.  Where do you think all of this identity theft is coming from these days?  Because people accept that lack of privacy like it's nothing.   

I'm all for privacy & I'm careful about what I share on Facebook.

But all you need to to do get away from the targeted ads, is just don't search the web while your signed in to Gmail or whatever.

Wing Nut wrote on Mar 2^nd, 2012 at 4:20am:



Any salesman, internet or in person sells on such information and has done for years long before Google came along. In both cases, it is up to you how much information you give out. As long as you are not logged in to Google, then there is no real problem.

Matt

Webb wrote on Mar 2^nd, 2012 at 7:08pm:



And for FireFox users, the addon Ghostery. You can see who is tracking you and block them

Matt

One could also use "ixquick". Not so well known yet, but I have a feeling that will soon change given their privacy policy.