Microsoft Using Personal Data to Target Ads

smooth wombat writes "Microsoft is combing personal data with your search habits to produce targeted ads. Users who use Microsoft's Hotmail email service, msn.com news service and other Microsoft-owned sites will see ads specific to their demographic and interests. From the article: 'Microsoft executives say the system works anonymously and they won't pass on people's names or addresses to advertisers. Executives say they want to foster confidence in users to build a long-term business, and one that gives an incentive to not misuse personal details.' "We're in the early days of behavioral targeting but it's an idea whose time has come,' says Simon Andrews, chief digital strategy officer for WPP Group's MindShare, a large buyer of ad time. 'There is a lot of potential to know if people have been looking at specific sites.'"

Comments

This sounds familiar.

[brennanw]

Isn't this exactly what people were afraid Doubleclick was going to do six or seven years ago when they bought that mass junk mail database? Public outcry was so huge then that Doubleclick had to very publically back off.

I wonder if the majority of people even care now? I do, and I suspect a fair number of Slashdotters do, but I don't think most people even notice these days. Or they've given up.

What exactly google does

[Mateo_LeFou]

is stated here:

http://www.google.com/privacy.html

Personal information and other data we collect

        * Google collects personal information when you register for a Google service or otherwise voluntarily provide such information. We may combine personal information collected from you with information from other Google services or third parties to provide a better user experience, including customizing content for you.
        * Google uses cookies and other technologies to enhance your online experience and to learn about how you use Google services in order to improve the quality of our services.
        * Google's servers automatically record information when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your request.
        * Read more in the full privacy policy.

Uses

        * We may use personal information to provide the services you've requested, including services that display customized content and advertising.
        * We may also use personal information for auditing, research and analysis to operate and improve Google technologies and services.
        * We may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties outside of Google.
        * When we use third parties to assist us in processing your personal information, we require that they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
        * We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.
        * Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country.
        * Read more in the full privacy policy.

Your choices

        * We offer you choices when we ask for personal information, whenever reasonably possible. You can find more information about your choices in the privacy notices or FAQs for specific services.
        * You may decline to provide personal information to us and/or refuse cookies in your browser, although some of our features or services may not function properly as a result.
        * We make good faith efforts to provide you access to your personal information upon request and to let you correct such data if it is inaccurate and delete it, when reasonably possible.
        * Read more in the full privacy policy.

Using search engines . . .

[Ph33r th3 g(O)at]

. . . while logged in, be it with the Great Satan Microsoft or the All-Angelic Google, is a recipe for having a dossier built on yourself that Bob-knows-who will have access to in perpetuity. If you must use Hotmail, Gmail, MSN messenger, or what-have-you, at least use a separate browser instance running through TOR or JAP that's not logged in as you for your searching needs. Years later, when you need a security clearance, have to have a background investigation, or heaven forbid run for office, you'll thank yourself for not having left those behavioral breadcrumbs behind. Even if your searches are totally innocent, their being dredged up can't be of benefit to you, only detriment.