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Google's Data-Storage Fuels Privacy Fears
taoman1 writes "Facing worries about its tracking Web surfers' every move, Google Inc. is now offering a feature to track Web surfers' every move.
Its free Web History service is strictly voluntary — Google users can sign up to have the Internet giant keep detailed records of every website they visit so they can easily find them again later.
Web History's quiet debut this week came as privacy advocates continued to raise alarms about the prospect of Google combining its collection of information on individuals with that of DoubleClick Inc. Google has agreed to acquire the New York-based company, which distributes Web ads and tracks where the majority of people go on the Internet, for $3.1 billion."
I've been suspicious of Google's "do no evil" motto from day one, but my suspicions were confirmed when it was announced that Google Mail would be storing your emails ad-infinitum even if you deleted them. It is quite clear and obvious (and it has been for a long time) that Google is in the datamining business, the targeted advertisement part of which is only the tip of the iceberg. Anybody who's surprised by this announcement has been living in a cave...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
There are far worse threats to privacy than Google. Watch out for continued government laws that require ISPs of all flavors to maintain data for long periods of time, and to turn it over to law enforcement for less and less stringent requirements. If you are worried about your privacy, don't sign up for the stupid service. Rotate your search engines. Use random Wi-Fi hotspots. If people want their privacy protected, they need to take responsibility for it. You reduce your privacy, and you get free services and make some services easier to use. Most people are ok with that. Whether its because they don't care about their privacy or they are stupid doesn't really matter. They made a choice, they don't need advocates fighting to put the cat back in the bag. They most certainly don't need corporations looking out for their privacy interests, unless its a selling point. Businesses provide services and make money. They don't take care of you. Take responsibility for yourself.
http://bgcommonsense.blogspot.com
The privacy advocates arnt worried about themselves. They're making a scene because they want to make sure people who do 'volunteer' know what they might be signing away.
Some snippets FTA: -
"most Google users don't know that their search queries can be tied to them"
"When Google users were asked whether they believed that the company captured data that could be used to identify them, 77% said no."
How is this different from the Search tool in Gnome called "Beagle". Sure I realize Beagle is stored locally on "your" hardware, but remember when you get in trouble there is no more "your". A raid at your residence, or a court order to google / your isp gets you in the same place at the end if you are indeed "evil". In the US the SS is always in power ladies and gents. If your some kind of hacker of some sort where you need to protect yourself and privacy because you are engaging in illegal activities on the net, you have got major problems to begin with. If your connected to some sort of maffia, you have got major problems to begin with as well.
It IS 1984 in all respects of the book and film. You realize the net tracks everything and knows everything about everyone. Unless your living up in Montana, working at the local grocery store getting paid in cash off the books (no credit card, no phone, no electricity etc...) you have NO PRIVACY already.
Good luck on ranting about teh Google, they are simply making it easier for you to research your search history on the net.
If the 'laws' have changed that much in 10 years, I doubt google giving up search info is going to be least of your worries.
Its an awesome feature, by looking at the history its obvious what content I researching and what content I am interested in on a daily basis for work and play. I cannot wait until the next step where it can use this data to refine my actual searching using this, my gmail, and bookmarks ... or maybe a personalized 'news' portal, effectively like a digg.
I am glad Google has the balls to be the one who is honest about having it and bold enough to display a tool for it.
members are seeing something, your seeing an ad
...Before getting all pissed off about privacy violation? Google has always logged your web history, the only thing really new about this is the fact that you can view it all from one page and, more importantly, you can choose to delete your entire history and pause it indefinitely. Explain to me how adding this is a bad thing.
There are probably half a dozen institutions collecting this kind of data about you: your ISP, a couple of federal and state agencies, several advertising networks, etc. At least Google is open about it and you can have a look at the data.
I profoundly disagree, and not for privacy reasons. In fact I wonder if they are really that smart
at Google because the idea is terrible. A shared computer, as many family computers are should not
become associated with any identity, Period. In fact, even a single user workstation should never be
treated as such by a server application. When I am searching I don't want a search engine making
assumptions about my focus based on previous searches, just as a logical matter of fact. Today I am
interested in the xylobiology, yesterday I was interested in canine vocalisations, but both times
I am looking for "bark". Google is not, nor will it ever be, capable of the AI required to read my
mind. User profiling diminishes the information wealth available to the user who becomes restricted
to an ever decreasing self-referencing pool.
Ergo this is not a "helpful" feature even though it may be so marketed and one should consider the
real motive behind it as purely financial.
And none of that has anything to do with privacy.
...the government is actively maintaining and expanding the "enemies of the state" lists, and you can get on it for some pretty tame stuff. The outward manifestation that has made the news is the "no fly" list, or "fly, but you'll get scrutinized heavy for hours and maybe miss flights and they'll toss your luggage or just steal it for analysis".
And yes, it really IS an "enemies of the state" list. And it's political, just going to an anti war demo or publishing anti administration or anti war stuff has gotten people stuck on it. In fact, seems there was an article here just recently about some professor that that happened to, who's only apparent crime was giving an anti war lecture, now he's on the list. And there's no accountability, once on you won't ever get off, no redress, no asking anyoje who will answer you about it, no nuthin...just the secret enemeies list, with the oh so helpful government drones maintinaing it and following orders and cashing their little checks. they don't care enough to "just say no to bogus orders".
If you can't understand the trends, with all the stuff in the news the past several years, here's the deal: Once ANY regime starts with the enemies of the state lists, it always goes eventually into pure dictatorship with all the bells and whistles, along with camps, the "disappeareds", and etc. Yes, all the bad stuff. Make take just a little time, but it all eventually happens once on that slide to hell. There hasn't been an exception in history yet, not a single one, so there's absolutely no rational or logical reason to think the US is in any way "special" in that regard now, it's the same brand of power mad humans "in charge and deciding about things", giving orders to grunting and willing order followers, the same as any other "bad" place..
And that is why you should be concerned. Ostrich head in the sand won't make it go away, and even if you *think* you aren't doing anything that might raise their ire, you have to remember-you are dealing with *quite insane* megalomaniacs-they don't NEED any reason to put you on a list other than their looney tune fantasies.