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Last Day To Tell Google To Forget You

Posted by samzenpus on from the please-don't-write-or-call dept.

itwbennett writes "Google's new privacy policy will consolidate all your data at google.com — unless you erase it first. And today is your last day to do it. The change goes into effect tomorrow. Which is why the helpful folks at EFF have posted some simple instructions showing how to delete your web history at Google."

6 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. Sign into my what? by Kenja · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Gots no Google account, so does that mean they dont track me or that I cant erase the tracking data?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Sign into my what? by Dupple · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I must've been paranoid for years

      I've had a gmail account since at least 2005 and went to the link in TFA and discovered that I had never turned Web History on in the first place. Happy days. All I gotta do now is log out of gmail on March 1 and jobs done.

      --
      Watch those corners
  2. "Paused" web history. by Animats · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just did that. But I'd done it already, and Google claims my web history is "paused". Which probably means they will "unpause" it silently at some future time.

    There's this annoying trend towards invisible buttons for things web sites don't want you to do. There's no obvious "sign out" button for Google now. Clicking on your user name will get you to a sign-out option, but it's not obvious. Facebook actually has invisible buttons for opting out of ads. (They're at the right of the ad headline. Mouse over that blank area and a "x" will appear. Click on the "x" and some opt-out options will appear. They don't actually make the advertiser go away, though.)

    1. Re:"Paused" web history. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This is why you have at least two browsers installed. One is your hardcore locked down browser for when you have to do stuff involving personal information (only have one window open at a time, no cache, and delete cookies on exit, and some form of script blocking installed, preferably also blocking 3rd party frames/images.) Then you have another one with everything except the script blocking in place, used for non-identifiable web browsing (obviously still identifiable, but only for linking browsing habits together, not also linking it to you.)

      While this obviously will have limited effect on the overarching data mining that is possible today, it will obfuscate it enough to keep them from being on a first name basis with you and your browsing habits if handled carefully.

  3. No Google account, but what ELSE have I had? by Fortran+IV · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've read a dozen different articles about this, and I still can't tell: If I have a YouTube account but I've never had a "Google account," does this affect me at all?

    One article mentioned "57 services" run by Google, but nobody's listed them. How do I know that I don't have an account at a site (like YouTube) Google owns but doesn't explicitly brand? I'd practically forgotten that YouTube was Google's...

    --
    I figure by 2030 or so my 6-digit UID will be something to brag about.
  4. It's awesome to live in a good country :) by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I left the states 14 years ago, and though I go back to visit occasionally, I'm not even in an ACTA nation! You have to love countries like Norway. While we have endless laws prohibiting just about anything, the 32 policemen in the country just can bother with anything less important than murder. Oh... when annual budget arrives for them, they rush out and arrest everyone they can as fast as they can. So, figure like 30 arrests in one night. The rest of the time, they hang out in down town Oslo making sure that the hookers are confined to the first place anyone sees when they visit Norway, kinda like a welcome mat. I think they take turns with who gets to keep the national theater area safe which is where all the rich girls in expensive dresses that barely cover their privates go to get munchies after getting plastered at night.

    I love this place. The best part is, even if the most dishonest man were to stand on a building here screaming at the top of his lungs speaking his mind, it wouldn't matter. People here are mature enough to listen to what interests them and intelligent enough to ignore the nonsense for the most part.

    Of course your hidden reference to what most people refer to as the current Orwellian state is nicely placed. Of course, I'm not quite sure that we're at the point where the technology is ready for the thought police concept. Maybe the search result police is the next best thing.