Posted on 01/24/2012 3:05:35 PM PST by Freedom56v2
Google said Tuesday it will require users to allow the company to follow their activities across e-mail, search, YouTube and other services, a radical shift in strategy that is expected to invite greater scrutiny of its privacy and competitive practices.
The information will enable Google to develop a fuller picture of how people use its growing empire of Web sites. Consumers will have no choice but to accept the changes.
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The policy will take effect March 1 and will also impact Android mobile phone users, who are required to log in to Google accounts when they activate their phones.
FAQ: What kind of data can Google collect and integrate? How will this affect me?
The changes comes as Google is facing stiff competition and recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing last week to meet earnings expectations. Apple, perhaps its primary rival, is expected to announce strong earnings Tuesday.
Google’s changes are appeared squarely aimed at Apple and Facebook, which have been successful in keeping people in their ecosystem of products. Google, which makes money by selling ads tailored to its users, is hoping to do the same by offering a Web experience tailored to personal tastes.
“If you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services,” Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy, product and engineering wrote in a blog post.
“In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I think this is a “Real World” data collection project to see how many people really do object to being tracked 24/7 as they use the internet.
The results will be used to determine how GOOGLE will respond in the future to Governments ‘requests’ to monitor us for our own good.
They are saying that while you are logged in, they will track where you are going if using Google search engine. If you use You Tube, they will monitor that. They can read content of emails and then provide info to advertisers, etc. Ramifications of this are huge and advertising is just the beginning...IMHO.
For Firefox their are so many blockers "Ghostery" etc.
However their are some new add ons that allow you almost (or so they claim) anonymity.
sorry about the double post.
I must be doubly upset about this.
Gee, I remember the days when gmail was super secret, by invitation only. I remember when they said they would never infringe on our privacy.
The bubble burst.
Yes; agreed. They use Google and insulate you.
I use them—a lot...like right now LOL. I am interested in new email provider and how to use Droid without Google tracking
And other Android-based devices, such as my Logitech Revue. Couldn't begin using it without a gmail login. This is to watch TV!
I’ve never heard of Ixquick before. I’m only now starting to become aware of the privacy encroachments most of the Internet’s popular amenities entail.
Both search engines’ privacy policies are very thorough, but I’ve have to give the edge to Ixquick because, unlike DDG, it doesn’t even store an anonymous list of searches that were conducted.
Ixquick also has image and video search features. DuckDuckGo doesn’t.
The interface is probably a matter of personal preference. I really like how there’s a “proxy” button right there in Ixquick’s search results. DuckDuckGo features zero-click results (search for Google Chrome and you’ll get an info popup without having to visit another website) and shows the favicon for each search result. You can also use DDG to search other sites by following its “bang” (!) syntax. !Google muffins searches Google for muffins. Since I’m used to using a command line, the bang syntax is probably one of my favorite features.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either one.
“With a response like that you clearly don’t understand the scope of this.”
How so?
Filename: LMHOSTS
WWW.GOOGLE.COM 127.0.0.1
See my post #25. I believe like Facebook, they will track where you go on internet - for example garden sites, they will read your email for key words like vacation, reservation, etc. and provide that information to advertisers.
Interesting how this ties in with “behavioral internet pricing/marketing...
Yes I use Start Page (Ixquick) my Homepage, but they don’t have email...
Along with all the ad and metric type Google addresses, don’t forget 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 — the “fast” DNS servers used by many people on advice of their computer gurus. Google knows every DNS query your machine ever makes!
I’ve been using GMX since when it was in English. LOL
It is a German email provider. The website initially was also in English, but they dropped that years ago.
When I signed up, it allowed mail to be received, but not sent, on the free email service. I don’t know whether they have changed that.
Woah, how do I opt out of this?!
Filename: LMHOSTS
WWW.GOOGLE.COM 127.0.0.1
FU Google!
I am now using IxQuick exclusively.
unsubscribing to Gmail, which I only use a couple of time a year and looking for alternatives to my SAmsung Galaxy.
I don’t want you or anyone tracking me.
In fact, I’m going to go look for an article I meant to read about unplugging from the internet and going off grid.
I will post it when I find it.
BOOKMARK.
I have Firefox now, and I use Bing instead of Google. But I guess I have to get out of YouTube, right? Anything else I need to close?
Well, for that particular thing just use different DNS servers — like the default ones operated by your ISP. But odds are that if they don’t get you in one area they will in another. As an aside I use opendns.com for most of my machines — screens out ‘adult’ and objectionable sites very effectively and can be customized easily. Actually am changing the final machine over to it today. You can add exceptions — a list of sites in a whitelist — if you need to.
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