New Google Privacy Policy

[Blakenzy]

Preview of Google's new Privacy Policy:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/preview/


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-googles-new-privacy-p

Google will merge data from the products you use and then analyze it to make new assumptions

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/01/25/tech-google-privacy.html

Google's new plan to link user data across its email, video, social-networking sites has come under fire from critics who say it's an invasion of privacy because of the sheer volume of information collected and the inability of users to opt out.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/01/google-streamlines-privacy/

We may use the name you provide for your Google Profile across all of the services we offer that require a Google Account. In addition, we may replace past names associated with your Google Account so that you are represented consistently across all our services. If other users already have your e-mail, or other information that identifies you, we may show them your publicly visible Google Profile information, such as your name and photo.

So...um, yeah... I don't quite know what to make of this yet. Your thoughts? Time to begin using competing web based services perhaps?

[Monkeyleg]

Google has been collecting information on users for years. They may follow you for a long time after you click on a site in the search results, even if you leave that site and go to another.

This latest admission (for lack of a better term) is pretty scary.

[230RN]

I started to use dogpile as an alternative to google for general website searches.  Google is getting too uppity for my tastes.

They're an over-intrusive guest on my machine.  If they don't behave themselves, I'll be  polite about asking them to leave.

Power corrupts.

[CNYCacher]

So, if you have a google mail account and a google videos account and a google labs account and a google plus account and a google (insert any of their 50+ other services here), they are all going to be unified now into one account with only one privacy policy instead of 60?  Okay. . . super scared. 

Google has been collecting information on users for years. They may follow you for a long time after you click on a site in the search results, even if you leave that site and go to another.

Can you explain how?  Unless the site you travel to chooses to report your presence to google, this is false.  They can and do track which links in the search results get clicks, with the stated goal being improving search results.  They can not see if you actually go to that site, nor can they "track" you going to other sites after that, UNLESS those sites choose to report your presence to google. Of course, that doesn't actually happen, but instead they suggest to your browser that it should report it's presence to google, which your browser dutifully follows if you (a) don't care or (b) don't know how to block cookies going back to *.google.com

[Monkeyleg]

CNYCacher, I have to go back to the webmaster forums and search for the articles. When I get them, I'll post them. If I can't find them, I'll retract my statement.

[Nick1911]

CNYCacher, I have to go back to the webmaster forums and search for the articles. When I get them, I'll post them. If I can't find them, I'll retract my statement.

As a software engineer, I'd be very interested in this as well.  The only mechanism that's coming to mind for me is google ad's on other sites, which read your google cookie.  (Third party links to google that the browser blindly follows)

[Hawkmoon]

So...um, yeah... I don't quite know what to make of this yet. Your thoughts? Time to begin using competing web based services perhaps?

You don't actually use any of Google's account-based "products", do you?

Yes -- time to "opt out."

[Jamisjockey]

When you get something for free, you're actually the product being marketed to someone else.  Food for thought.

[Monkeyleg]

I asked the question, "can someone's movements across domains be tracked by Google?", explaining that I did a little searching but wasn't able to find the answer. It's there somewhere, though, as I distinctly remember it being discussed over the years.

Here's the reply from one member:

Well yes and no.

1) Yes if the user is using chrome or has the Google toolbar installed on their browser or the "googleupdate.exe" service running on their machine OR/AND the visited site landing page has one of Google services installed like ads/analytics/search/+1 buttons etc.

2) No if the user has none of the above and the landing page has none of the above Google services installed.

Judging by the poor state of the web nowadays my guess is that they are probably able to track more then 50%-60% of users online. Way too many infected websites, PCs and mobile devices out there unfortuntly...

There was a big discussion about this a couple of years ago. I'd have to do more searching to find the topics.

I use Google's webmaster tools, but I sign out of them, dump all of my cookies and use a different browser if I'm using Google for searches.

[CNYCacher]

Yes if the user is using chrome or has the Google toolbar installed on their browser or the "googleupdate.exe" service running on their machine

This person is implying that Chrome, Google Toolbar, and whatever googleupdate.exe is, actively track your site usage and report it back to google.  If any of this were true, the backlash would be huge.  I don't believe it, but you are welcome to find such language in Chrome's EULA. It also would be very very easy for someone to prove these claims by simply sniffing their own network traffic, and they could post for the world to see exactly what is being reported back.  So if it were actually happening, there would be 1000 blog posts with screenshots of traffic sniffers.

Now, in fairness to the person who answered your question: you did ask "Is it possible. . ." and perhaps you received an answer that was overly literal.  It's "possible" in the same way that it's "possible" that Bill Gates could possibly look at your private photos only if you run windows. Does it actually happen, no.

the visited site landing page has one of Google services installed like ads/analytics/search/+1 buttons etc.

This is what I covered in my original response.  Those services ask your browser to report back a cookie that was set on the search page.  If you block cookies going back to *.google.com, you defeat this "tracking".