Entertainment Weekly Magazine’s online edition has published a great article on Google and its upcoming changes to its privacy policy. The article explains to readers what exactly Google is going to change and what you can do to protect yourself. It gives you tips and how-to advice to seek the information you need about yourself that Google has and how to stop Google from tracking you.
Although some things in the article I find to be too gentle on Google, there are some quotes in there that are fantastic, such as the point about Google wanting to further monetize its users:
“People need to understand that when you’re not paying for something on the Internet, you yourself are the product,” says new-media scholar Dan Gillmor.
Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson points out that personalized advertisements targeted directly to a specific user, based on user-collected information, can be “a substantial amount” more lucrative than just an anonymous ad. And with all the information Google can collect about your interests from your searches, your Google Docs, and your favorite YouTube videos, they can figure out pretty specifically what ads they should show you. “They are positioning this as streamlining privacy,” Simpson says. “But that’s just PR. It’s all about better targeting for advertisers.”
Actually, there are other ways to semi opt out. You can use different browsers when using different services: Google products only communicate with one another if they have the same default browser. Or simply log out of your account. Installing cookie-blocking and ad-blocking software can stymie part of Google’s data collection as well.
Indeed. Page has agreed to lead the company only through 2024, and there’s nothing to prevent whoever succeeds him from using all of your information with more mercenary intentions. Something to think about when cultivating your virtual identity via Google.
You can read the entire Entertainment Weekly article by clicking here
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