What do you think of the new Privacy Policy from Google?
By Reyachan
@Reyachan (589)
Romania
February 18, 2012 10:34am CST
For a few weeks now I've been receiving messages about the changes that will happen in Google's policies starting with the 1st of March. So I started reading them (and I recommend this to everyone)
I don't know if these changes are a result of the pressure of certain laws that have been proposed, like SOPA, ACTA, etc, but the conclusion is Google is reserving the right on the information introduced by us but also obtained from surfing. In other words, whatever we surf/search is registered by then under the pretext of optimizing and personalizing our experience on Google, meaning they'll give us more specific , well targeted searches. Honestly, i find it useless. I've often found interesting stuff among search results that were unrelated to the subject i was initially searching for.
I actually like this freedom of choice and discovery.
In other words, I love using my own brain for deciding what't best for me and don't need a multinational corporation to make those decisions for me.
I have nothing against Google in any way, i like the search engine and the tools they have for site and blog owners, etc, but I'm not too comfortable with the new changes.
What about you, myloters? Are you familiar with the new changes and if so, what do you think of them?
2 responses
@clouds0327 (1389)
• Philippines
19 Feb 12
Everything's changing in the internet world. Facebook, Youtube etc.. It's liek we don't have any choice anymore but to accept the changes. We can never have privacy in the internet. I guess we just need to be more responsible and aware of what information we put in the internet so our personal information are not disclosed. This includes our credit card numbers, bank accounts and such. Surfing experience may also be more specific so I have no problems with that. We just have to be more careful from now on. They have that power, they always had our information, they could do anything with it. They are just pretending to be good to inform the public about it but in fact they don't care.
@Reyachan (589)
• Romania
19 Feb 12
Hello, clouds. You know, many things in life are like this : good and neat until someone finds a way to legally exploit it. Privacy is a very sensitive issue, especially since many people have a reputation online as well as in real life. I'm talking about bloggers, reviewers, moderators, etc. People are in general more natural on the internet because they feel safe, so they behave more freely, thinking their identity is protected. And it's their right to be so.
I don't want to fall into a conspiracy theory, but i agree with you that the power we gave them is imense and it takes a lot of morality from them not to abuse it.
Happy posting!
@beamer88 (4259)
• Philippines
19 Feb 12
I haven't actually read the new policies although I know I should :) But based on what you've just explained, it can have its pros and cons. For one thing, optimizing your search is good for those who are using it for their work. I for one sometimes get a bit frustrated when I need to scroll through several non-related things before finding the one I need. But on the other hand, this also seems to limit our options, and limiting a person's option contradicts in a way the essence of the internet and its free usage. But my information is limited as of now to really form a conclusion about the new policies so I really must read them first :)
@Reyachan (589)
• Romania
19 Feb 12
Hello, beamer! Of course it has pros and cons, if it were to have only cons I doubt they would've thought of the changes in the first place. :) I agree with you, you have to first read the new policy yourself in order to form an opinion. I thinks it's always the best to do so, because each person understands a thing in his own unique way or notices things that others don't, due to his particular interests, personality, etc.
I'm really curious of your opinion after you read them. If you want to share your opinion after the lecture, please do so :)
Happy posting
