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I know we have some very knowledgeable computer wizards here. I was just notified of the privacy changes about to take place in Google. Not too sure I like them and certainly prefer to remain as private as possible on the WWW.

Has anyone read and understood these changes and as I understand them, the only way to opt out is by dumping my Gmail address and not signing in to Google. I don't like the thought that every key stroke I will make after March 1 will be tracked and stored as my Google Profile. Seems rather intrusive.

Any one care to discuss this here?

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I'm not sure i understand what's going on with Google. What are the specific details??

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I don't understand a lot of it either.

I think any one can go to Google and read their Privacy Policy.

My understanding is they will track and store your every move on the web, sites you visit, interests you have, products you buy and forum activities. They claim this will allow them to tailor your Internet experience. I say it will allow them to hammer you with advertisements and offers as well as directing you to places you did not ask to go.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/busines...story.html

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If you are not logged in, it does not affect you.

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A few weeks ago I was looking up metal detectors and military renactment sites. Now on the sidebars I am seeing ads for metal detectors and companies that sell ww2 uniforms. But the scary thing is they are collecting info like when you go to shaw's supermarket. Why would they care what I buy? Don't you think it would be more important to see what everybody as a whole buys and cater to us rather than see what I am purchasing? Sounds like big brother is watching.

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If your email address ends in gmail.com then you have to log in!
If you use google Chrome it may be the same.
I do go to you tube on occasion but don't have an account there but I believe if you do then you are opted in. I agree Phil, you can do a google search and not log in and will not be effected.

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We have actually been researching a lot of this at work recently, trying to keep up with the times.

The sidebar and banner ads are part of Google's AdSense. All it really does, is look at your web browsers stored information (history, cookies, cache, etc) and select ads for products or services in similar categories to what you have looked at in the past. It's a way for advertisers to target particular audiences, rather then showing random ads to random people.

Just last week I had a similar situation where I left West Marine's website and saw a banner ad on a subsequent site I was visiting showing me some of the exact products I had just looked at. It's harmless, but it is tough to shake that someone is looking over your shoulder feeling.

I have not fully read Google's privacy policy or the changes, but as online advertising evolves I imagine things like this will become more common, and the privacy policy changes seem to be adapting to the new methods.

Brian

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Google is adopting some if not all of the government programs being debated as intrusive. Censorship rules are also being adopted from the stalled legislation, even though it has not been passed.
Use another search engine.
I do not have much hope for any of them, but for now, just click on another site.

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Web advertizing has been doing this for ages, mining your cookies and showing you targeted adds, it's really nothing new. What is new is that Google will share information across it's entire platform, your email, calendar and YouTube to provide you a "better experience". If you don't want to be reminded to purchase flowers for your wife based on the anniversary reminder in your google calendar, then don't put the reminder on your google calendar. If you only use Google search, this doesn't come into play, it's only if you use gmail and Google online calendar and other online services.

If your on the web, there is no privacy, every time you purchase from an online store, or enter search terms into a search engine your being tracked. Watch a YouTube video, close your browser then go back to YouTube and look at the suggestions, I just watched the tuna video from the other thread, now when I go back all my recommended videos are about tuna fishing. Web privacy is different from web security, you should expect that any info you provide companies will be secured based on their security policy. I don't expect that the online pharmacy will publish my medical history or that should I choose to store a credit card for Amazon purchases on their secure site, that it will be published and accessible by someone other than myself. I do check for https to ensure I am using a secure site for entering personal information and you should on every site you use, create strong passwords, especially if there is any personal or sensitive information stored there. I do expect that Amazon, just like Google will show me targeted adds, based on previous searches and purchases because it's the business they are in.

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Thanks Kamie for the great explanation. Since I use a Gmail email account I see that all my surfing is tracked. So much so that when I go to delete Spam I immediately get recipes for cooking with canned Spam.

I guess my big question is should I change my email provider to get away from google's intrusiveness or is this just a wasted effort?

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I guess it depends on how much you like to cook with Spam? Personally, I think it's a waste of time, because this is the direction of the web and it's how companies, like Google, Amazon and other companies on the web make money.