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I was never a Google conspiracy theorist, but this article does make me a bit worried....mabye google should be a government-controlled entity.

Indeed. I didn't trust Google much to begin with, but I never thought of it to this extent...

I would be more worried about a private investigator being hired by a neighbor or a spouse than worrying about what Google does about keeping tabs on me.
Isn't this market about choice and not monopoly? If the writers of these articles are so afraid and people are so afraid, don't use Google.

Government controlled? Hell,they're the LAST bunch of employees I'd want to have free access to my info.

"Google does say that your privacy is important to the company, and it has made some steps in this area. Google says it keeps only 18 months of search data, and that data is completely anonymous."

The scariest part of that is you don't know if they're doing that or not. How do you know it's anonymous? How do you know they delete data after 18 months; also, that's only search data. If they aren't and someone finds out, they're in a lot of trouble. I doubt they are breaking their policy, but it still makes you wonder.

Oh please. Other companies have just as much information about you as Google does. Microsoft and Yahoo both offer free email, so that one's out the window. Yahoo has RSS feeds in the inbox, so kiss that goodbye. Yahoo and Microsoft also offer calendar services, so that's gone, as well.
Let's not forget the OS itself. As far as you or I know, Microsoft/Apple may have info on your location anyway.
Just about every "data farm" from Google is opt-in. If you are so worried that Google has your information, don't use a Google service.

@etim

The government wouldn't own the company; they would restrict Google on what they could keep, how long, etc.

And how would the gov't restrict/monitor Google without giving their inspectors access to the data?

@joep1984 - I think the concern is moreso how much Google can learn about you given all their services. Look at Ian's last paragraph, and you'll see just of pervasive Google's online services can be.

Not enough regulations is not the problem. The government would only make things worse. They can't do a good job at regulating anything.
We need to warn people of the dangers of leaving so much personal information on a company's servers that is so happy to help the government illegally spy on people.
Don't use Google. There are good alternatives to many Google services.
Beware of the other privacy invaders such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL, etc.
A few easy steps to protect your privacy from Google: http://forums.pcworl...m/docs/DOC-2413

The only conspiracy here is users of Google and other electronic device being stupid enough to think the crap they post say or transmit is going to stay private. If it goes over a radio ie: cell phone, WiFi or is shuttled to someone else’s computer, one needs to be smart enough to know that it is accessible to anyone willing to pay or dig for it. If you are not afraid to say, print or type your bits of wisdom to a auditorium full of strangers, knock yourself out, type or say whatever you want. If you want it private, hand write it and personally hand it to a recipient (then hope they keep it private). Google’s new OS, haven’t seen it? Has anyone writing this unfounded crap seen it? These tidbits of crap being posted have no foundation in truth or accuracy. They are purely in most cases some delusion of a writers left over dinner last night. Privacy, someone writing this drivel spends too much time watching the Outer Limits.

More and more I use scroogle.org.

lexon

It won't be long before Google has control over everything in your house, from the carpet on up to the ceiling of your house.

I have told them all about me. My hope is that if they find me alone and unresposive tossed on the beach from a wave, that could see my Google Health tattoo with log-in and figure out who i am - from Google

It should be pointed out that Micro$uck is notorious in the 'privacy' (or more accurately LACK THEREOF) department.
It's laughable that someone would use Yahoo or M$ Bung and believe for even a moment that they have the kind of 'privacy' that they imagine they are being 'robbed of' through using Google services after reading a hack job article like this.
What's even worse is when empty-headed morons panic over 'evil corporations prying into their lives', but post the most personal kinds of things nobody wants to know on various 'social networking' sites.
The more you put your stuff online, the more it is at risk for corporate and government snoops. Period. No corporation will defend your 'privacy' if the feds show up and hint about disrupting operations or levying fines if they don't comply. They ALWAYS roll over, with or without a subpoena.
Even your opinions on forum sites like this are trolled by other search engines to protect corporate reputations on-line. Lets the subscribers know where to send shills to drown out opinions that their site/service/company is 'bad'.
You have three choices:
1. Never use the internet. Live in a shack and compose a long diatribe about your 'lack of privacy' on old typewriters and go to the dump to scavenge for bomb components.
2. Use the internet, stick your head in the sand and ignore the privacy issues, or EVEN WORSE pretend that one site or another will magically grant you 'privacy', since NONE ultimately will, and you're your own very worst enemy in this department.
3. Use the internet, but be aware of the footprints you leave, and that 'privacy' is an illusion for fools.
Now not to ping your paranoia meters for the foil hat crowd this topic has attracted, but I'll let you in on a little secret: You have no privacy.
You have no constitutional protection of 'privacy', either. Just some very flexible and often broken state and federal laws.
If you use credit and ATM cards, full records of all of your transactions are maintained by the banks and credit companies, and even the stores you buy things from. Everything you bought down to the last nut and cheeto. They ALL sell this information to each other, and mine it with a vengeance. Even your CASH purchases, if you use a 'Vons Card' or similar store discount card are recorded.
How much gas you burn, where you tank up, etc., any place you swipe that plastic are all very trackable points of information. Yes 'they' (the credit card companies) know where you go. They keep track, too. It's how the fraud department knows to ring up your cellular phone when purchases happen in two places at once.
Your TAX records are public. Especially the ones about your home, if you own one.
Even if you use CASH to pay for your purchases, and you got the money from an ATM, the serial numbers on those stacks of money they loaded into the ATM were scanned when they were deposited, counted and bundled, before they went into the machine in a known order. They'll be scanned when they're re-deposited after you buy stuff. While coarse in detail, your spending habits are revealed by where your cash usually ends up. Think about cheating at cards and stacking the deck if the previous portion of this paragraph confused you.
You have no privacy. Live with it.

so, evil dave, tell me how you really feel....

me, hey, i am a law abiding citizen. I pay my taxes. I really don't care if Google or anyone else knows a lot about me.

I can't imagine I am all that interesting.

This is 1 post I can very much agree with.



TIPS:

If you're worried about your online privacy:

Don't put your personal info out there.

Use a different search engine.

Get a paper day-planner.

Use snail mail instead of e-mail.

Don't do anything you wouldn't want anyone to find out about.......your boss, your spouse, your parents.........

Seriously? Are u kidding me, this is just as likely as the 911 conspiracy theory.. not to mention google is one of the last few companies that respects its users. like i dont know... not give out their information



http://news.cnet.com..._3-6049744.html

[~105699],
Good post about the practical aspects of privacy. Few, though, not none, can protect your information from the FBI. For instance, Scroogle doesn't keep logs of searches so they can't give it out.

One other thing, although it's usually ignored, the Fourth Amendment says:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.