Google’s New Privacy Policy

Google sent out emails to users to let them know that they’re changing their privacy policy and Terms of Service, effective March 1. That’s usually enough to start a good panic, and I doubt it will be different this time.

Just how “evil” is Google?  Well, it probably depends on who you ask. There were plenty of people spreading the rumor that Google was stealing all your content, when really they were just doing normal Internet-y stuff, like allowing you to upload, store, and post it. You’ve always retained copyright. The good news is that Google’s new Terms of Service are a lot clearer about that. They’re also simpler and apply across all services, except when the service itself says otherwise (open source software allows you to modify it, for example.)

The privacy policy changes are a biggie, however.  Google is going to combine info across services. That means when you search, the search algorithms will consider your contacts, your email messages, your documents, and your recently read news articles when returning your search results. That sounds pretty Big Brotherish, but I suspect you’ll like the search results better, anyway. It’s also likely going to mean less logging in. I don’t know about you, but I’m annoyed when I have to log into YouTube separately, even though it’s tied to my Gmail address and uses the same password.

Google also assures us that they’re not going to tie DoubleClick advertising info with personally identifying information unless you opt in. Better hope that opt in option is obvious and clear. Google has my phone number, credit card information, and address. It’s bad enough that they’re taunting across websites. I don’t need my banner ads to call me by name.