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Many of Gmail’s 350 Million users encountered a rude awakening this morning when they opened their inbox and were informed that Google would be rolling out a new privacy policy that affects users of [ all of its services, including Google+, Gmail, Youtube, Blogger, etc.
So what does this mean for the users of one of the largest internet based companies? According to Google’s official blog:
“Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience”
Google also mentions less spelling errors, more targeted ads, a revised Google terms and services. So having all your eggs in one basket seems appealing, but when does personalized become too personal?
The new policy comes shortly after the launch of “Search Plus Your World” consisting of the integration of Google+ data and traditional search references into one search result; this was done with the purpose of boosting the new Google+ social platform against competitors like Facebook and Twitter. This policy was declared by many as an official loss of online anonymity across the web and Google’s new privacy rule worsened the landscape. User’s browsing, shopping, listening, watching and chatting habits are analyzed and in return produce eerily accurate ads. But “accurate ads” mean that the Internet (given Google’s importance in our everyday lives, Google is The Internet) which was once upon a time a place of creativity and discovery is now a realm of tailored information and rehashed content. Secondly, if you are a “Google power user,” (i.e., Google runs every aspect of your digital life) unless you choose to switch every single one of your account to another separate provider, you are forced to experience the internet, to a greater extent, the world, in the way Google sees fit . Finally, hacking behaviors which are already showing growing concerns and shouldn’t be disregarded, are one of the most dangerous potential outcomes of this new policy.
While people may feel powerless and frustrated, others will continue to use Google’s Dashboard to review their services, choose to opt-out of DoubleClick ad tracking and manage ads as before.
However, come March 1st there will be no way to opt-out; you will be targeted by marketers, tracked by engineers and delivered customized data. It seems Google has officially broken its mantra of “Do No Evil.”
