Google permission changes March 2012
If you’ve been using any of the many free Google services over the last few weeks, like Google Mail or Google Talk instant messenger, you’ve probably seen more than a few alerts pop up at the top of your screen about privacy policy changes that will come into effect from today, 1st March 2012. Here is a direct link to the new Google privacy policy.
So, what changes are being made and what is my advice for you as a Google services user?
Don't panic
Your favourite Google services aren't going to change that much. The main purpose of this update is to adopt a “one size fits all” approach to privacy policies, so that one policy will apply to all of the different Google products you use. At the end of the day this makes things much easier.
Watch this video
I think Google have done a great job of explaining most of the changes themselves in the privacy policy changes video I've shared above, but I've also extracted what I think are the most important parts of the new policy below, explaining what they mean and why you need to take note.
Understand all the facts - what's changed in the policy update?
I've analysed the small print and provided my thoughts below, but if you are at all worried about what any company (not just Google) is doing with your personal information, always read their privacy policy instead of just taking someone else’s word for it.
Cookies (not the kind you have with a glass of milk)
The first thing that all Internet users should be aware of is that it is common practice for a website to use a small programme called a “cookie” to send information about you to the web browser and back again. A cookie remembers things like your password and username, and Google uses cookies to remember what language you like to use, or if you use iGoogle and have filters on your search results it'll use them to remember your preferences so that you can access your favourite content quickly.
If you’re at all worried about your personal information being stored in the browser, you can clear the cookies stored on your PC from your web browser’s privacy settings menu.
IP Addresses
As well as storing cookies, Google also keeps a record of your IP address. An IP address is basically an address for your computer; just like your house has its own number and post code, your computer has an IP address.
The main reason for this is so when you connect to the internet, certain websites and services pinpoint and save your location. This is so that when you search for take aways or doctors’ surgeries you're going to see the closest services to you instead of ones in another part of the country or world.
Fortunately, your IP gives away very little information about you. If you were to Google your own IP, then you would see your internet service provider (TalkTalk/Virgin/BT/SKY etc), your country, and the location of the nearest large town or city to you.
Advertising
For this bit, we need to take a step back from the Google we all see every day, that is Google.com the search engine, and remember Google Inc. is the largest advertising company in the world.
Back in March 2003, Google started using targeted advertising; showing you adverts that may interest you based on your searching habits. Facebook and many other websites do this too.
But, you do have a choice. If you are not happy with Google anonymously keeping an eye on what you search for in order to show you specifically targeted adverts, go to https://www.google.com/history/, log into your account, then click “Remove Web History”. This will also pause your web history, so no more search history will be stored. So this means that searching for a florist for your wife won’t then mean you get adverts popping up with flowers, so your surprise will remain a secret until she gets them!
Also remember that if you use Gmail, this is also anonymously scanned by Google AdSense and that you will see adverts relevant to the content of your message.Google likes to point out, so its only fair we do, that this process is entirely automated and anonymous so no person will ever read your email or your search history.
Mobile
With the rise of Android and Google mobile apps in general, we should take a moment to see how the privacy policy changes affect us while we're on the move. All the topics covered so far are just as relevant on your mobile device as on your home PC and, in some aspects, more.
The main thing to remember here is that most mobile apps (again, not just Google ones) share your location by default; this is normally to the nearest cell mast, but if you have GPS turned on it can share your location even to a couple of metres! If you use Google Latitude your location automatically updates as long as the app is running. Check out our smartphone security article for more information on locking location sharing down on your Android smartphone.
Google Dashboard
Finally, I am going to end on what is most likely your first view of the Google Dashboard. If you are a Google account user this is the best place to go to see what information Google has stored about you and if you are not comfortable with the information that's stored you can request a copy of all your personal data held by Google and ask them to remove it. For more information visit http://www.dataliberation.org/.
Some of it is very valuable information to have secured online in a safe place, like your Google contacts and Android device history if you use an Android smartphone - if your device ever gets lost or stolen you'll have a back up of all your contacts and a copy of your IMEI number to give to the police.
In conclusion
if you found this article interesting then it will definitely be worth looking at “Google: Good To Know”, a handy guide from Google that covers not only the most recent privacy policy update, but almost everything Google/Internet related. I’d particularly like to recommend the section entitled “Stay safe online” which covers basic Internet security and gives great advice on keeping yourself secure.
So, there we have it. Like I have said, don’t take my word for it, if you’re even a little unsure about anything private being stored by someone else, read the privacy policy that accompanies the service.