Have you recently done a search on Google Maps and then found an ad about the same when you watched a video on YouTube? Well, this is not a coincidence, as Google’s consolidated privacy policy is behind this. When Google came up with a single privacy policy for all of their 60 applications, which claimed to simplify user experience, few people actually stopped by to read it. Here’s what to make of it:
Google’s claims
- The new privacy policy applies to all Google services, except Chrome and books
- Google would use your cookies, IP addresses, anonymous identifiers and server logs to gather information
- Google has claimed that the new privacy policy will enhance user experience
- Google cited that they would not sell personal information or share it externally without user permission
- Google has given users a choice about how they want their information to be used. But users need to click on the applicable links in the policy statement and set their preferences
How has the world reacted to Google’s privacy policy?
- EPIC'(Electronic Privacy Information Center) claimed that the privacy policy violates the Federal Trade Commission Consent Order as Google will be able to combine user information across applications
- The EU claimed that the policy made it difficult to understand for which purposes the personal data was going to be used
- The CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertes) conducted a preliminary analysis which showed that Google’s new policy does not meet the requirements of the European Directive of Data Protection (95/46/CE), in regards to the information provided to data subjects
- Most critics have agreed that the new privacy policy has been created to increase revenue as Google has a strong market power across the world.
How the privacy policy can affect you?
With the new privacy policy, Google will be accumulating tons and tons of personal search data across applications like YouTube, Maps, Mobile, Latitude, Google Voice and Google Docs. This information will mostly be used to generate more ad revenues. If you use Gmail and then use Google docs, you may get advice from the search giant about the correct spelling of one of your email contacts.
