Google privacy, DO THIS NOW

If you use Google for anything, then

this concerns you. Most updates to a privacy policy are minor,
however in this case its a big deal. 

On March 1, 2012, Google is making changes to their privacy policy.
Under the new privacy policy, Google gives itself the freedom to
combine users' personal information from services like Web History
and YouTube with all the other Google Products, and precludes
existing users from opting out of this policy change without opting
out of the entire Google system entirely. In layman's terms, they
are combining all of their marketing profiles and data together.
So, your web queries will be connected to your YouTube video
searches and everything else that you have done within the Google
apps.  

This can provide easier access to thieves for identity theft and
makes it easier to connect someone's web searches to other online
profiles and more. Currently, there are 35 Attorney Generals that
are very concerned about this new policy. Almost all changes to a
privacy policy give the user the ability, in one way or another, to
opt out of the policy. However, there is no such option with Google.

Disabling Web History in your Google Account can help limit the
impact of this policy change. Search data can reveal particularly
sensitive information about you, including facts about your
location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health
concerns, and more. If you want to keep Google from combining your
Web History with the data they have gathered about you in their
other products, such as YouTube or Google Plus, you may want to
remove all items from your Web History and stop your Web History
from being recorded in the future.

Follow the steps below to disable your Web History in Google:

1) Sign into your Google Account from any screen for Email,
Calendar, Search, etc.

2) In the URL bar at the top of your brower, type the following URL

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KNAOO&m=ImZN5e4B_VY1Yz&b=_tbajC2rr_DtlrUXVYH2Pw

You must be signed into Google first, and you have to type the URL
into the Location line NOT a search engine. Remember the https part.

3) Once you've arrived at the Web History page, choose to Pause the
Web History and Remove all past web history. This will stop Google
from connecting past web history to your other Google apps. 

An important note:

This does not stop Google from using this information for its own
internal purposes.

For more information on these Google Policy Changes, please visit
the Electronic Frontier Foundation at 

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KNAOO&m=ImZN5e4B_VY1Yz&b=1LMKicotldj12S66GWu_kA


You have until March 1, 2012 to make this change.

Dunco wrote:

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I did this last week as it was on the Today show

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 I don't watch Today show, thats why I missed it

you can also go here

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/how-remove-your-youtube-viewing-and-search-history-googles-new-privacy-policy

and scroll to the bottom and check your gmail account to make sure its empty

Excuse my ignorance but does this only apply to people with an account with Google.  I use Google for searches but have never opened an account.

Does this mean I need to start an account and then follow the steps that you have suggest so that my information/searches remain private?

_wombat_ wrote:

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Dunco wrote:

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I did this last week as it was on the Today show

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 I don't watch Today show, thats why I missed it

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You'd probably watch it tomorrow !!

sittingonthefence wrote:

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Excuse my ignorance but does this only apply to people with an account with Google.  I use Google for searches but have never opened an account.

Does this mean I need to start an account and then follow the steps that you have suggest so that my information/searches remain private?

 

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 you should be ok if you have never signed up with Google, Google Earth or gmail.

Welcome to GN

Dunco wrote:

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_wombat_ wrote:

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Dunco wrote:

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I did this last week as it was on the Today show

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 I don't watch Today show, thats why I missed it

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You'd probably watch it tomorrow !!

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 Yes, but if I watch it tomorrow it will not be the today show, it will be the tomorrow show, is that correct

Done....

 .. yep .. all done !

good to see you back too, Wombie !

Jon

Cruising Granny wrote:

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I haven't ever signed up for Google or You Tube so I don't think I'm vulnerable.

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 what about gmail?

if you have not signed up then you should be ok

Happywanderer wrote:

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I've not signed up for any of the 3 so I should be ok, Ok??

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 yes, you cannot get into the site's unless you have a password so you cannot and do not need to change anything

Done thanks and thanks to Vic for emailing the link today, just in time.

John

Helena wrote:

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Good to have you back Wombat not been the same with you missing Helena.

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 Yes JRH and I missed you too.......NOT.......ok then, welcome back

Thanks for the link, done also and passed it to Yeoeleven as he has said.

thanks guys, this info came to me over the weekend and I was not here to see it, I don't see why it had to be done by yesterday, I would guess you could sign into google and delete your history anytime.

Did mine this morning,but then again it is still the 29th in U.S.

The Gnome wrote:

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Did mine this morning,but then again it is still the 29th in U.S.

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 hey that's cheating, going all the way to the US just to delete your google history

I have not tried Bing, let me know how you go with it GD if you do give it a try.

_wombat_ wrote:

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I have not tried Bing, let me know how you go with it GD if you do give it a try.

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 Have used Bing a few times and found it very good.

JRH wrote:

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_wombat_ wrote:

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I have not tried Bing, let me know how you go with it GD if you do give it a try.

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 Have used Bing a few times and found it very good.

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 is your name GD?