The Philippine Online Chronicles

'Google will know more about you than your partner.'

Starting March 1, Google will roll out a new privacy policy that will allow the web giant to merge user data collected across its services. Google said in a blog post, “we’re rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it, in a much more readable way.”

“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,” wrote Alma Whitten, Google's director of privacy, product and engineering.

Google will combine user information in one profile based on the use of several different Google products, from Gmail and YouTube to Google search, Googe Maps, Google calendar and more. It will unify over 60 of its different product-specific privacy policies and terms of service into a single user profile.

“In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” Whitten said.

“We believe this new, simpler policy will make it easier for people to understand our privacy practices as well as enable Google to improve the services we offer,” Whitten further said.

When signing up for or logging on to a Google account, Google collects information from the individual user ranging from basic details to more complex things like which ads the particular user find most useful or the people whom the user interacts with most of the time online.

Google said it collects information in two ways – from the personal information provided by the user: name, email address, telephone number or credit card and other data on a user's Google profile and from the information Google extracts from the users' use of various Google products and services.

While Google maintained that it uses the information it collects from all of its services to provide tailored content for users, the announcement gave privacy advocates cause for alarm.

What Google can do under its new Privacy Policy

Google clearly stated what it may do under its streamlined privacy policy -

• We may collect information about the services that you use and how you use them, like when you visit a website that uses our advertising services or you view and interact with our ads and content. (This information includes: device information, log information, internet protocol address; location information; unique application numbers; local storage and cookies and anonymous identifiers.)

• We may use the name you provide for your Google Profile across all of the services we offer that require a Google Account.

• We may replace past names associated with your Google Account so that you are represented consistently across all our services.

• We may show your publicly visible Google Profile information, such as your name and photo if other users already have your email, or other information that identifies you.

• We may keep a record of your communication to help solve any issues you might be facing.

• We may use your email address to inform you about our services, such as letting you know about upcoming changes or improvements.

• We use information collected from cookies and other technologies, like pixel tags, to improve your user experience and the overall quality of our services.

• We may combine personal information from one service with information, including personal information, from other Google services – for example to make it easier to share things with people you know.

• We may process your personal information on a server located outside the country where you live.

The company said it will ask for the users' consent before using information for a purpose other than those that are set out in its new privacy policy. But one crucial detail that bothers privacy advocates is that users cannot opt out of Google's new privacy policy.

“Users have no choice but to accept the changes, except, of course, to stop using Google's services,” said Bianca Bosker of Huffingtonpost.com.

Earlier this month, Google CEO Larry Page said that the company had made it a priority to use data about users to tailor each person's experience online to his or her preferences.

Google also recently updated its search results to display privately-shared content, such as photos or Google+ posts, alongside public information in an effort to "transform Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships."

The new Social Search introduced three new features: Personal Results, which enable users to find specific information, such as Google+ photos and posts - both personal and shared; Profiles in Search, both in autocomplete and results, which enable users to immediately find people they're close to or might be interested in following; and, People and Pages, which help users find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable users to follow them with just a few clicks.

Clarifications

Several members of the US Congress wrote Google to ask clarification about the new privacy policy.

"While Google suggests that the purpose of this shift in policy is to make the consumer experience simpler, we want to make sure it does not make protecting consumer privacy more complicated," reads the letter to Google's Page.

In response to the many queries and concerns, Google's Policy Manager Betsy Masiello has 'set the record straight' about their new privacy policy.

She said users still have choice and control. “You don’t need to log in to use many of our services, including Search, Maps and YouTube. If you are logged in, you can still edit or turn off your Search history, switch Gmail chat to “off the record,” control the way Google tailors ads to your interests, use Incognito mode on Chrome, or use any of the other privacy tools we offer.

Masiello also said that Google is not collecting more data about its users. “Our new policy simply makes it clear that we use data to refine and improve your experience on Google — whichever products or services you use. This is something we have already been doing for a long time.” “We’re making things simpler and we’re trying to be upfront about it.

Ireland’s data-protection agency and France's National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties will examine Google's new privacy policies.

To know more about Google's Privacy Policy, check their FAQ page. To close a Google account, follow these steps.