I confess I'm a bit of a Google fanboy. I'm the last one to get paranoid about privacy concerns even as the GOOG becomes ever-more pervasive.
But then I read The Onion article Google Responds to Privacy Concerns with Unsettlingly Specific Apology, a brilliant piece of satire that shines a light on the fears some people have. Do we have good reason to feel unsettled?
Here's a summary of the things Google "knows" about you if you use their services. I use quotes because it really means Google stores or has access to this information.
Google "Knows"
- What you're searching for (Google.com).
- What your search history is (Chrome, Google Toolbar).
- Where you live (Google Maps).
- What your house and neighborhood look like (Google Maps Street View).
- Where you are now (Google Maps Mobile).
- What local businesses/places you might visit (Google Local).
- Who and about what you email (Gmail).
- Who and about what you chat (Gchat).
- What your phone usage is (Droid and Google Voice).
- What you're thinking (Google Buzz).
- What your plans are (Google Calendar).
- What you buy plus credit card info (Google Checkout).
- What you're selling (Google Adwords).
- What's in your personal documents (Google Docs).
- What photos you view and post (Picasa).
- What videos you view and post (YouTube).
- What your interests are (Blogger).
- What's on your hard drive (Google Desktop).
- What your medical history is (Google Health)
In reality, of course, Google is not tracking your every move. I believe it when they say they only use the data they collect to improve and personalize search results and to serve relevant ads. It's not in their business interests to be viewed as big brother.
For me, it's more a sense of awe than worry. I'm in awe of how all-encompassing Google has become in a relatively short time. And I'm in awe of the huge responsibility they have to keep our personal data private and stored safely in the cloud.
Still, maybe it's all too much and you want to opt out of Google. The Onion shows how Google can help you with that too:
