Remember the last time you Googled an embarrassing or private topic? A report released last week by watchdog group Privacy International ranked Google’s privacy practices worst on the Web �" below 22 other companies, including Yahoo Inc., AOL, MySpace and Facebook.
The rank is reserved for companies that exhibit “an endemic threat to privacy.” The findings most concerning to the average Googler include the company’s practices of: - Retaining user’s personal information for an unstated or indefinite length of time; - Recording all search strings and their associated IP-addresses for at least 18-24 months; and - Identifying all Google Toolbar users with a cookie that allows Google to track their Web movements. Privacy International’s report follows a number of recent attacks by both U.
S. and international consumer groups on Google’s privacy practices. Google has responded to the backlash by agreeing to begin erasing the information about users' search requests within 18 to 24 months.
A statement on Google’s official blog attempts to clarifty its policies: “Analyzing logs data is an important tool to help our engineers refine search quality and build helpful new services…if we know that people are clicking on the #1 result we’re doing something right, and if they’re hitting next page or reformulating their query, we’re doing something wrong. The ability of a search company to continue to improve its services is essential, and represents a normal and expected use of such data.” Read this from CNET for more information on search engines’ privacy practices and how to delete tracking cookies from your computer.
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Remember the last time you Googled an embarrassing or private topic?
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