Google has said it plans to consolidate its existing privacy policies into one mammoth central policy, as well as simplifying its terms of service. Should you be concerned?
Google explained the changes, which will take effect from March 1, in a posting on its official blog today. Dropping from more than 70 privacy policies for different products to a single main privacy policy and a single set of terms of service does make it more likely that people will understand what’s involved. The old terms of service ran to 4200-odd words; the new one is 1800 words. It’s still not a compelling read, but it is a lot easier to follow.
Granted, the vast majority of Google users probably don’t even think about the terms of use associated with various Google products or realise that there are differences depending which one they use. But if you do care, it’s good not to have to wade through so much crap to discover them.
That change is also consistent with the general mood around Google in the Google+ era, where services are being shut down and merged into a giant search/social networking behemoth which in turn opens up new advertising opportunities. Google’s one-time mantra might have been “don’t be evil”, but as a listed company, its actual mission (like every other company in the same boat) is “make as much money as fast as possible”.
Google itself is fairly transparent about what it sees as the benefit of making the switch:
The main change is for users with Google Accounts. 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. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.
Again, I suspect many people assumed this was happening anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to spell it out. There are also still lengthy separate privacy policies for Chrome, Books and Wallet. But the underlying principle is this:
For many people, the notion that Google knows so much about their lives, interests and habits is disturbing. If you fall into that category, then check out our suggestions for alternatives to Google Services and our guide to searches where Google isn’t the best tool anyway.
You can also opt to use Google without signing in and with cookies turned off. It won’t be personalised, but it will still be useful.
What’s your reaction to the change? Tell us in the comments.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.