by: iCopywriter
In just three days, Google’s new privacy policy will take
effect. Basically, what that means is that information gleaned from any part of
a person’s Google use, or the use of the company’s many apps and services (from
YouTube to gMail and gCal to the basic search engine) will be compiled to
create a spookily cohesive Google user profile. This profile will be used to
generate search suggestions (like knowing whether you mean lacrosse, the sport
played with nets on the ends of sticks, or LaCrosse, the Buick car) as well as
generate Google’s increasingly eerie targeted ads.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people are less than pleased with
these changes, which are seen by many consumer and privacy protection groups as
vastly breaching Google users’ rights to privacy, especially as there’s no
choice to opt out. And if you think about it, as Tech Daily News notes, your searches
will tell Google a lot about you.
Ever searched for information about a medication you or a
loved one is taking? Now, Google will be able to add that fact to its vast
cache of data on your private life. Ever entered your age, gender, date of
birth, country of origin or ethnicity on a website? That, too, can be collected
and used to target ads to you. Where you live, where you travel, what you like
to see and do and eat and wear, not to mention even more sensitive information,
like facts about your (ear muffs, kiddos) sex life - all fair game under this new umbrella privacy
policy. It’s enough to make a person feel positively icky.
So if you, like us, are clamoring to clear your Google
browsing history, here’s how, according to Tech Daily News:
1. Sign
into your Google account.
2. Under
your name in the upper right corner, you’ll find a dropdown menu. Click
“account settings,” which will take you to your accounts overview page.
3. Scroll
down to the section called “Services.”
You should have the option to “View, enable, or disable web history.” Go
to the “Web History” section and click the link at the top of the page that
says, “Remove all Web History.” At this point, your web history will remain
turned off until you manually turn it back on.
By performing these steps, you’ll stop Google from linking
information from your searches and the sites you’ve visited with more personal
information from your Google accounts. While it’s not a perfect fix for what
many see as an overreach on Google’s part, it’s a great first step in
protecting your online privacy.
Have you checked out iCopywriter.com lately?
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