It’s been just about a month now since Google has rolled out it’s unified privacy policy, and on some frequented corners of the internet people are still making a fuss. Calling the change in the way Google delivers it’s results and it’s ads, a breach of personal privacy to all who use Google products.
The fact that the privacy policy has been put into place, and all of the fuss and noise that was being made didn’t even slow it, let alone stop it, should be evidence enough that the people who pull the strings are on board. It’s a single document, which pertains to all of Google’s properties online and it basically makes everyones job easier. No more do you have to accept a privacy policy for any, and every, Google product you create an account for. Think you’ve been slighted by the company, take the policy in hand, get a lawyer and make your play. But in the end, the average internet user won’t be doing any of the sort. It’s the internet, there is much more than a single search provider. Don’t agree with their new policy, there’s always Bing ready and willing. But that means also no Youtube, no Places searches, and no Gmail to have synced across your platforms. There are absolutely alternatives to pretty much and and every Google platform, but you’d be fooling yourself to think they’re all better, or even comparable for that matter.
In all the ruckus made about the issues of privacy that people keep bringing up, it always comes back to the same question. If you’re so unhappy, why don’t you just stop using it? The real issue with privacy and being online that the vast majority don’t, or won’t realize, is it doesn’t truly exist. If you want your information to be private, never sign anything. Never use the internet, don’t get an email address and move to a mountain side. And even then, even if you lived all alone in a shack on the side of a mountain, if someone sees you and writes a blog about you, sorry, no more privacy. All you can do to maintain control online is to be aware of the sites you use, what their policies are and what they change too if they change. Google didn’t change anything about how they do their work, they simply stream lined it to make it easier for the user, and for them. Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, all massive companies all of which became that way because you’ve used their products and given them your information. Companies don’t grow like trees, they grow with your personal, private information.
Instead of harping on the one company which has a single privacy policy, and an easy to understand one at that, go and find Facebooks policy and give that a read. If you really dig into what the policy is telling you, I think you’ll find yourself more than a little shocked at just how un-private you are.
