back to article Google launches privacy Dashboard service

Google has launched a Dashboard service that's designed to show how much the search engine giant knows about its users online activities. The service provides a summary of data associated with a specified Google account. Users gain the ability to view and manage data, which ranges from search engine queries and emails sent …

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  1. adnim

    Thanks for the heads up

    I just visited my dashboard and deleted everything. Yes absolutely everything. Now to check on the account I use for Google analytics. But just because I cannot see it any more, has it really been deleted?

    Gmail is a good disposable email address for pointless, inane and non secure communication.

    For those of you surprised or even shocked by your web history... Use Scroogle

  2. http://twitter.com/johnmorrison
    Unhappy

    Well ...

    Took a peek at the data. Must admit Google's got a lot of information about me (must've realized it earlier !) ... especially given the fact that i've been using many Google apps. Guess, that's a tradeoff between convenience and a fair amount of privacy. Hopefully, the data is *safe* and does'nt get *abused* in any way. Wishful thinking ? Time will tell ...

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    just one record for me!

    and that is the video i uploaded to youtube for all to see.

    Maybe, just maybe, running FF in full clean out mode (clear all private data on exit) is the key to all this stuff.

    I am no teenager but i do have facebook, flickr, youtube and various other more techy based internet memberships but it is possible to run them in a way that does not share all info with the world.

    If you start from the point of view that anything you post online is like sending it on a postcard to MI5 and your mum, then the web can be fairly private!

  4. Mike48

    nothing on me

    Then again, I haven't used google and block any and all cookies from all googleanalytics since they merged with doubleclik. Worst sins have never been committed by anyone... Do no evil HAH!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Persistant Sessions

    I find it extremely annoying that once you authenticate to a single google service (eg Analytics) your session (which conveniently hardly ever seems to expire) is then valid across the whole google platform - so unless you explicitly logout your search history and other data is collected.

    Yahoo! and others don't do this - a login to flickr requires a separate authentication to access Yahoo! mail.

    Collecting my search (or web browsing) history should be an opt-in activity - unless I am explicitly under investigation for serious criminal activity.

    If deployment of behavioral profiling / tracking activity continues to creep it will be necessary to revert to using proxies, anonymizer services and encryption.

  6. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Spying was never easier

    "What does Google know about me?" ...... Your every wish. And it makes Phorm look like an angel.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Do no evil

    So how do I find out how much info the evil empire has on me if I don't have a Google account?

    I vary rarely use it.

    I use Booble though.

  8. This post has been deleted by its author

  9. Robin

    Did I Miss Something?

    Why is it a surprise that a company with whom you have opened an account, hold data on you?

  10. TimNevins

    Mitigation

    If you use IE then at least disable any third party cookies.

    If you use FF then get the Ghostery & Better Privacy Add-Ons.

    As mentioned above Scroogle is a good port of call.

    Also consider using IxQuick as an alternative or balance your queries between the two.

  11. Asgard
    WTF?

    Google Doublespeak

    "Google launches privacy Dashboard service" ... which ... "is accessed by logging into a Google account"

    Thanks Google, that's a great example of Doublespeak.

    So they want us to believe it enhances our privacy to setup an account with Google, which then allows Google to be absolutely sure every search is associated with our login details. If anything that improves Google's chances of being able to track people so its actually undermining privacy.

    But then Google's favorite Doublespeak is "do no harm". Oh well in that case, I totally trust you Google. After all Google, you only want to profit by spying on us all.

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