google : stick a fork in them turn them over they are done ?

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
23,862
[This is a slight corruption of a Lou Reed lyric but reflects my visceral dislike of the ever pervasive google ]

Relations just told me they now have messages in Internet Explorer to sign up to the google privacy policy before they can make searches - did something change ?

Personally I run one Firefox browser (with noscript) in which I use gmail and am logged in.
In other browser sessions including IE, I put google.co.uk on the restricted black list (but not google.com) this then gives me the traditional google search mechanism (with easy access to search options ... try it out) no automatic completion (which is typically useless) and no nag messages or targetted advertising I believe.

Any thoughts ?
 
Pretty sure the messages are just privacy reminders, you don't have to sign in or something, just click the "Review now" button, scroll to the bottom, select "I agree" and it will be gone forever (unless you clear the browser's cookies).
 
OK, I dislike having to "I agree" even if I am not signing in, since tracking will still
occur within that browser session (but would not be linked to my other signed-in use of google products on this or other computers ) so I block cookies (I believe) by putting
google.co.uk on blacklist (which I think gives a better search interface too - easy access to advanced options)
 
Not really sure I am following but if it's just this thing when you search

4zRhNT2.png


Just ignore it or choose one of the options. It's just google disclosing that they've changed their policies.

Of course if you are blocking the cookie that lets them know you've already done that then...
 
Oh I've had that a few times when 'signing in' for the first time etc. It's basically so they get the 'ok' for them to monitor everything we do via their services etc even if it is the complete opposite to what 'privacy' entails in my view.
 
Isg1r ,
I cannot tell, are you being facetious, and are resigning yourself to signing in .. despite the consequences ...(principally targetted advertising, guesssing by google on what
you are searching for) ?
..as I suggested I have one gmail dedicated browser session where I sign in,
and block google cookies/no sign in, in the others where I browse.
However my solution is too complex for me to propose to it to less computer literate family members.
 
if you block google.co.uk, you get this more useful search interface (options
can be clicked on left) and so can more easily triage the search, plus the
prompting disappears

try_zpsqa16cndo.jpg~original
 
Oh I've had that a few times when 'signing in' for the first time etc. It's basically so they get the 'ok' for them to monitor everything we do via their services etc even if it is the complete opposite to what 'privacy' entails in my view.

Yeah I think things are changing with regards to the scope of data collection and subsequent data mining initiatives.

Key things to note are eye and mouse movement tracking, duration and location of pauses while scrolling down, duration and location of pauses during videos, identification of user reaction to implanted images in image searches, identification of user reaction to implanted recommended videos. ... Okay I could literally go on for ages with all the data being mined but sufficed to say the data is very dangerous.
 
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I got to see the google privacy message (verbatum below) my relation had seen in IE, as I say, I do not know why it just started appearing,
but it presents with just a 'I accept' or 'other options' button, without an obvious 'bother me later' option. It is an intimidating/complex message for those less literate

A privacy reminder from Google
Data we process when you use Google

When you search for a restaurant on Google Maps or watch a video on YouTube, for example, we process information about that activity – including information like the video you watched, device IDs, IP addresses, cookie data and location.
We also process the kind of information described above when you use apps or sites that use Google services like ads, Analytics and the YouTube video player.

Why we process it

We process this data for the purposes described in our policy, including to:

Help our services deliver more useful, customised content such as more relevant search results;
Improve the quality of our services and develop new ones;
Deliver ads based on your interests, including things like searches you've done or videos you've watched on YouTube;
Improve security by protecting against fraud and abuse; and
Conduct analytics and measurement to understand how our services are used.

Combining data

We also combine data among our services and across your devices for these purposes. For example, we use data from trillions of search queries to build spell-correction models that we use across all of our services, and we combine data to alert you and other users to potential security risks.
Learn how Google uses data to improve your experience

Tip: If you sign in to your Google Account before agreeing, we'll remember your choice across all of your signed-in devices and browsers.



Other options

There are many privacy controls that you can use, even when you're signed out, to achieve the Google experience that you want.

Search customisation

Control whether or not search results are affected by search activity in this browser
Edit settings

Ads settings

Adjust the types of ads that you see from Google
Edit settings

YouTube customisation

Control whether or not your YouTube experience is affected by YouTube search and watch activity in this browser
Edit settings

Browser-based controls

Manage how your browser uses cookies or sends data to services like Google Analytics
Edit settings


Manage your Google privacy controls any time at myaccount.google.com.


I got rid of it by adding google.co.uk to the IE restricted site list

... I am still a user of gmail (sometimes forwarded to thunderbird) and it annoys me that effectively all the emails
will be 'analyzed', but I do not know if you can yet get any gmail add on
or other email tool, that would allow you to make secure communication
easily (should I worship at the apple alter) ...a pre-shared key with your
common friends and then seemless en(de)cryption - seems such a product
would fly off the shelves. ?
[I was amused/horrified recently by the stupidity of some of the companies who provide job referencing facilities (to allow potential employees to validate cv's) who expected me to send a unencrypted pdf of a cv in an
email to them ..rather I want to telephone them with a key to decrypt an email attachment I would send) their advertising says how securely they
guard data ... but you cannot send it to them securely]
 
... I am still a user of gmail (sometimes forwarded to thunderbird) and it annoys me that effectively all the emails
will be 'analyzed', but I do not know if you can yet get any gmail add on
or other email tool, that would allow you to make secure communication
easily (should I worship at the apple alter) ...a pre-shared key with your
common friends and then seemless en(de)cryption - seems such a product
would fly off the shelves. ?

Roll your own. There's no such thing as free lunch.

Mailvelope or Enigmail.
 
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