On Google Web History
Posted on Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 10:58am. #
There’s been a lot already blogged about Google Web History (a set of pages which, incidentally, also connect via https:// just like virtually everything else Google does). There’s a good roundup at CNET, and there’s even a good cartoon about it. (Both via Anil Dash).
I’m a fan of Google, I make no bones about it. Google funds my sandpit website, Media UK, and I entrust Google with all my personal email. However, I thought long and hard about enabling this service, which gives Google a list of every single website I ever visit. (It’s not on by default, it should be pointed out - and it appears to need activating from every single machine you use).
Why did I wait before enabling it? I simply wasn’t sure that I wanted Google knowing all this stuff.
Then I thought a little harder, and realised…
- Google knows all the emails I get, since they all go via Gmail
- Google knows everything I search for (whether I’m logged-in or not)
- Google knows what I’m interested in, since I use Google Reader
- Google knows many of the third-party websites I visit, since they either use Google AdSense or Google Analytics
- Google knows what I buy (since my receipts go to Gmail), and what I’m looking for
- Google have regularly known every single website I go to (since I go through stages of either enabling or disabling PageRank)
- After recent changes, Google hopefully will now only know this stuff for 18 months of my history, rather than my entire net history (which started in 1992)
Given that, I reasoned, I’m not telling Google anything new. And the benefits - being able to search through my web history, particularly since I’ve rediscovered StumbleUpon and am already strangely addicted, probably outweigh the disadvantages of someone in Mountain View being able to know all kinds of things about me.
The only thing I’ve done is - for the first time in two years - changed my Google password, and vow to change it every month, come what may. It’s as valuable as my banking password these days; possibly more so - and I’d recommend that, with the amount of information Google’s keeping on us, you do that, too.
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Apology
I couldn’t work out why my tags were disappearing from posts, and discovered, eventually, that it was a bug with Ultimate Tag Warrior. I’ve just added the update and things should run much more smoothly. Hope this has fixed it.
Andy said at April 27th, 2007 at 2:07pm 
