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
I was having a discussion with someone about this one day (and it’s more or less the same views I have on putting CCTV everywhere). The benefits of Google being able to provide all those services is enough to let me give them all my details. I know I’m doing nothing dodgy on the internet, so I have nothing to hide. My life is so boring, that sometimes I’m not even interested in what I’m doing, why would someone at Google HQ who doesn’t even know me be interested?
What I’m a little bit more concerned about is things like Google caching web pages and websites like archive.org which while they have a very good use, they will also cache things like Myspace comments and Bebo comments (and presumably this comment) which means they could technically be around for ever more. I’m only 20 at the moment, but say in 20 years time, would I really want my kids reading everything I’ve ever done? Not because it’s anything bad, but because they will learn what a boring person their father was, but you see my point..!