Google: We Can Be Trusted With Your Data
Google's CEO says people wouldn't use Google if it couldn't be trusted.
Google has gotten a lot of criticism over the accidental harvesting of WiFi and router data via the Google Street View cars. The search giant admitted its blunder after German Data Protection Authority asked to audit the WiFi data collected by the Google Street View cars. The mistake raised a number of questions about privacy and several countries launched investigations into the matter, including Canada, France, Germany and Spain.
Google is no stranger to criticism when it comes to user data and privacy. In a recent interview, CEO Eric Schmidt assured the Telegraph that user data is safe with Google because a combination of criticism, customers and competition keeps the company in check.
"I think the criticism is fine. I think criticism informs us, it makes us better. It doesn't bother me at all," said Schmid.
"Those concerns are real - I'm not trying to move away from them. The fact of the matter is that if you're online all the time, computers are generating a lot of information about you. This is not a Google decision, this is a societal decision. In Britain, you all allow yourselves to be photographed on every street corner. Where are the riots?"
Schmid goes on to say that all of Google's testing indicates that the vast majority of people are happy with its policy.
"The reality is we make decisions based on what the average user tells us and we do check. And the reason that you should trust us is that if we were to violate that trust people would move immediately to someone else. We're very non-sticky so we have a very high interest in maintaining the trust of those users."
Do you trust Google with your data? Let us know in the comments below!
(Via the Telegraph)
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Well... people use Facebook, and they can't be trusted.
No. I don't trust any organization that collects personal info, without full disclosure. Google collects lots of info through its search engine, and holds it for several months. I accept that as a trade-off to use its services (+ the ads). But since I use it for searching, I won't set up a Gmail account, that's too much personal info with one organization. Paranoid? Yes, but I cannot rely on an organization to safeguard my info - they can change their policies and practices at any time.
I trust them. They dont even need to try to gather data, we give it all to them for free with our emails and searches, if they wanted to do bad things with it they would have already. I trust them with my info a hell of a lot more than i trust facebook.
Well I say Google might not be all the good and ethical they claim they are but at least they care to pretend, unlike most. If I had to chose any of the computer giants to trust it would be Google. Better none at all but nowadays it's pretty dificult to not slip ANY personal data into the internet.
I'll trust them until they do something wrong. and then I'll sue them, then probably never trust them again.
I'm not one of these people who believes its only a matter of time until google does something evil, because they are soo big. I think people have seen too many movies. Google has never done anything even remotely wrong by me, and they constantly bring out good, USEFUL product at a price I can't complain about. so for me it is very much a matter of IF not WHEN, and if it does happen - and I'm not saying it isn't possible - we can rest assured that the lawyers will sort them out good and proper.
My thing is, if the Germans didn't audit Google, then would they have came out and said "Whops guys we collected some unprotected WiFi data!..our bad!"
Probably not.
No. I don't trust any organization that collects personal info, without full disclosure. Google collects lots of info through its search engine, and holds it for several months. I accept that as a trade-off to use its services (+ the ads). But since I use it for searching, I won't set up a Gmail account, that's too much personal info with one organization. Paranoid? Yes, but I cannot rely on an organization to safeguard my info - they can change their policies and practices at any time.
Wihtout full disclosure? Read the privacy policy. They follow it to the letter. Any time they violate something, they apologize and fix their mess.
If it's not google, it's someone else (can you tell i'm canadian)
*shrugs shoulders*
my daily day2day to do list on the internet is heavily rely on a few of google's service and the trade of giving some of my personal info for a better internet experience is acceptable to a certain extend for me.
Beside, it's not like Google is the only one gather our personal info. Many other companies are doing it as well but are not as willingly to discuss this topic as google is
Well, the first paragraph was so full of bullshit about "accidental" harvesting of data that I almost didn't read the rest.
Honestly, if you truly believe that all the data harvesting was an "accident" I'd ask why you're not sharing your obviously good drugs with me!
Because if you believe it was an accident, you are either on some other planet, or on drugs!
YOU CANT HARVEST THAT MUCH DATA WITHOUT KNOWING YOU ARE DOING IT!
And for them to say, oh we didn't realize we were doing this is total crap!
The mood is shifting against Google.
Not too long ago they were seen as altruistic, cyber do-gooders, making our virtual world a better place.
Now... not so much. Careful guys. The public are finicky and can turn in an instant.
Google is evil. Avoid them and all of their products and services like the plague. Seriously.
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines – including Google – do retain this information for some time. And it’s important, for example, that we’re all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act... it is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities.”
---Google CEO Eric Schmidt on your privacy and data
Google has some big evil plan in store..... ^^
I don't know if I would say I trust them, but I use the internet and there is obviously a risk in doing so. I'm willing to take that risk and so if a company such as Google want's to keep information about me then it's pretty much my problem for using the internet in the first place. So really I couldn't care less. Anyway it's pretty unlikely Google would use your information to do anything that would actually effect you.
When was the last time you trusted someone that said "trust me"?
I switched to Bing because Google can keep your search data indefinitely and Microsoft says it will only keep it two years. Not a perfect solution, but it will do.
People wouldn't use google if it couldn't be trusted? That is amusingly unconvincing argument.
As much as I appreciate Google's open stance towards criticism (as opposed to Apple) I still don't trust Google entirely, much less providing them with data.
Among the necessary evils - I'd rather choose Bing over Google. Same goes for the browser.
Well, you shouldn't use google if you dont trust them.
Well, you shouldn't use google if you dont trust them.
I agree, I never trusted google so i stopped using it and switched to Bing, besides being better (obv imo but can be a fact), your info would be in good hands
Anytime you type anything into a forum chat, or email someone, or play a game, if its not encrypted and sometimes even if it is encrypted someone can read it, In other words if someone wants to know what YOUR doing on the internet bad enough there are ways to get it done. That includes BING, GOOGLE, YAHOO, and your mom's recipe for chicken kiev. Anytime you use the internet you take the chance of someone seeing what you are doing. So I use Google, knowing full well that someone might be tracking what I'm doing, If i want to do something that I dont want anyone to know about there are tools out there for that.
Negative.
I do not trust the Google with my data.
LOL paranoid people in the world.
the only people that have a problem with their data is the people who has something to hide or who has a crappy administrator managing their security of their wi-fi or assess to their resources. nobody is responsible for their security except themselves.
you go GOOGLE....great job all round.
I never see anything bad about this company and it is not square to say that they are using or taking advantage of me and my personal informations.
Well... people use Facebook, and they can't be trusted.
That's because they're dumbf$ck$
A little, even if the security is clear - we should never broadcast things that are not necessary.
Google is evil. Avoid them and all of their products and services like the plague. Seriously.“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines – including Google – do retain this information for some time. And it’s important, for example, that we’re all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act... it is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities.” ---Google CEO Eric Schmidt on your privacy and data
I love how this quote used against Google, really tells the truth, but people only see the parts they want. Search ENGINES is plural. Bing, Yahoo (which is powered by BING) and your ISP, will turn over all the same info if you are investigated. In my experience, the ISP rolls over the fastest.
I'll take google over apple just because they don't explode when they are criticized. I'll take them over Microsoft until Microsoft produces a better product that can compete browser wise with google. If it weren't for my job I'd use google docs for most things and just keep confidential information separate from the docs. One question comes to mind. Can you encrypt your data before uploading it to the cloud such as a document with personal information. Then from another location download it and then unencrypt it using google docs?
a better product that can compete browser wise with google. If it weren't for my job I'd use google docs for most things and just keep confidential information separate from the docs. One question comes to mind. Can you encrypt your data before uploading it to the cloud such as a document with personal information. Then from another location download it and then unencrypt it using google docs?
Invading privacy without the permission of those whose privacy is inflicted >> SPYING?! CHEATING?!
@Google > Whats Next?! > Stealing?!
Wihtout full disclosure? Read the privacy policy. They follow it to the letter. Any time they violate something, they apologize and fix their mess.
So are you suggesting that we wait until they do something wrong and illegal?
What if the loss that they make to somebody is not fixable by their "APOLOGY" ..as you state?