Well Google went and did it they have added the straw that broke the camel's back at least for me. I have closed out all my G-stuff deleted all contacts and emails. I have a coupe of people I email using Gmail so I have to keep the account opened if I could get those guys off that I wouldn't ever use Google again. Why!?
Google is watching every step you take
I signed my new licensing agreement yesterday just like all Google users will have to do allowing Google to categorize all my activities. Why am I not comfortable with this? Mostly because I dont have the option to opt out. Would I opt out probably not I dont really care what they are doing with my information in the end it might even benefit me but I do want the option. What do you guys say are you okay with Google tracking you? Do you think you should have the option to pass on them tracking you?
As a Microsoft enthusiast I have all my stuff in Bing, Live and Hotmail anyways so it no loss to me. I dont really use Google anyways do you? Give me your thoughts on this everyone am I over reacting?
I lurk around here most of the time. I think you're overreacting for the following reasons:
1. Google's new policies barely bring it to parity with Facebook. If you're on Facebook, it doesn't much matter.
2. Unless you use some type of anonymous-blocking web-browser, Google Analytics, along with about 2 dozen other tracking cookies record your browser activity/telemetry (Explorer, Chrome, Opera, even Firefox are all built to allow these tools to operate).
3. If you have a cell phone and enable any type of GPS locator services, ad services will eventually tie in to some carrier program which will also "link" various services to you and your accounts.
4. Just about every online/media/connected device or service does the same thing. Yahoo!, MSN Live, AOL, cellular carrier, et al...
I don't necessarily blame you for your reaction, but this activity that Google is integrating doesn't really separate them from the pack. Remember all the hooplah over CarrierIQ? That service did *less* than what all these other activities do and one blog/media twist starts a whole sh!tstorm.
Reality, there is no big conspiracy to enable a track on every individual out there by evil corporations for purposes of serving some obscure government master. Reality is this: if you did a search on Google for chinese restaurants in San Francisco and used your gmail account to invite some friends for dinner, Google is going to tally that statistic in some grand database to sell ad space to all the chinese restaurants in town because "someone" likes chinese. Not because you were in your living room streaming Family Guy clips on Youtube and they activated your camera to see you were eating Chow Mein and they focused on the take out receipt hanging on outside of the bag...catch my drift?
It comes down to money. If they are able to target demographics for their clients for the purposes of selling ad space for products you already buy and use there isn't much new happening here. The fact that it links your Google+ with your Gmail, with Google searches shouldn't really surprise anyone should it (h*ll, I thought it already did)? Look at all the Facebook integration over the past 12 months...****, my Ghostify says there are 5 tracking cookies on this page I'm typing on alone...
So, in the end, I'm not bashing your concerns for privacy. I'm simply throwing my two-cents worth of perspective out there. If you're on the grid in any way, it doesn't matter what Google does...