Something that may be worth looking at from an article by Julia Angwin - ProPublica - Saturday, October 22, 2016
Google has dropped a ban on not using Doubleclick data with your personal information from Google’s other databases such as Gmail to enable personally identifiable web tracking. Quoting from the article “But this summer, Google quietly erased that last privacy line in the sand – literally crossing out the lines in its privacy policy that promised to keep the two pots of data separate by default. In its place, Google substituted new language that says browsing habits “may be” combined with what the company learns from the use Gmail and other tools.”
You can change your choice to be involved in the personal tracking in your Google account. Again quoting from the article “To opt-out of Google’s identified tracking, visit the Activity controls on Google’s My Account page, and uncheck the box next to “Include Chrome browsing history and activity from websites and apps that use Google services.” You can also delete past activity from your account. "
Hope that helps any that wish to keep some semblance of privacy online.
There are many who use Gmail, Google Search, Google Toolbar, Android phones and so on that don’t know of these changes and the way information sharing can affect them. So I was just hoping to make some more aware and maybe lead to some changing their habits.
@Fred yes those things are useful but if others have for example Gmail accounts they’re still providing information everytime they send or receive email. This is just a small step they can take to help themselves.
And while you are in “my account” make sure you delete your browsing history. You will need to google this because I cannot remember the steps to do this offhand. When you delete your browsing history using the privacy settings in Chrome it is still held in “my account” ensuring google can still target you for ads etc. Pretty sneaking eh!
I use Explorer, Vivaldi, Opera, Chrome Firefox and Tor depending on what I want to look at. I use Gmail for a few things that do not worry me but also use Outlook and run Proton mail in TOR. I also use Spamex to generate new email addresses for sites that want an email address and then turn it off a few weeks later. I never run email programs within a browser except TOR. I use a Blackberry phone as it is the safest phone, and my Tablets have tracking turned off. I make it as difficult as possible for the snoopers.
I also use Chrome and Firefox and a few light weight browsers. If you automatically update
Chrome, be careful, they sometimes add on software like Picasa and recently Google+. If you
don’t customize it, you get their defaults for privacy and security.
It is certainly extremely annoying that no matter what one looks at, Google then persists in haunting you all over the internet to target you with ads for the item.
