Google User Responsibility for Privacy Protection

I depend on Google everyday. In fact, the last time I bought a phone I chose a Droid so that I could have easy access to everything Google offers that keeps me organized. Google calendar tells me where I need to be and when. Gmail keeps me connected to friends. Google gives me phone numbers, restaurant addresses and bus schedules. This morning I used Google Drive to check the schedule for an event where I was volunteering. It is a convenience to me that Google tracks all of this data about my life and I voluntarily provide information to the company for these services.

I am not alone; Google is part of daily life for millions of people around the world. As of June 2012, 435 million people were using Gmail. That number includes government agencies, universities and businesses. Two-thirds of people conducting web searches in the U.S. use Google, according to data tracker comScore 2013.

In January 2014, Google purchased Nest, a company that makes a thermostat that “learns your schedule, programs itself and can be controlled from your phone.”  This acquisition ignited the latest discussion regarding Google and privacy. It also caused concern among Nest users who had “entered an agreement (to share their personally identifiable stream of data) with one company (Nest) but now that agreement has been transferred to another company (Google)” says Parker Higgins, an activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a Forbes article. Some Nest users have returned their equipment and ended their contracts because they do not trust their personal data in the hands of Google, which has broader access to information than Nest had.

Google’s Privacy Policy is Very Public

Google’s privacy policy is easily accessible. A Google search for “Google privacy policy” yields an immediate result for the policy, which is also posted on the footer of the Google search page and at the bottom of Gmail, for example. The policy is written in plain language and includes a link to key terms for users who may not be familiar with the meaning of words like cookies, browsers and IP address. Google is not trying to hide anything.

The policy explains that Google collects “information to provide better services to all of our users – from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful or the people who matter most to you online." The policy states that Google collects two types of information: that which users give Google, for example when setting up a profile, and that which Google gets when individuals use Google services, such as what you search for or where you are located when you use a Google service.

In addition to outlining the type of information Google collects, the privacy policy tells readers how they can control some of the information that is connected to their Google account via Google Dashboard. Here is a screen shot of my Dashboard to give an idea of what is there:

From this dashboard you can edit your Google account profile settings (gender, age, password), manage your alerts, access your analytics and view your most recent Google searches, Gmail messages topics, Google calendar entries, and everything else that connects you with Google. You can also locate your Android phone through the dashboard. In fact, I was able to locate mine and ring it just by pushing a button on the dashboard. This was especially surprising because my phone is always set to vibrate.

Google’s privacy policy states how you can prevent your information from being shared. “You may also set your browser to block all cookies, including cookies associated with our services, or to indicate when a cookie is being set by us. However, it is important to remember that many of our services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled." The second sentence may cause some readers to decide that protecting privacy by disabling cookies is not worth the trouble of losing settings and remembered passwords.

Google is transparent about the information that it stores; users simply have to read the policy. Google states that it uses data to “provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads."

Internet users can take steps to be empowered and protect their own privacy. The first step, of course, is to avoid using any Google services, although that would be a huge shift for someone like me who depends on the convenience Google provides.

What should be of greater concern than Google’s access to your data is the possibility of hackers getting their hands on it. That is where individuals can take responsibility for their own privacy.

Individuals Need To Take Responsibility

Only 46 percent of Americans believe it is the responsibility of individuals to protect their online privacy, according to a survey sponsored by Microsoft in 2013. Thirty-one percent believe that companies are responsible to protect us online, and 23 percent think that it is the government’s job.  While I agree with the 45 percent of Americans who believe that companies can use technological innovations to help us manage our privacy, it should not be the full responsibility of companies to protect us.

Barring avoiding Google (and the Internet) altogether, individuals can prevent hackers from accessing information through password protection. An article on the McAfee website shares password security tips including:

·      Set unique passwords. Do not use familiar words, family member names, numbers such as “123456” or birthdates.

·      Do not reuse passwords among sites.

·      Do not use your password on public computers or in areas where you are on unsecured Wi-Fi connections.

·      Use at least eight characters, including letters numbers and symbols. Create a code or sentence with the characters.

A Social Media Today article shares many other tips for maintaining privacy while using the web and social media, including:

·      Do not save sign-in passwords in online accounts.

·      Set your Facebook privacy to “Friends Only.”

·      Use a password on all electronic devices.

·      Use two-step authentication in Gmail to prevent others from signing in.

·      Encrypt everything on your computer.

·      Clear your browser and cookies.

·      Keep track of applications that connect to your social media accounts and deactivate those you do not use.

·      Get an app that allows remote cleaning of a stolen device.

·      Set up a Google alert for your name in case anything strange pops up online.

In Closing

With everything that we can do online, such as banking, shopping, researching, accessing work email and work servers, privacy is a concern. Whether individuals use Google or other online companies, it is up to individuals to protect themselves if they are going to engage online.