I love Google and their innovative (and FREE) products and services. But lately, they're starting to freak me out.
For one, I noticed that all the display ads on the sites I visited started to look the same. That's right, Google knew what sites I had visited in the past and were showing ads for these sites. It was mildly disturbing. I guess I should have known that they had all that data on me, but when you start fixing my ads it is a little creepy. And how do you stop this? You can't unless you install an extension on your browser. That's right, there is actually no natural, install-free way to stop it. Google's extension for doing this is called IBA Opt-out (stands for Interest Based Ads).
(Aside: Does anyone else think that the weird random combination of lower-case letters in the Chrome Web Store URLs make it look like a spam site?)
Google web search has added a new feature lately that is creepin' me out, too. There is a new integration with your social contacts. I don't have a Google+ account yet I keep seeing what friends of mine recommend when I search for something on the web. I don't care what they recommend! I am searching Google not asking my friend Bill what he thinks. I could care less. And showing pictures of my friends at the top after I search is not as endearing as you'd think. It is like I having a friend whisper his answer in my ear every time I ask someone else a question.
If you go to Google websites even occasionally, it is hard to miss that they have a new privacy policy that starts March 1st. I applaud the simplicity of the policy. However, I suspect that it isn't as innocent as it appears. Google now wants the ability to share your information across all of their products. That's right, you could have a Google Docs account and a Gmail account and now Google wants to be able to use that information to shape your ads on Google Search. And even better, they can use your Google+ demographic data for their ads! (See 3/23/12 Update.)
To rant a bit longer, what about the strange Google Chrome login that has started to appear in my browser? I don't even remember asking it to sync EVERYTHING between my two computers and their browsers. But it assumed I did. How nice (that's sarcasm, by the way).
This all is starting to make me want to diversify. Microsoft, for instance, appears to have a nice replacement for Google Docs. Maybe it also time to switch to WordPress for my blog. One thing is for sure, I certainly wont be using Google+ anytime soon. That's all I need, to give Google more personal information about me.
This is affecting how I see Google new products, now. I saw an article today about a new Google tablet. If this had come out last year, I would be excited to check it out. Now, well ... not so much. Why would I buy something from the company that has an over-zealous approach to taking my information and spreading it across all of their services and sites with or without my permission? No thanks.
Update 3/2/12: After reading this I started migrating my personal Blogger blogs to a self-hosted multi-site WordPress install. This one blog (firelitdesign) is going to stay here for the time being. The rest were migrated.
Update 3/23/12: An ex-Googler apparently also had concerns and started a project to help block Google, Facebook and Twitter from tracking your movements around the web.
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