BY BRANDON SLOANE
In today’s internet-driven world, no website is more valuable than Google.com. Google, the world’s largest search engine, is utilized on a daily basis by millions of people around the globe to access information on a wide array of topics. Google has also begun to expand its functions and has become one of the largest email websites, online calendars, and messaging systems on the web. With a few clicks of a mouse, you can do just about anything from the Google website. But with an ever increasing number of searches and functions that people use this internet conglomerate for, it begs the question does Google know too much about you?
One of the main features of Google is that it saves all the searches you make (literally every single thing you have ever Googled is tucked away in a virtual filing cabinet with your name on it). What’s even more incredible is that thanks to the new personalized search function, Google can track your searches for up to six months even when you aren’t logged in to an account! But that isn’t all that Google keeps track of; according to an article on CNN.com, Google also tracks every chat you’ve had on Google Talk, every phone call you’ve made with Google Voice, every event you have saved on you Google Calendar, and everything on your Google contact list.
What’s even more alarming than the massive amounts of information Google has saved about you is what they plan to do with it. An article written on WND.com (WorldNetDaily) talked about how Google will soon be selling information it compiles about you and your Google patterns to advertisers. The letter the company wrote to its users about the change in its privacy policy stated: “the purpose of this shift in policy is to make the consumer experience simpler”. While this may be true in some respects, it is still a total and utter violation of privacy on behalf of the Google Corporation. If they begin to sell information to advertisers now, who’s to say they won’t be giving out email addresses to spam websites or phone numbers to telemarketers in the near future? If we begin to let companies dispense our personal information to whomever they like, it can begin a slippery slope to a complete suspension of privacy over the web.
Google was started back in 1996 as a research project by students at Stanford University. The past 16 years has seen it evolve from a mere school project to an information empire. And with Google’s ever expanding list of functions, it shows no signs of slowing any time soon. It would be impossible to ask people to stop using Google altogether, but not impossible to ask for people to be more cautious on the site. So the next time you’re sitting at your desk clicking away on the marvelous site, ask yourself this question: is this really something I want Google to know about me?
