Google's new unified privacy policy will take effect on March 1. All the data Google automatically gathers about you, such as the sites you visit, will be dumped into one virtual bucket with your name on it. While you can't opt out of the new approach without abandoning Google sites, you can erase your browsing history. "Search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, including facts about your location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health concerns, and more," warns the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco and an advocate for online privacy. If you delete your Google Web History that includes the searches you've made and the sites you've visited, you'll prevent Google from associating that data with information it has collected from other Google sites you use such as YouTube and Gmail. While no one knows exactly how Google would use your combined information, the policy changes have already prompted more than raised eyebrows. The Center for Digital Democracy today filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. It has asked the FTC to sue Google to stop the policy change and to fine the company. The FTC can impose fines up to $16,000 per day for each violation. In the meantime, the EFF recommends that Google users delete their Web history. Here's how:
- Go to Google.com and sign into your account.
- Use the dropdown menu under your name in the upper right-hand corner to access your settings. You'll now be on your accounts overview page.
- Find the section called Services and you'll see a link to "View, enable, or disable web history." Here you can remove all of your Web history or selected items. When you disable Web History it will remain turned off until you turn it back on.
To get a detailed view of the information about you that Google keeps, go to "Products" from your accounts overview page. Click the button labeled "Dashboard." You'll see a listing of the Google products you use and links to edit your information.