[LINK] 'This is your life, according to Google'

[Roger Clarke]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070421-this-is-your-life-according-to-google.html

This is your life, according to Google
By Jeremy Reimer | Published: April 21, 2007 - 03:24PM CT

Google's latest project is called Web History, and it offers 
registered Google Account users a chance to peruse not just their 
account history with Google, but one's surfing history. "Imagine 
being able to search over the full text of pages you've visited 
online and finding that one particular quote you remember reading 
somewhere months ago," explains Google's Payam Shodjai, product 
manager for Personalization. "Imagine always knowing exactly where 
you saw something online, like that priceless YouTube video of your 
friend attempting to perform dance moves from a bygone age. Better 
yet, imagine having this wealth of information work for you to make 
searching for new information easier and faster."

The data is available only when the user logs on with a Google 
account and password, the same account used for other Google services 
such as Gmail. In order to track web surfing information, the user 
must have the Google Toolbar installed in their web browser, and have 
PageRank enabled. The Web History feature can be turned off and on as 
you like.

Google Web History replaces the earlier "Search History," which only 
allowed users to look at previous web search queries and results. The 
new tool allows users to browse pretty much anything they've surfed 
on the Internet-from sites visited to downloads to search results, 
and also displays usage trends, showing which sites were most visited 
at certain times of the day. There's even a history of which Google 
AdSense ads the user has clicked on.

Google says that Web History data will only be available to the user 
signed in with his or her Google Account. The data collected is only 
used to "improve your search experience" and Google promises that 
this data will not be made available to third parties except in 
aggregate form or to comply with legal processes, as per their 
existing privacy policy. As such, the existence of Google Web History 
does not change anything in terms of what information Google is 
collecting from its Toolbar users. Indeed, any web site on the 
Internet can collect usage information from its visitors by the use 
of cookies and IP tracking.

Still, the fact that all this information is being collected in one 
easy-to-access place does have some people worried-what happens if a 
Google account is compromised? Some are concerned that Google's 
recent purchase of DoubleClick may cause the company to be less 
interested in user privacy and more interested in sharing their 
surfing habits with advertising partners, too. A straw poll in the 
virtual office shows that we're not really worried about the privacy 
angle, but strangely no one was eager to leave this on for a week, 
either.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW