Do Google tracking us?

[flaymond]

Does Google is tracking everything we do on Internet? If it's true, what would you do to prevent it or to stop it from happened? (Precautions)

[Elfy]

Thread moved to Recurring Discussions.

[vasa1]

Use common sense?

[coldraven]

Use Firefox with AdBlockPlus, NoScript, Ghostery and BetterPrivacy add-ons installed.
Block all trackers, widgets and set BetterPrivacy to delete all LSO/SuperCookies because Adobe can track you as well!
The only problem I find is that by removing all LSOs the settings are lost. All I have to do is remember to right click the video and change the storage setting to "Unlimited" at the beginning of my viewing session.
This helps with streaming as my download speed is borderline and can vary.

Set Firefox to delete all History and third party cookies on exit.

[user1397]

The thing is, it's not just google. It's facebook, yahoo, microsoft, almost every company in the world that has enough resources...the first thing they wanna do is collect consumer data to be able to target advertisements and products more specifically to the consumers.

Some argue that so what, what if they collect data on us, we have nothing to hide. This can be a dangerous stance, because you are effectively allowing anything about yourself to be exposed and saying that this is ok. I think we should focus on more privacy on the internet (cryptography seems to be the main method for this currently) because we as humans should have the right to privacy, just as we should have the right to freedom of speech. It's an uphill battle, but more and more people are becoming concerned and aware of the issue.

Currently, it is an extreme inconvenience to try to be private on the internet, as most of the best tools on the internet come from companies which collect the most information from you. For example, the best search engine is universally accepted as being google. The best social media site: facebook. The best email: google mail (gmail). So you can use a bunch of alternative services, but for the most part, they're going to suck compared to these established services.

The only thing we can do if we're really concerned about this is to spread awareness and/or improve/create new services that are privacy-minded that will replace these established services like gmail and facebook (best method is to use open-source tools with cryptographic security).

At least that's what I've been gathering from reading about the subject recently.

[Tar_Ni]

Google tracks everything you do online. It is true that there are certainly not the only one to do so (take Facebook for instance) but they have shown the way with a business model in which you are the product and where your personal data are mined and sold to advertisers for targeting purpose. Microsoft and Apple for exemple might dab into this kind of practice to some extent but that's not how their business model work, they could stop tomorrow and that wouldn't put a dent in their assets. 90% of Google's revenue comes from advertising and they actually depend on tracking people.. Enough said.

For more privacy what I would do is stop using Google's services..Use Startpage instead of Google Search. Go for Tutanota instead of Gmail. Use LibreOffice and avoid Google Doc.

The only Google's service I can't get rid of at this point is Youtube because that's where most of the cool stuff is, but then I was using it before they acquired it in 2006.. I avoid login in though and if ever I have to upload a video I'll choose Vimeo or Dailymotion instead..

Use Firefox with AdBlockPlus, NoScript, Ghostery and BetterPrivacy add-ons installed.
Block all trackers, widgets and set BetterPrivacy to delete all LSO/SuperCookies because Adobe can track you as well!

I don't think one really needs to use 4 different addons to protect his privacy. This will slow Firefox down to a crawl for many people.. I just use Adblock Edge with the EasyList+EasyPrivacy list in the subscribtion filters. This removes all ads as well as the vast majority of web trackers. I set Firefox to refuse third-party cookies and to delete all form of cookies when exiting the browser. Lastly, I disable browser.safebrowsing.enabled and browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled which comes from Google.

Without getting too paranoid I think this is the best way to balance privacy and performance in Firefox..

Here's the 4 simple changes recommended by the EFF one can made in Firefox to retain online privacy:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/0...privacy-online

[craig10x]

The main difference between using google or not using google is that if you use it your ads are targeted to you and if you don't then you get ads that aren't targeted to you...other then for that purpose, google has no personal interest in what you are doing...I like their services, so i look at targeted ads as a very tiny price to pay for them...

[Tar_Ni]

The main difference between using google or not using google is that if you use it your ads are targeted to you and if you don't then you get ads that aren't targeted to you...other then for that purpose, google has no personal interest in what you are doing...I like their services, so i look at targeted ads as a very tiny price to pay for them...

Of course they have a personal interest in what you are doing.. that's how they make the big money. You know, the reason you see targeted ads is because they know quite a lot about your browsing habbits: what sites you have visited, what purchases you have made ect. They have planted a user tracking cookie in your browser to follow you across the web.

From allaboutcookies.org:

What is a cookie profiling?

Cookie profiling, also called web profiling, is the use of persistent or permanent cookies to track a user’s overall activity online. This tracking does not just happen when you are on a particular site, but it occurs the whole time you are browsing. This kind of profiling activity is often done by marketers who buy advertising rights on thousands of popular websites in order to collect and collate cookie information and create a single “profile” of a user. Internet advertising, as it is called, targets potential customers based on the manner they browse the Internet. This is the very reason why most websites flash banner ads on their pages. This matter may not be a big deal for some, but others take their privacy seriously and are uneasy about being “followed around” and profiled.

Link: http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cooki...profiling.html


I personally have nothing against advertising per see, but intrusion of private life for targeting purpose is quite another matter..

[craig10x]

Yeah but it's not like some person is sitting there looking at what you are doing, it's just a computer gathering info to target the ads which in turn earns them revenue (that's how they make their money)..trouble is, everyone wants things for free but someone has to pay for them...would you rather have to pay them fees for their services? I didn't think so...

[Tar_Ni]

Yeah but it's not like some person is sitting there looking at what you are doing, it's just a computer gathering info to target the ads

They have all these data stored on their servers indefinitly.. Which makes it a gold mine for spying agencies engaged in massive state surveillance as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

You may want to read this: http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/...e_keeps_yo.php

which in turn earns them revenue (that's how they make their money)..trouble is, everyone wants things for free but someone has to pay for them...would you rather have to pay them fees for their services? I didn't think so...

I've been Google-free (with the exception of Youtube, which I still use on occasion) for 2 years and that hasn't ruined me the slightest. FOSS is a great alternative which cover most needs.. There is also several free online services that doesn't need to suck every bit of your data in order to survive.

Two years ago I switched to mailoo.org which is a free email provider using GNU/Linux servers. It served me well and I haven't looked back since. But I recently discovered Tutanota and Lavaboom, which allow users to sent encrypted mails with a predetermined password. Great stuff, really. Tutanota offer you 1GB of storage for free which is more than enough for a lot of people, and premium features are available for those who wants more..Patnerships, fundings, donations, premium features and advertisings (when respectful of user's privacy) can help sustain a project accessible for all in the long-term.

A free and open web is all we need, not a monoculture that requires you to sacrifice your privacy in order to use the internet. The trouble is, people often don't really know what they sign for, not looking at the fine print they think that Google services are conveniently 'free' until they realize there is something fishy.. This thread seems to be a very exemple of that.