How Google Handles Our Private Information

Yesterday in Google’s Official Blog, Google’s VP of Engineering, Douglas Merrill reiterated (or defended?) its security policy specifically in handling confidential information they gather every time we use one of their products- be it in search, gmail, Picasa and others.

He cited four areas in which Google prides itself when it comes to keeping our data secure, namely: Google’s Philosophy, Technology, Process and People. All four combined gives Google an edge from the rest. So the VP says in so many words.

This is really nothing special because most if not all companies abide by the same principle. Most are just better than others but follow the same codes of conduct nonetheless.

What’s interesting is how Google boasts of keeping what they know to themselves BUT at the same time use the very same confidential information to feed us with personalized unsolicited ads found every time we use their services.

Isn’t it odd to receive your travel itinerary in your inbox and finding sponsored links from Google with the same information as that found in your email along side the letter? That’s handling our private information, all right! They don’t share our information but their bots get to read the content of our emails so they can bombard us with ads we’re not interested in. They make money from reading our mails and knowing our internet habits! Well, our privacy isn’t so private after all over the internet… © 2008