To privacy advocates this is something of a slap in the face. To simply change terms and conditions or data usage polices on active users is not something that should be allowed for any company. However most online companies feel that they do have the right to their users’ information regardless of what it is. Google has tried, on multiple occasions, to claim that anything that goes through their servers belongs to them. They are still in a legal fight over their scanning of the content of their users’ emails and also over their program to gather information from unprotected WiFi access points.

However there is some good news for Google+ users: unlike Facebook users Google+ users can opt out of having their picture used although Google is not exactly going out of its way to let people know about this option. Google also does not like it if you take their toys away. They seem to think that by wanting to maintain your privacy you will somehow be denying your friends the pleasure of seeing your image in a recommended post. They have also added in wording to allow them to use images of people under 18. To continue to use these images they are just not going to link the image to the user account on their own. The problem with this is that someone can search the image using Google’s own search engine and find them from there. The protection they are claiming is no protection at all, it is just something they are doing to protect themselves legally.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and others will continue to take great license with our personal information until we, as consumers, begin to push back on them. Right now Microsoft and Yahoo are the most vulnerable to consumer reaction to this type of privacy issue. Google and Facebook appear to almost be immune to consumer and even privacy group reactions. For now at least we would highly recommend that you check and recheck your privacy settings on both your Facebook and Google+ accounts to make sure that your privacy is not being compromised any more than it already is…

Tell us what you think in our Forum