Shhhh! Google's Listening
Mashable, Wednesday, July 28, 2010 2:37 PM
Ever wonder how often your personal information is sent to Google's serves? A new browser plugin named Google Alarm tells you exactly that. "When I started developing Google Alarm I was blown away to discover that 80+% of websites I visit have some kind of Google tracking bugs on them.," creator Jamie Wilkinson tells Mashable.
The plugin, he said, it "meant to illustrate how this single unregulated company now captures more information about us than any government agency ever could." The plugin works by inspecting each page a user visits for Google-related URLs. It then delivers alerts "via notifications, a running tally of dangerous sites and, naturally, a super annoying, vuvuzela-like alarm," writes Mashable. It's unlikely that such a plugin could achieve broad adoption, but it does illustrate the concerns felt by many consumers about online privacy, and the degree to which companies can exploit their increasingly open Web activity.
Read the whole story at Mashable »
The plugin, he said, it "meant to illustrate how this single unregulated company now captures more information about us than any government agency ever could." The plugin works by inspecting each page a user visits for Google-related URLs. It then delivers alerts "via notifications, a running tally of dangerous sites and, naturally, a super annoying, vuvuzela-like alarm," writes Mashable. It's unlikely that such a plugin could achieve broad adoption, but it does illustrate the concerns felt by many consumers about online privacy, and the degree to which companies can exploit their increasingly open Web activity.
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