Google - Invasion of Privacy?

But Google is now part of our life

There's no way to get away from being monitored now without taking very involved steps to do so. No wireless phones. Unhook the phone when not in use. Line walls of homes with shiny metals to avoid surveillance detection from the street. Do not own a computer. Do not own a mobile phone.

Put car license plate in a microwave for a few seconds several times (don't melt them - but keep applying a few seconds of radiation to mess up any chips inside of them).
Pay with cash only. If you have to have cards - credit, debit, driver's license, keep them in an electrostatic bag.

Do not own a television set.

Have a mechanic turn off the GPS system in your car.

In other words - if you want to be free of being monitored. Good luck. You can't achieve 100% assurance you aren't being monitored. To come even close, you have to return to a very simple life without any modernization. As long as there are satellites and mobile equipment, you're screwed if someone is dead set on watching you.

The best alternative to being monitored is to buy as little as humanly possible and to be as boring as a human can be and still have a pulse. Make sure you offer not one drop of interest to them and just maybe they will go away.

Or... become an Amish.

Big brother is watching. Oh wait, never mind, that's just Google.

Now, the question is, how will this new background noise monitoring technology effect my SERP ranking on selected key...sounds?

Just turn up your TV....with all that advertising every 10 minutes, sooner or later the Goog is bound to self-destruct...

Features like these are opt-in or opt-out. But people usually leave them turned on because they want the other "cool features" that are bundled with the feature that let's Google spy on them.

I think smart phones are the worst kinds of devices. They're trojan horses that put surveillance devices into the palms of peoples hands.

Cell phones are Stalin's dream:

Something else I don't like is Google's voice search and Apple's Siri. Both of those services allow those companies to store and analyze your speech patterns. Being able to store mass amounts of samples of people's voice would allow them to create ways to identify you by voice in the future.

I used to think that in order for some entity to put a tracking device on every person, they'd have to do it by force. I was wrong. All you have to do is make the tracking device fun and shiny and charge people for it and everybody wants one.

There is (are) complaints about this in EU courts. Not sure if they're going to give them a fine or something similar, but technology VERSUS privacy is a hot topic right now, even with Facebook.

Didn't even know they were doing this, in a way its pretty amazing what they can do me personally, im not fussed, send as much ads as you want my way

Of course there's the issue as well - that if they are listening to the background noise, you may as well consider whatever conversation you are having a public conversation as well.

As I'm new here I just wanted to add a bit of hope to the privacy issue , whilst I own a website which I can't mention just yet , I also belong to a group that is working on putting an end to the total rot and corruption going on in every aspect of our lives . In the U.K we probably have more surveillance cameras , than anywhere , our phones etc monitor us as others have mentioned , the group anonymous are putting messages out to the Global elite warning them of the backlash to come . I sincerely hope that our group helps end the rot along with others out there . None of us are alone . The likes of google and other corporate monsters are being funded by these corrupt global elites . I personally have deleted all google related products from my computers etc and I don't use google search either , and deleted all my accounts on all google related products , I don't agree to allow them to nose around in my business.

While I have no clue who you are or what you are up to -- if ending corruption is your goal, I sincerely wish you the best of success.

I'm also thinking it's about time for the rest of us to say enough is enough and start deleting google from our lives until they get a clue that we don't appreciate their intrusion.

There's just one thing about that........any marketer who makes money from using google or one of its aps is very unlikely to unhook. People are proving that they will allow corporations to violate every right they have for the sake of income. That's just the way it is. I don't know how you can get around that one.

Google, Facebook, myspace, weblogs, this forum....

The greatest spy services ever invented by mankind. Take a look at the what the NSA's building in Utah- EVERY communication will/is be monitored and recorded.

Utah's NSA spy center will house data, not analysts | Deseret News

Friends don't let friends Google.

Google is evil.

Don't be evil.

Scroogle.org is gone. But ixquick.com and Startpage.com are excellent and provide the same results as Google.

Personally, I welcome our new overlords. They are very kind

The focus point is that we can not leave Google now.

Sal, I think our generation can much easier than the younger generation.They "need" everything and the latest and greatest of it too.Who would have thought 15-20 years ago that kids/young adults would stand in lines for hours to buy a $600 cell phone? I can't conceive spending that kind of money one cell or any other type of phone.
I don't think they will learn the difference.

You havent seen anything yet. Just wait till they start micro chipping us. Its too late they have far too much control and the people seem to love being controlled by the gov. More people should of spoken up years ago but instead too many jumped on the politically correct bandwagon and now look at us.

This topic thread is filled with great discussion and interesting perspectives. The issue of Internet Privacy (Google in particular) is obviously huge ... and it's probably not going to get any better.

However . . . here is my two-cents worth on the issue. What I find to be kind of amusing is how wherever you go online (forums, social sites, etc.) people complain and whine about censorship - they think anything and everything should be allowed and if you suggest that an image or a word or a concept is inappropriate and should not be allowed in a particular group or site ... whoa, boy, do you get an ear full about it!

. . . And then . . . and then many of the same people turn around and complain about Google (Internet) privacy!

So, it seems to me that people are all for invading YOUR privacy and infringing on YOUR comfort space, but when it affects THEM, that's another story.

(Just one perspective on the issue.)

GT

It's hard to agree that Google is invading anyone's privacy when people are allowing Google to do it.

PLEASE don't give them ideas!!!!

Steve

I'd say mid-60s, too, judging by the steering column, dashboard and seat covers.

He's wearing a suit ... AND his lap seat belt, so I'm guessing ... Government Man! (Or early Google investor).

GT

Darn, Google, now that's too much!!! *mad*. It's as if now they want to tap on other people's audible personal conversation? Who the hell are they now? CIA?

I personally never turn on GPS in my mobile phone (Samsung, blackberry-like) even I have one, leave alone sync the Google Maps in it. I'm paranoid sometimes that Google or any 3rd party might detect my movement for malicious privacy invasion or something like that....is that stupid?