Who does
Think you
are?
And should you
care?
What happens?
Each time you open a browser and go to a site,
or use an App, data from your visit is sent to
and collected by any number of Advertising
companies. 10 is a reasonable guess (for each
site you visit).
Companies can log your visit, place ads tailored
for your eyes specifically, and add to the evergrowing online file about you.
Google Dashboard
• https://www.google.com/dashboard/
“Designed to offer you transparency and
control of your personal information”
(NOT so much)
+ Consolidates certain settings for all Google
products
- Can’t manage Ad preferences (tracking) from it
"The best minds of this generation are thinking about
how to make people click ads,"
“Right now, a huge chunk of what you've ever
looked at on the Internet is sitting in
databases all across the world. “
“The line separating all that it might say about
you, good or bad, is as thin as the letters of
your name.”
“The Week” April 13, 2012
Web Advertising
It isn’t just Google who collects and sells
information
– Facebook
– Yahoo
– YouTube
– Phone, iPad, tablet apps
– Most commercial web sites through Ad partners
Your Ad is served…..relevant or
creepy?
Not Signed in
Signed in
Ads based on search terms
Ads based on search terms
Ads based on recent searches
Ads based on recent searches
Ads based on location
Ads based on location
Ads based on your assumed demographic
Ads based on what you have clicked on
your assumed demographic – and/or Preferences you have set
Contents of your emails in Gmail
The applications you have downloaded
Contents of your Google Docs
Contents of your Maps
Youtube
Google + social and contents of chat
How do they do it?
• Cookies in Browsers (if you use different
browsers, you must set privacy settings in
each), also must be set on each device.
• Apps use location and other data on your
phone/iPad it has access to. (read fine print
before downloading apps)
“Google faces new privacy probes”
3/16/12
• As part of the Street View project, as Google was
collecting photographs on every street, it was
also gathering information about local wireless
networks to improve location-based searches.
• But the Google engineer wrote a program for the
project that went beyond what was originally
envisioned. Using this program, Google collected
all personal unencrypted data sent by computers.
See who Google thinks you are
Ad privacy preferences
Or Google “ad preference manager”
Ads Preferences Manager
• Must be done for each browser (Firefox, Chrome,
Internet Explorer) on each computer you use! –
opt out in two places.
Link to ad prefs.
Why this ad?
Works in Chrome & Safari, not Firefox.
-Block advertisers of unwanted ads
Who’s got a cookie?
Opt-out of behavioral advertising
See what companies have placed cookies on your
computer to collect information & place ads
www.aboutads.info/choices
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
(only keeps them from placing “targeted” ads, not from placing
other ads, or collecting information from your visit)
“Permanent” opt out cookie (Chrome)
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hhnjdplhmcnkiecampfdgfjilccfpfoe?hl=e
n
Other Privacy Tools
• Google privacy tools
https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privac
y/tools/
Regularly:
Clear your browser’s web history
Clear your browser’s cookies
Check your browser’s privacy settings