Google's Privacy Policies

Bag weighs in (as Bag is wont to do) about computer privacy and specifically Google's policy change, where cookies will only be retained for two years rather than until 2038. Cookies store all that useful information that websites need to know that it is you that they are communicating with and to allow them to ply you with appropriate service. In reality, it is just a continuing license to store information about you, given the fact that it is almost impossible not to interact with Google on a daily or at least weekly basis.

More interesting was the fact that Google plans to anonymise all their data after 18 months. Based upon the number of people who use their service, they must have a lot of important personal information on about half the worlds population. That is a lot of power.

As long as it is benign power, I have no real issues. I enjoy many of the free services that Google provides and am happy to allow them to use their secret plans and clever tricks to keep it that way and make a lot of money for their shareholders.

I just have a niggling worry about all that information stored on Google servers and how it could be used in a malevolant way.

Thanks Bag