5 ms·

Just out of curiosity, how old are you, if you don't mind? Your comment makes me assume you are very young or you work at Google. I don't mean that snarky, but

by adamrt 10y ago

Just out of curiosity, how old are you, if you don't mind? Your comment makes me assume you are very young or you work at Google. I don't mean that snarky, but your comment is a very different response than the rest of this thread.

wingerlang 10y ago
I'm not the one you are asking but I share the same thoughts on general search history. I'm late 20s and I don't have any affiliation with Google. It is nice because I can go back to 10 years ago and see what I searched, essentially taking me back to that time and loads of memories come back. "Why was I searching for cheat for this game? Oh yeah because this was the summer when I was playing with person X, Y and Z while doing A, B and C". It's just kinda.. nice.
- nitrogen 10y ago
  That's your interface to the data. Now imagine an NSA-like interface to the data. What is in there that you might not want future employers, dates, or others to know about the corners of your (and everyone's) life? Then imagine if your least preferred political candidate gets elected several times in a row and has access to all that data about potential "undesirables". Think of the journalists, the political volunteers, the victims of stalking or abuse, the LGBTQ, the women who had an abortion after being pressured into sex, and think of that information in the hands of a corrupt regime, or hacked by a hostile foreign power (or radical religious hacker group).
  - wingerlang 10y ago
    This potential scenario is valid, but it doesn't change my mind.
    - nitrogen 10y ago
      History features could be implemented in a way that keeps all sensitive data on devices you control. The only way to encourage more privacy-respecting implementations is to consider the downsides, especially for people less fortunate or less mainstream or at greater risk, and demand technology that gives us the features we want without harming the privacy of everyone else in the process.
  - briandear 10y ago
    The thought of Hillary Clinton having access to this list to direct IRS targeting against people she doesn't like is frightening. Yes there is a precedent -- the IRS intentionally targeted conservative non profits. The Department of Labor targeted Peter Thiel because of his political views. Radical leftists seem to enjoy using the government to attack people who don't support them politically. Remember First Lady Clinton got caught with FBI files of enemies in the White House. What possible use could a First Lady have for FBI files? Zero, none. Her with Google and NSA level data? God help us all. Perhaps we should have donated to her foundation to exempt us from her wrath.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  I love having this info. I do NOT love Google having this info. There is no reason Google needs this info in order for me to have this info.
  - Wyverald 10y ago
    One reason: Google needs this info in order to give it to you. Sure, you can acquire this info via some other means, but that would mean someone else having it.
    - wingerlang 10y ago
      You could implement it locally though.
      - Klathmon 10y ago
        I spend my days maintaining a few years of data at work. Making sure it's backed up, always accessible. I do not want to do that in my off time. I know "do it locally" is often repeated here, but do you really expect a local solution to be able to get this kind of information and keep it safe, secure, and constantly working for this long? And how much time, money, and effort should you spend maintaining such a solution? I have data in my Google account going back 10 years! That's impressive as hell!
        wingerlang 10y ago
        I am the same poster who posted above (liking the data being there). I was just pointing out that is "is" possible to do it without google handling it. Personally I actually do track some "hourly" data, maybe 2-3 hours in total to set it up and it's running for 2-3 years. I suppose you could add some time to run it through some encryption software and put it in Dropbox without too much of a hassle.
    - dredmorbius 10y ago
      Google could hold the data encrypted against a key you control and they do not. You'd have access to the data, and could control specifically when and to whom it's released. It would continue to be backed up on Google's servers.
eherot 10y ago
35 here. DevOps software engineer. Also do not work for Google. I personally find this stuff fascinating and not particularly creepy. I'm far more concerned about credit reporting agencies and their data retention/sharing habits than I am with Google and my search history.
grkvlt 10y ago
Well, I'm over forty, and I think this sort of thing is awesome, and very useful. I love being able to see where I was on a business trip, work out where that interesting shop I stopped at but forgot to write down the name of was or see where I was drinking with friends the night before (stayed in one location from 22h00 to 03h30, then looks like I got a taxi home, that must be it!) but was too busy enjoying myself to make a note of the bar's location... And, as people get older and their biological memory starts to suffer, this sort of external memory jogging feature will only get more and more useful, I suspect.

by adamrt 10y ago

wingerlang 10y ago

I'm not the one you are asking but I share the same thoughts on general search history. I'm late 20s and I don't have any affiliation with Google. It is nice because I can go back to 10 years ago and see what I searched, essentially taking me back to that time and loads of memories come back. "Why was I searching for cheat for this game? Oh yeah because this was the summer when I was playing with person X, Y and Z while doing A, B and C". It's just kinda.. nice.

nitrogen 10y ago
That's your interface to the data. Now imagine an NSA-like interface to the data. What is in there that you might not want future employers, dates, or others to know about the corners of your (and everyone's) life? Then imagine if your least preferred political candidate gets elected several times in a row and has access to all that data about potential "undesirables". Think of the journalists, the political volunteers, the victims of stalking or abuse, the LGBTQ, the women who had an abortion after being pressured into sex, and think of that information in the hands of a corrupt regime, or hacked by a hostile foreign power (or radical religious hacker group).
- wingerlang 10y ago
  This potential scenario is valid, but it doesn't change my mind.
  - nitrogen 10y ago
    History features could be implemented in a way that keeps all sensitive data on devices you control. The only way to encourage more privacy-respecting implementations is to consider the downsides, especially for people less fortunate or less mainstream or at greater risk, and demand technology that gives us the features we want without harming the privacy of everyone else in the process.
- briandear 10y ago
  The thought of Hillary Clinton having access to this list to direct IRS targeting against people she doesn't like is frightening. Yes there is a precedent -- the IRS intentionally targeted conservative non profits. The Department of Labor targeted Peter Thiel because of his political views. Radical leftists seem to enjoy using the government to attack people who don't support them politically. Remember First Lady Clinton got caught with FBI files of enemies in the White House. What possible use could a First Lady have for FBI files? Zero, none. Her with Google and NSA level data? God help us all. Perhaps we should have donated to her foundation to exempt us from her wrath.
ocdtrekkie 10y ago
I love having this info. I do NOT love Google having this info. There is no reason Google needs this info in order for me to have this info.
- Wyverald 10y ago
  One reason: Google needs this info in order to give it to you. Sure, you can acquire this info via some other means, but that would mean someone else having it.
  - wingerlang 10y ago
    You could implement it locally though.
    - Klathmon 10y ago
      I spend my days maintaining a few years of data at work. Making sure it's backed up, always accessible. I do not want to do that in my off time. I know "do it locally" is often repeated here, but do you really expect a local solution to be able to get this kind of information and keep it safe, secure, and constantly working for this long? And how much time, money, and effort should you spend maintaining such a solution? I have data in my Google account going back 10 years! That's impressive as hell!
      - wingerlang 10y ago
        I am the same poster who posted above (liking the data being there). I was just pointing out that is "is" possible to do it without google handling it. Personally I actually do track some "hourly" data, maybe 2-3 hours in total to set it up and it's running for 2-3 years. I suppose you could add some time to run it through some encryption software and put it in Dropbox without too much of a hassle.
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    Google could hold the data encrypted against a key you control and they do not. You'd have access to the data, and could control specifically when and to whom it's released. It would continue to be backed up on Google's servers.

eherot 10y ago

35 here. DevOps software engineer. Also do not work for Google. I personally find this stuff fascinating and not particularly creepy. I'm far more concerned about credit reporting agencies and their data retention/sharing habits than I am with Google and my search history.

grkvlt 10y ago

Well, I'm over forty, and I think this sort of thing is awesome, and very useful. I love being able to see where I was on a business trip, work out where that interesting shop I stopped at but forgot to write down the name of was or see where I was drinking with friends the night before (stayed in one location from 22h00 to 03h30, then looks like I got a taxi home, that must be it!) but was too busy enjoying myself to make a note of the bar's location... And, as people get older and their biological memory starts to suffer, this sort of external memory jogging feature will only get more and more useful, I suspect.