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Google DNS is not used in any way to associate to your Google account. They say exactly everything they record and how it's stored and used. https://developers

by kyrra 8y ago

Google DNS is not used in any way to associate to your Google account. They say exactly everything they record and how it's stored and used. https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy

mrmondo 8y ago
I’m almost certain it is, even in the link you posted they use unversed language to state they DO store not just your information but also your personally identifiable (!) information: > “Google Public DNS does not PERMANENTLY store personally identifiable information.” You have to be very, very careful with services like this especially when it comes to Google, Facebook and Microsoft (and the companies they own), they use weasel wording in documents like this almost all the time and it’s clearly with intent to /seem/ as if they’re good citizens rather than to _prove_ that they are.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  Yes, they do not PERMANENTLY store PII, because they are crystal clear about the fact that they store it temporarily, and that by that they explicitly say they mean 24-48 hours: > Google Public DNS stores two sets of logs: temporary and permanent. > The temporary logs store the full IP address of the machine you're using. > We delete these temporary logs within 24 to 48 hours. > In the permanent logs, we don't keep personally identifiable information or IP information. "Permanently" is not weasel-worded here.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    So they do permanently store some information, perhaps tied to everything that isn't PII: my location, connection speed, time of day, access frequency. That can certainly be used to target adverts. When an easy alternative is a company that doesn't have a reason to store this data, why not choose them?
    - mehrdadn 8y ago
      By all means, choose whomever you trust the most. All I was saying in my response above was that, in making that decision, it would probably make sense to make sure you're reading their privacy policies accurately first. In this case the idea that "permanently" was weasel-worded seemed incorrect and misleading to me.
benwilber0 8y ago
What if I don't believe them?
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  Well then you don't believe them. But then whom do you believe would keep your DNS data private, and by what rationale do you find them more believable than Google?
  - earenndil 8y ago
    A company whose business model isn't based entirely in analyzing user data in order to sell them the most things. Remember: these data don't have to be tied to your account. Google can use your ip address to glean your (approximate) location, and then use the websites you visit to better tell what kind of people live in that area. Even if they don't store the websites themselves, they can categorize the websites and store a category breakdown. They can find out what demographic you belong to from your account, and then associate the websites you visit with that demographic rather than that account. Lots of data that can be stored even if they're not directly associated with your account or the individual websites you visit.
    - mehrdadn 8y ago
      > A company whose business model isn't based entirely in analyzing user data in order to sell them the most things. Really? That's the only bar? So you're going to trust any company who isn't in this business without even reading & comparing their privacy policy or looking at their past history? I also have to say I don't understand what you guys' true fear (read: threat model) is. It seems like for Google your criterion is "if they could potentially keep such data, they're automatically dangerous (doubly so if their name is 'Google')", whereas for anyone else not in the advertising business your standard suddenly changes to "I don't care what data they have, as long as I don't see evidence of active misbehavior". To me this sounds like what you really fear is personalized advertising itself rather than an actual privacy or security breach, which doesn't entirely make logical sense considering what the dangers of each of them are.
crumbshot 8y ago
The problem is that you can't know that for sure. Their public statements don't necessarily reflect their internal operations.
grecy 8y ago
> Google DNS is not used in any way to associate to your Google account OK, but it's still used to gather more information about how people are using the internet - what domains are popular, where they are being loaded from, etc. etc. etc.
- sitepodmatt 8y ago
  In aggregate it would be wasteful not too. I don't see a problem with this
- manigandham 8y ago
  There's nothing wrong with that. Also all those sites already have Google Analytics anyway which gives far better data than DNS queries.
a_imho 8y ago
That's not what your link says however We don't correlate or combine information from our temporary or permanent logs with any personal information that you have provided Google for other services. Emphasis on personal information and provided. It does not say anything about non personal or inferred personal information imo.

by kyrra 8y ago

mrmondo 8y ago

I’m almost certain it is, even in the link you posted they use unversed language to state they DO store not just your information but also your personally identifiable (!) information: > “Google Public DNS does not PERMANENTLY store personally identifiable information.” You have to be very, very careful with services like this especially when it comes to Google, Facebook and Microsoft (and the companies they own), they use weasel wording in documents like this almost all the time and it’s clearly with intent to /seem/ as if they’re good citizens rather than to _prove_ that they are.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
mehrdadn 8y ago
Yes, they do not PERMANENTLY store PII, because they are crystal clear about the fact that they store it temporarily, and that by that they explicitly say they mean 24-48 hours: > Google Public DNS stores two sets of logs: temporary and permanent. > The temporary logs store the full IP address of the machine you're using. > We delete these temporary logs within 24 to 48 hours. > In the permanent logs, we don't keep personally identifiable information or IP information. "Permanently" is not weasel-worded here.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  So they do permanently store some information, perhaps tied to everything that isn't PII: my location, connection speed, time of day, access frequency. That can certainly be used to target adverts. When an easy alternative is a company that doesn't have a reason to store this data, why not choose them?
  - mehrdadn 8y ago
    By all means, choose whomever you trust the most. All I was saying in my response above was that, in making that decision, it would probably make sense to make sure you're reading their privacy policies accurately first. In this case the idea that "permanently" was weasel-worded seemed incorrect and misleading to me.

benwilber0 8y ago

What if I don't believe them?

mehrdadn 8y ago
Well then you don't believe them. But then whom do you believe would keep your DNS data private, and by what rationale do you find them more believable than Google?
- earenndil 8y ago
  A company whose business model isn't based entirely in analyzing user data in order to sell them the most things. Remember: these data don't have to be tied to your account. Google can use your ip address to glean your (approximate) location, and then use the websites you visit to better tell what kind of people live in that area. Even if they don't store the websites themselves, they can categorize the websites and store a category breakdown. They can find out what demographic you belong to from your account, and then associate the websites you visit with that demographic rather than that account. Lots of data that can be stored even if they're not directly associated with your account or the individual websites you visit.
  - mehrdadn 8y ago
    > A company whose business model isn't based entirely in analyzing user data in order to sell them the most things. Really? That's the only bar? So you're going to trust any company who isn't in this business without even reading & comparing their privacy policy or looking at their past history? I also have to say I don't understand what you guys' true fear (read: threat model) is. It seems like for Google your criterion is "if they could potentially keep such data, they're automatically dangerous (doubly so if their name is 'Google')", whereas for anyone else not in the advertising business your standard suddenly changes to "I don't care what data they have, as long as I don't see evidence of active misbehavior". To me this sounds like what you really fear is personalized advertising itself rather than an actual privacy or security breach, which doesn't entirely make logical sense considering what the dangers of each of them are.

crumbshot 8y ago

The problem is that you can't know that for sure. Their public statements don't necessarily reflect their internal operations.

grecy 8y ago

> Google DNS is not used in any way to associate to your Google account OK, but it's still used to gather more information about how people are using the internet - what domains are popular, where they are being loaded from, etc. etc. etc.

sitepodmatt 8y ago
In aggregate it would be wasteful not too. I don't see a problem with this
manigandham 8y ago
There's nothing wrong with that. Also all those sites already have Google Analytics anyway which gives far better data than DNS queries.

a_imho 8y ago

That's not what your link says however We don't correlate or combine information from our temporary or permanent logs with any personal information that you have provided Google for other services. Emphasis on personal information and provided. It does not say anything about non personal or inferred personal information imo.