4 ms·

Hmmmm, I suspect that Google, just like Facebook, creates "shadow profiles" on non-members, ie profiles on unique non-member users across a very large part of t

Hmmmm, I suspect that Google, just like Facebook, creates "shadow profiles" on non-members, ie profiles on unique non-member users across a very large part of the internet (G: any site using google analytics, a +1 button, etc; FB: any site with FB like button) As such, escape from Google or FB is near-impossible. You might say: sure, but at least they will not know my identity! Try again. Most US ISPs sell click-stream data. Several services that offer those "interesting articles elsewhere on the web" that you see on various news outlets, have in their terms that ANY registration submitted on those sites is passed on to them as well by their "publishing partners". Combine IP addresses and date/timestamps, and very detailed user profiles, including personally identifiable information, can and are compiled. The only way to escape the clutches of G/FB is to disconnect from the web. PS I'm fully aware of the very large number of additional tools/options one can employ to remain more anonymous (FB disconnect, VPNs, Ghostery etc etc) but remember: just one "essential" service that you cannot live without and requires a real name (mobile phone, landline, credit card, etc.) is all that is needed to "close the loop".

dictum 14y ago
As a paranoid would say: that's what they want you to believe. Now that people are learning about how companies use their data in dubious ways (and they can't deny it, only PR-speak it), it's in their best interest to twist the narrative so that people believe that they now have no agency—that everyone is being tracked all the time, and that there's no way to escape that. Why? Because if you think there's no way around it, you just give up and eventually stop worrying about being tracked and analyzed. Since you no longer care, you give up on blocking tools, and most importantly for them: you give up on trying to find alternative companies that respect your privacy.
- acabal 14y ago
  Perhaps, but there is a kernel of truth in what the parent comment says. As long as an IP address can be associated to an undeniable identifier, like an address, credit card, SSN, etc., your identity and activity can ultimately be tracked. Perhaps not by Google, but by your ISP and thus the government who can coerce that ISP, or by business partners your ISP sells that information to. The buck has to stop somewhere--and it stops at what packets your ISP handles, and thus has the ability to inspect, on your IP address's behalf.
- notlisted 14y ago
  This might open your eyes a little: http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-we-know-about-what-data-brokers-know-about-you http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-we-know-about-w...

dictum 14y ago

As a paranoid would say: that's what they want you to believe. Now that people are learning about how companies use their data in dubious ways (and they can't deny it, only PR-speak it), it's in their best interest to twist the narrative so that people believe that they now have no agency—that everyone is being tracked all the time, and that there's no way to escape that. Why? Because if you think there's no way around it, you just give up and eventually stop worrying about being tracked and analyzed. Since you no longer care, you give up on blocking tools, and most importantly for them: you give up on trying to find alternative companies that respect your privacy.

acabal 14y ago
Perhaps, but there is a kernel of truth in what the parent comment says. As long as an IP address can be associated to an undeniable identifier, like an address, credit card, SSN, etc., your identity and activity can ultimately be tracked. Perhaps not by Google, but by your ISP and thus the government who can coerce that ISP, or by business partners your ISP sells that information to. The buck has to stop somewhere--and it stops at what packets your ISP handles, and thus has the ability to inspect, on your IP address's behalf.
notlisted 14y ago
This might open your eyes a little: http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-we-know-about-what-data-brokers-know-about-you http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-we-know-about-w...