In the News
Google amps up its privacy initiatives. In Google rolls out new privacy tools for Maps, YouTube and Assistant, Sarah Perez at TechCrunch discusses Google’s newest features aimed at increasing user autonomy over their data and placing a greater emphasis on privacy. Perez explains that users will now be able to enable an ‘incognito mode’ in Google Maps, delete search history on YouTube by setting an auto-deletion for a certain time of period, and command a Google Voice Assistant to delete your data from the past week with your voice.
Our Take
Privacy is a controversial topic these days. Everyone wants privacy, yet so many of our daily activities require forfeiting some of this privacy. As consumers demand additional privacy measures for their data, companies have begun to offer more and more features that allow a user to retain some of their data privacy. In Google’s case, they provide the option for users to delete their search history and operate without location services tracking their every move. These new additions to Google’s previous slew of privacy measures are a step in the right direction for increasing user autonomy over their data. However, these features require users to enable them and manually request the data deleted. For users unaware that these features exist, their benefits may not fully be reaped.
Recommendations
How can you protect the privacy of your personal information?
- Utilize additional security/privacy measures and settings on apps, accounts, and platforms whenever possible
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Use safe password practices, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible
- Research and read a company’s data privacy practices prior to utilizing their services
- Know your rights when it comes to data storage both on a company and legal level