Google+ is the new social network from the world’s most famous search engine, whose name you’ve probably heard before. The site has been around for a few months now and users are still trying to decide whether or not they like it as much as Facebook, everyone’s main rival in the social media game.
In order to distinguish itself, Google presumably wants to avoid the criticism that has been heaped on Facebook in recent months over perceived weaknesses in its privacy settings and parental controls. The official Privacy Policy for Google+ was revised in early November of this year and can be found here. Here are some of its most important aspects, simplified, in case you don’t have time to read the entire document yourself.
How Google Collects and Uses Your Data
Google openly admits that it will record information about your activities, like posts you comment on and who your friends are. They say this is to improve service. They also admit that they will collect information about you from other users.
Google Profile
Google says that the name you choose for your profile will be used across Google services. They reserve the right to display your Google Profile identity to people who have your email address or ‘other identifying information’.
Circles
People in your circles, but not the name of the circle, will appear to the other users on your Google Profile, unless you choose not to display that information.
Photos and Videos
When you upload a photo or a video, Google says that they will store the content in a Picasa web album. Google warns users that if they don’t want photo details to be stored, the data should be removed before uploading them to Google+.
Location
When you use Google+ on your mobile device, Google collects your location. When you post content to Google+ from your device, Google lets you opt-out of having your data collected and displayed on a per-post basis. Or you can choose to exclude your location from all posts.
Account Settings
You can access your account settings, including your privacy settings, through Account Settings. This allows you to modify your notification settings, among other things.
Sharing
All recipients of a post may be able to access information about the other people who received it, and participants added to a group conversation may be able to see the history of that conversation.
So there you have it: the Google+ privacy policy in a nutshell. We recommend that users of Google+ familiarize themselves with the policy and stay up to date with its inevitably changes down the road.
Talk To Us! Have you ever actually read the privacy policy of your favorite social media site?
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