How to make yourselves opaque to Google

Anyone with a Google account will know about Google’s new privacy policy by now. I’ll refresh the information for the non-google (sounds like an oxymoron?) lot and also to those who have dismissed the new privacy policy without reading. The new privacy policy goes into effect from March 1st, 2012. The policy can be defined in simple terms as, “Whatever you do in any of the Google Websites the other Google Websites will know about it!”

Or you can watch the video below to quickly understand the new Google Privacy Policy.

Do you think it’s handy? Or do you think it’s a menace? Well, it’s a fusion of both. While sites like YouTube will automatically load video suggestions based on your chats in GTalk, you might also get suggestions that are irrelevant to you just because of certain chats you’ve done. Now that not many people (including Microsoft) like this security breach even if it’s done by the so called Don of the Web, we will discuss certain ways on how to make yourself opaque to Google.

Google’s Dashboard

Something similar to your car’s dashboard this is a mini warehouse of all your Google account information. One of the best ways to make you opaque from Google is by tweaking your Google Account’s Dashboard.

Ad Preferences

Alternatively, you can view the categories which Google has tied to your web activity and also modify any of them using an opt-out option. Additionally, you can permanently opt-out with the Advertising opt-out Plugin.

Disable Cookies

Go to browser options/settings and permanently disable cookies.

Minus the +1

Google +1 is the best example to prove the verses “Much Ado About Nothing”. Google +1 has been more trouble than it’s worth. If you too feel the same then de-personalize Google +1 therefore the non-google sites you +1ed will not be visible to others.

Google Analytics

Many non Google websites use this to know how many users are viewing their site. Inadvertently, Google too unearths these details and might store it. To avoid this you may add-on certain plug-ins which may restrict Google to know from where you have been.

These are few measures to block your personal information from being shared among 60+ Google Websites. However, we might not get a clear view of how much harm or how much yield we are going to get through the Google’s New Privacy Policy until it is launched. How to de-personalize your Google experience is an article by Digital Tech’s Molly McHugh which gives more information about restricting Google from finding all your information.

Google might be the mightiest company of the Web, but am not interested in having dealings with a website that is going to share all your personal information. Especially I don’t want my personal interests to pop up or be loaded while I search for important work stuff. Although we can maintain different accounts for personal and professional needs, still the new policy of Google is kind of breech to our personal security.

If you too are in the same lines as mine feel free to share your views on the Google’s new privacy policy and the ways to stop it from viewing our personal information.