(Photo: Google)
Many Google users were recently annoyed to find that their user names and profile pictures may soon appear next to ads and listings called shared endorsements across various Google pages. From ABC News:
The day after Facebook announced that it was removing a privacy option that would make all of its users searchable, Google made its own announcement for adding an option called “Shared Endorsements.”
The new option would display Google users’ names and profile pictures beside advertisements for businesses and products that they’ve endorsed with a review, a +1, or even a follow. Google account holders were concerned about how these changes could be exploited, but Google is giving its users the option to opt out early.
While users can opt-out of the practice in their settings, Google has warned that users’ comments and follows may no longer be visible to connections on Google+ if they do so. In response, some have a far more creative idea for protesting Google’s new practice. And it involves making executive chairman Eric Schmidt a face to be seen all across the web.
From BBC News:
Google is facing a backlash over plans to put people’s faces and comments about products and places into adverts.
The “shared endorsements” policy change starts on 11 November and covers the comments, “follows” and other actions people do on Google+.
One protest involves people swapping their profile pictures for that of Google boss Eric Schmidt so his image rather than their own appears on ads.
Secretly, I kind of love the idea.
You can check out what some of the changes look like at this post, Eric Schmidt’s Face Shows Up All Over Google+ In Protest Of New Ads.
Of course, if you’d prefer not to avi up as Eric Schmidt, you can learn more at Google about how to turn on or off shared endorsements on ads.
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Comments
Funny that my Google Chrome browser stopped browsing AFTER unchecking that little box, that was already checked..
My Chrome is up to date, works fine, and the shared endorsement setting is off and was never turned on as far as I can tell. You may have some other system problem.
Google says that participation in this program is voluntary. So far it seems to be just that. We have enough to be worried about without all this hysteria.
On second thought, I notice you said the option was “already checked”.
What probably happened is that you gave consent when you set up the update. So uninstall Google, restart, and reinstall. Just be careful this time to withhold permission to use shared endorsements.
Just checked, GC still is not browsing.
I don’t touch anything from Google, unless absolutely necessary.
Hahahahaha.
Well, at least gmail isn’t “searchable.” Oh, wait …
It’s Google, what did they expect?
Google is beginning to following Microsoft’s colossal image and hopefully, it will follow the former’s path to insignificance.
We need to establish that privacy trumps corporate gain period.
While I would agree that privacy trumps GOVERNMENT snooping, the freedom of an individual needs to be honored to contract with anyone, including corporations. If you don’t like the terms you’re free to take your business elsewhere, but don’t restrict what other people do.
They could use photos of Richard Nixon, or Mao or whom/whatever they think advertisers would least like to see next to their products.
I googled body odor (B.O.) and all of a sudden I’m endorsing the President:)
Given the alternatives available, why would anyone use Google? Like ‘The Fine Report’ above, I avoid Google products if at all possible.
Google changed from a useful search tool to a commercial advertiser, to a political-correct filter, and now it’s become a combination of the latter two, plus the equivalent of Obama’s KGB agent.
Google should re-name itself GOV.OGLE.
Here’s a link back to Mandy Nagy’s LI article about increasing privacy and security on the internet:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2013/06/how-to-keep-your-communications-private/
I haven’t been, and will not, use Google or any of its shiny objects like Chrome and +.
They can bite me.
Yuk…you made me go to puff ho, I didn’t want to do that
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