If you want to remain private on Google … well, relatively private, anyway … listen up. Google recently changed its Terms of Service and will soon use your name and picture in searches for products you’ve posted about. Starting November 1, anything you’ve posted on a Google-owned site, like YouTube or Zagat, is fair game for the search engine giant to use in its advertisements. You may not have a problem with this – your comment was posted publicly in the first place – but if you want to keep your affairs relatively private, there’s a quick fix. Head to the Settings page of your Google account and navigate to the Google+ tab. One of the first toggles is for “Shared Endorsements.” If you want out, this needs to be set to “Off.” If it’s marked “On,” click Edit, uncheck the box on the next page, then click save. That’s it – your online life is as private as it ever was … which is to say: not very private at all.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.