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 AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.