Google Gives Third-Party Developers Permission to Scrape Your Data

"Google's New Privacy Policy: Are Your Data Safe?"

Meta Description: Google's privacy policy update allows third-party developers to scrape public data from the internet. This could impact user privacy, so it's important to be aware of the risks.

Jul 5, 2023

Google has updated its privacy policy to allow third-party developers to scrape public data from the internet to train their AI models. This means that developers could use Google's search engine to collect information from websites, social media platforms, and other public sources.

The update to Google's privacy policy states that the company "may collect information that's publicly available online or from other public sources to help train Google's AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and Cloud AI capabilities."

This change has raised concerns about privacy and data protection. Some people worry that third-party developers could use this information to track users' online activity or build profiles of their interests. Others are concerned that this could lead to the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Google has said that it will take steps to protect users' privacy, such as anonymizing the data that is scraped. However, it is unclear how effective these measures will be.

The update to Google's privacy policy is a significant development that could have a major impact on the way that data is collected and used online. It is important to be aware of this change and to take steps to protect your privacy.

Here are some things you can do to protect your privacy:

• Be careful about what information you share online.

• Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.

• Install ad blockers and privacy extensions on your browser.

• Be aware of the permissions that you grant to apps and websites.

• Read the privacy policies of the websites and apps that you use.

By taking these steps, you can help to protect your privacy and prevent your data from being scraped by third-party developers.

Additional details:

• What information could be scraped? The update to Google's privacy policy allows third-party developers to scrape any information that is publicly available online. This could include things like your name, email address, phone number, home address, social media profiles, and browsing history.

• How could this information be used? Third-party developers could use the information that they scrape to track your online activity, build profiles of your interests, or target you with advertising. They could also use the information to spread misinformation or disinformation.

• What are Google's safeguards? Google has said that it will take steps to protect users' privacy, such as anonymizing the data that is scraped. However, it is unclear how effective these measures will be.

• What can you do to protect your privacy? The following are some things you can do to protect your privacy:

1. Be careful about what information you share online.

2. Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.

3. Install ad blockers and privacy extensions on your browser.

4. Be aware of the permissions that you grant to apps and websites.

5. Read the privacy policies of the websites and apps that you use.

Other considerations:

• The impact on small businesses. Small businesses that rely on online traffic could be disproportionately affected by this change, as they may not have the resources to protect their data from being scraped.

• The potential for abuse. There is a risk that this change could be abused by malicious actors to collect personal information or spread misinformation.

• The need for regulation. Some experts have called for regulation of data scraping to protect user privacy. It is unclear whether or not such regulation will be implemented.

The update to Google's privacy policy is a complex issue with far-reaching implications. It is important to stay informed about this issue and to take steps to protect your privacy.

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Sources:

https://www.thurrott.com/cloud/285198/googles-new-privacy-policy-confirms-ai-data-scraping

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Extra Tags:

• Google privacy policy update

• Data scraping

• Third-party developers

• User privacy

• Online tracking

• Misinformation

• Disinformation

• How does Google's privacy policy affect data scraping?

• What are the risks of third-party data scraping?

• How can I protect my privacy from data scraping?