‘We protect your data’
Managing your privacy on Google isn’t quite the same as conducting a search — but search is a great place to start.
A query for “Google privacy tools” points you to a dozen ways to control your information. For example, Google+ gives you control over what information you share and who can see it. Chrome lets you browse the Web in “incognito” mode. And Google Dashboard helps you understand what information is stored in your Google account and change your settings from a central location.
You can edit or turn off your search and YouTube histories, and use our Ads Preferences Manager to control the way Google tailors ads to your interests. You can use Safesearch to filter adult content from search results (we require a cookie simply to remember that you want that feature on).
We know the most convenient place for controls is in the products themselves, so we put features such as sharing circles in Google+ and
Google bases its approach on security, control
“Why these ads” links next to ads in search results and Gmail. You can find our tools in the Google Privacy Center and our consumer help pages. We advertise them online and in publications such as USA TODAY through our Good to Know campaign.
I’ve been working in privacy and security for a decade, and I know how challenging it is to get this stuff right. The Internet is incredibly complex. Privacy is personal — it means different things to different people at different times. And our users expect Google products to be simple and work beautifully together.
Some design decisions are easy, such as turning on encryption by default to prevent your Gmail from being snooped on (an industry-leading step). Others — such as the right sharing model or level of personalization — are more subjective.
Our approach is based on security, transparency and control. We protect your data from bad guys, tell you what information we’re collecting as clearly as we can, and give you meaningful choices so you can feel comfortable when using Google. We’ll keep trying to make this all as simple and intuitive as a search query.
Alma Whitten is Google’s director of privacy for product and engineering.