Google Dashboard: Really All Google Knows About Us?

Google can't be trusted with our personal data.

Google claims that Google Dashboard gives complete privacy choice and control. I guess this is good news for those who advocate for privacy on the Internet. The truth is that it is very much no news at all. The reason is simple: who says that what we see on Google Dashboard is all that data Google has on us?

It is only Google’s own claim that the dashboard is a direct access to its analytics infrastructure. Knowing how information is vital to Google who mainly lives out of information retrieval, I just have the feeling that it cannot be trusted with such claims.

Google is a big data center. Nothing more, nothing less. What makes the difference between Google and any other search engine that decides one day to imitate and compete with it is the big inimitable data center. If it flushes user’s personal data, it is gradually loosing competitive edge over other players (like Bing) who decide to keep information and can provide more personalized services.

Unless governments step in and impose regulations and audits concerning privacy, claims such as the one with Google Dashboard are going to be nothing more than marketing campaigns aiming at giving a more humane face to an increasingly feared corporation.