Google launches Web History tool

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Google has made its Web History tool available in the UK.

The tool enables users to find websites they have visited in the past, as well as edit or delete items from their web history. It is an opt-in service.

The launch is part of a wider Google personalised-search initiative that the company's privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, has admitted raises privacy issues. Writing earlier this year in the Financial Times, Fleischer said: "Personalised search does raise privacy issues. In order for it to work, search engines must have access to your web-search history. And there are some people who may not want to share that information because they believe it is too personal. For them, the improved results that personalised search brings are not matched by the 'cost' of revealing their web history."

Fleischer argued that Google can handle this privacy issue by asking users if they want to opt in to the service when they open an account.

Google uses the information gathered from users' search histories for marketing purposes.

Talkback

This I've been waiting for! Hopefully this service will spread to the rest of the world outside GB! For instance: when I read Lebanese Daily Star at the web, it pops up adversitements "specially for me" - very annoying!

KES, from another country than GB.

knuters 3 August, 2007 17:00
Reply

I always prefer to wait and watch the results of things or applications launched by Google. I'm very careful and selective when things are related with google. ;)

Windows Server Hosting 28 September, 2007 11:49
Reply

I think it's just another way of Google to get your permission to store even more info on you. It already has access to your emails if you use Google mail and you documents if you use Google Docs. Now it wants permission to store all of your web usage even if it wasn't initiated with a Google search. What next - store you calender events they know where you are going - oh I forgot they already do.

David Long 16 October, 2007 14:19
Reply

I think that perhaps google is taking the boundries of privacy a bit too far. I suppose one could argue that it is your choice to join up if you are made fully aware of the implementations of doing so. However i would argue the case that your average everyday user would enter not realizing what they are about to divulge. Google is one of the best search engines perhaps they should stick soley to that.

chrishocking 16 October, 2007 14:47
Reply

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