BigDave - 5:01 am on Apr 22, 2005 (gmt 0)

I believe that Google has crossed the "reasonable" line

You didn't do that search, did you?

The way the courts have defined it is not the same as the average person would guess. It does not mean that you expect a reasonable amount of privacy.

It means that is it reasonable to expect privacy when all the facts are taken into account. If there are more than a few minor things suggesting that you should not expect privacy in that situation, you are not entitled to it.

If Google tells you that they will not share anything, then you have a reason to expect privacy from them. But I am guessing that you don't have that NDA that they signed anywhere handy.

and I'm willing to bet that we'll see legislation on this.

I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't expect it to pass. There is all sorts of garbage legislation out there. Why change now.

I can tell you to kill me, but if you do you still go in jail.

non sequitor. That has nothing to do with a privacy discussion. They are totally different laws.

The point is, that just because you give Google consent, they still have to abide by certain rules and regulations.

And they are. If you know of any privacy laws being violated by this, then please share. They certainly are not violating the 4th amendment.

I go to the doctors willingly and give them all my info, yet they are rules governing how they share or handle the information.

Yes, and the last time I checked, HIPAA didn't mention coverage of search history privacy. Hell, it doesn't even do a very good job of protecting your medical privacy.

Google apparently has a problem with deleting things.

Why should they? Is there a law that says that they have to? Do you have a contract with them that requires them to?

Just like you opted in, you should be able to completely opt-out.

Uh, you can. It is really simple. Don't use their products, or take precautions when you do.

Now I wonder if the Gmail mail is truly deleted when you delete it...

I'm not sure what that has to do with the search history feature.

Do they say that it is? If so, then they are required to delete it.

The thing is, that I am a bit of a privacy fanatic. But I don't expect the world to provide it to me by default. I do things to ensure my own privacy where I care about it.

For those cases where I don't care about it, it is not worth my effort.

I have a Gmail account. I have turned on search history. And I am still able to do searches that google can never connect to that account or me in any way. Why should I have to give up that ability because you are lazy?