How do I keep my google toolbar info private?

[Heywood_J]

I have the google toolbar installed on my computer, however I'm concerned with google tracking my search patterns. Is there a way to keep the toolbar and all of it's functions, and at the same time prevent google from seeing my info? If so, how do I do this?

Bottom line is I do no want to send out any infomation to google on the fear that that may use it against me one day for their financial gain (ie - adwords).

[jbinbpt]

From their FAQ's

Google respects and protects the privacy of the individuals who use the Google Toolbar. Information in a URL, such as user names and IDs, passwords, and account information of any kind are not passed on to Google and are not kept or stored anywhere.

Now there is alot that they don't say......

Don't worry....Google is your friend

[Heywood_J]

After their Florida Update, Google is no longer my friend.

But, back to my original question, how do I keep my toolbar info from the eyes of Google?

[Chris_R]

There is nothing you can do to prevent this. Even without the toolbar - they already track your search patterns.

Lets say friday you search for: pregnancy signs

saturday you search for: pregnancy tests

sunday you search for: abortion

Google knows TONS about you.

If you have a static IP or use cookies - and have been on the internet for any period of time - it would be child's play to come up with your current and past interests and websites.

The only way to go if you are truly concerned - is non static IP and no cookies.

The good news is that so far - there is no evidence they have used this info for individual purposes. All it would take is a court order or subpoeana. It will happen (if it hasn't already). Google's privacy policy is vague and pretty much meaningless:

"Upon your first visit to Google, Google sends a "cookie" to your computer. A cookie is a piece of data that identifies you as a unique user."

"Google notes and saves information such as time of day, browser type, browser language, and IP address with each query. That information is used to verify our records and to provide more relevant services to users."

In otherwords - every search you ever make is recorded - along with every possible piece of information they can collect about you.

They say: "Google does not collect any unique information about you (such as your name, email address, etc.) except when you specifically and knowingly provide such information."

What does this mean? NOTHING - It is not possible for them to collect this information. So it might as well say:
"We don't read your mind and break into your house and look through your papers"

"we will release specific personal information about you if required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order."

I can file suit against anyone I want for less than $50 in state and $200 in federal court. It costs nothing for a subpoena. You DO NOT NEED A JUDGE TO GET A SUBPOENA. Some court houses give out blank subpoeana forms. I used one of these one time to get someones bank records. If I can do it - it is child's play for a lawyer to do it.

But your orginal question was about google themselves. They already have it and don't need to suppoeana it.

[Jon_King]

Thank you Chris for this very enlightening post. It should be part of the library here at WW.

BTW, can a list be drawn of specific cookie file names with the associated SE's?

<added> I don't pay much attention to cookies so I just checked... 2,567 cookies. Seems as if many people track my surfing habits. </added>

[esteve999]

Consider different browsers for different tasks. You're using the Google Toolbar with IE. So, you could use a different browser (like Netscape) for other tasks.

Also, there are programs one can install that will delete cookies upon closing your broswer window and if you combine that with a non-static IP address you take away a site's ability to track you.