Allowing Google to access your cell GPS will permit Google to make suggestions about things to do or restaurants to try wherever you happen to be. Although Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt recently said these autonomous search features were on the horizon, we’re pretty close to that point already with the location based apps like Facebook’s Places, Foursquare, and Shopkick. However Schmidt’s comments about the autonomous search does raise new privacy issues that everyone should be concerned about. Do people really want Google be know so much about us that Google tells us what to do, where to go, and what to eat?
What about Google’s Instant Search?
Google’s promoting of its new Instant Search includes a video of an old Bob Dylan song which may be cute, but the new search raises other new concerns about privacy and data that Google has about us. Now when we type in a letter in a Google search Instant Search immediately starts offering search results which in a way allows Google to complete our thoughts for us. But also Google can direct search results for paid advertisers if they have reason to want higher search rankings. In the meantime the Texas Attorney General recently announced that it was investigating Google’s search engine, and we may all learn whether Instant Search is driven by advertising or algorithms for the optimum results. However, most people are surprised to learn that Google saves all of our searches for 18 months (at in the US). What do you think about Google?