Microsoft Cashes in on Google One-Policy Paranoia in Newspaper Ad

[btarunr]

Later this year, Google will adopt a single privacy-policy system for all its services. Some of Google's most popular services, as some might recall, are built from acquisitions of other equally genius start-ups as itself (eg: YouTube), many of these services were allowed to retain the essential part of their old privacy policies. The unified policy, effective March 1, 2012, allows sharing of usage statistics between services, to provide a user experience that's consistent between all its services. It doesn't sound harmful enough, yet it has generated public paranoia that it would, in some way, make Google more invasive on people's privacy than it already is, by, you know...owning YouTube?

Microsoft was quick put on an angel's robe and cash in on this paranoia. In a newspaper ad (first image below is down-scaled, the second is original), Microsoft talked about how Google's One Policy, One Google, One Experience is designed to be invasive to people's privacy, and how it allows Google to connect the dots between everything you do or say, across Google's various services. Fair enough, but what should have concluded as a PSA by Microsoft, ended up in being an advertisement for its own portfolio of services that are "better for users", as they're not as invasive as Google's.



A video detailing Google's One Policy update (by Google), follows.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[1Kurgan1]

Microsoft is genius... I'm going to stop using Youtube and switch to Microsofts alternative...

 

[imitation]

I can see Microsoft getting sued over this - i'll be cheering for Google.

 

[F1reFly]

lol. MS products just tend to suck, its almost like they have no pulse with modern society. Google's stuff seems to do what i like and what suits me, so i really don't give a crap what they collect on me...besides, its nothing to what people do to themselves by posting their lives on facebook.

 

[jihadjoe]

Microsoft wants my money and Google wants my information.
Who should I use???

 

[btarunr]

Microsoft wants my money and Google wants my information.
Who should I use???

It depends on what you think Google does with your information, apart from giving you ads of the nearest bakery if you're craving cookies.

 

[Frick]

I think I've agreed to this already. I'm not that worried, mostly because I think in the coming years the internet will change pretty much. Privacy will no longer be an option.

 

[AphexDreamer]

I've warned ya, Google is on its way to becoming the real Umbrella Corporation.

Soon we will all be zombies under their doing! DOOM! I SAYS! DOOOOOM!!!

 

[caleb]

I love google Gmail but with this new policy where Google has every right to use anything within my mailbox as they wish is just too much. Will be looking for another email account now and who knows I even might go to the old devil MS.

Your Content in our Services

Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones

 

[Kantastic]

It depends on what you think Google does with your information, apart from giving you ads of the nearest bakery if you're craving cookies.

But what can Google do with my information?

 

[SonDa5]

Very nice approach from MS. I think Google is heading in the wrong direction.

 

[Frick]

I love google Gmail but with this new policy where Google has every right to use anything within my mailbox as they wish is just too much. Will be looking for another email account now and who knows I even might go to the old devil MS.

I don't really see the problem with what you put in bold. Isn't that what they do now or am I misunderstanding things?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

It depends on what you think Google does with your information, apart from giving you ads of the nearest bakery if you're craving cookies.

I've not seen a single targeted ad on Google sites I liked. In fact, they tempt me to clear my temporary internet files and cookies.

 

[ironwolf]

Pretty sure we all know that if this were the other way around, it would still happen and it would still cheese off a pile of people. Neither company has a spotless halo by a long shot.

 

[NC37]

I've warned ya, Google is on its way to becoming the real Umbrella Corporation.

Soon we will all be zombies under their doing! DOOM! I SAYS! DOOOOOM!!!

Woot! I'm prepared!! I developed my Zombie Plan years ago!!! Bring it on!!!!

 

[F1reFly]

I think I've agreed to this already. I'm not that worried, mostly because I think in the coming years the internet will change pretty much. Privacy will no longer be an option.

i think eventually and gradually, privacy will be lost in life as well. of course kids growing up into it would think nothing of it and so on, akin to how fewer think of it when they go facebooking...so it would gradually just become a much more open society without privacy.
in a hundred years or so, i bet anything that it will be as common practice as circumcision is today, to get chipped as a baby where everyone is mentally accessed to the internet. everyone will get so gradually accustomed to such a thing along with benefits that only the old geezers will care...much like you hear them rant bout such old way things now.

 

[ensabrenoir]

Come on everyone............ follow the white rabbit......the Matrix awaits......

 

[Moose]

I've got to say it to microsoft (not about the advert but about their online competition to google) well done for trying, we expect it of you!

But you are good at making the windows operating system, that runs firefox, that I view google search, mail and docs on, sorry but I call that fair and it works so well for me, plus every company shares my screen and none is a monopoly

 

[mastrdrver]

I've warned ya, Google is on its way to becoming the real Umbrella Corporation.

Soon we will all be zombies under their doing! DOOM! I SAYS! DOOOOOM!!!

 

[caleb]

I don't really see the problem with what you put in bold. Isn't that what they do now or am I misunderstanding things?

The difference is that until now a bot read your email and gave you adds in GMAIL - this was without giving google every right to everything you send to them.
Now they can do anything they want without asking.
Its a simple unified policy for all services but they still use "in some services" inside it.

 

[pantherx12]

I love google Gmail but with this new policy where Google has every right to use anything within my mailbox as they wish is just too much. Will be looking for another email account now and who knows I even might go to the old devil MS.

Emails are not "content" so no need to worry dude.

Private stuff remains private under their new policy.

Content would be stuff like videos on youtube.