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TopThe Google Privacy Policy
Google announced the first edition on privacy policy in 2000. Since then Google changed it more than ten times. The argument of Google by introducing each time a new privacy policy is “to provide, maintain, protect and improve them [the information we collect from all of our services], to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users… to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads.” Also, the updates of Google Privacy Policy applies to all Google Inc. services and its affiliates, such as Google advertising services but excludes services that have separate privacy policy, such as companies offering relevant advertisements (Google Privacy Policy, 2017). The information collected include ranges of basic elements, i.e. from user’s name, face, language to publicly viewable Google profile, even user’s popular advertisements’, as precondition to take full advantage of the sharing features provided by a Google Service.
The information is collected by: 1. Device information: i.e. Operating System (OS) version, model, unique identifiers, mobile network information, which allows Google to associate the IDs with user’s Google account. 2. Server logs and other technologies, i.e. emails tracking activity, search queries, audiovideo down/upload and thumbnail-sized screenshots of most pages that a user is visiting, telephone calls records (types, date/time/duration/SMS routing of calls etc.), Internet Protocol (IP) information, device data i.e. settings, browser information, cookie that may uniquely identify user’s browser or user’s account Google. 3. Location information: GPS signals from a mobile device, sensor data from user’s device i.e. nearby points of any Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower. 4. Unique application numbers during un/installing and updating them. 5. Local storage on user’s device using mechanisms, such as web browser storage (including HTML 5) and application data temporary storage. 6. Cookies and anonymous IDs, anonymizers collected by owned or offered to Google partners service interacting i.e. advertising services or Google features that may appear on other websites.