Archive for May, 2010
A 10th employee of iPhone maker Foxconn jumped to his death late Wednesday, just hours after the company’s chairman promised to make life better for employees at the sprawling production site in southern China.
Google has announced the launch of a browser plugin that lets users avoid being tracked by Google Analytics. The company warned two months ago, in the midst of loud privacy-related complaints, that it was working on such a tool.
Google says the plugin will work in the following browsers:
- Internet Explorer, versions 7 and 8
- Mozilla Firefox, 3.x and higher
- Google Chrome
It’s not available for Safari, but Google’s Brian Richardson hinted that may change in the future by saying today’s announcement is a “first step” and that Google hopes to “build continuous improvements moving forward.”
In its announcement today, Google positions this as a win for user control and privacy. As I pointed out in our previous article, this is a smart move for Google; they’ll be able to tout this as a feather in their cap when it comes time to field complaints about user privacy.
It’s anyone’s guess how many web searchers will even be aware that the plugin exists, much less use it. We asked Richardson what Google’s expectations are for adoption of this plugin, and his reply suggests that Google is aware it won’t be widely used:
“We’re not sure [what to expect]. But it may be helpful to compare it to similar tools that provide users with more power and control over data. For example, with the Ads Preferences Manager, we’ve seen that of the tens of thousands of who people visit the site every week (out of the millions and millions of users), only 1 person our of every 15 opts out, 4 edit their categories, and 10 do nothing. Greater choice and transparency is good for users and we believe that what’s ultimately good for users will be good for advertisers and Analytics customers.”
On a related note, Google also announced today that website owners can tell Google Analytics to use only a portion of a visitor’s IP address for geographic reports. While this gives site visitors an additional layer of privacy, Google says it will “somewhat reduce the accuracy of geographic data in your Analytics reports.”
Yahoo today announced a “global strategic alliance” with Nokia that will allow both companies to leverage each others’ products and services including email, instant messaging and maps and navigation services for both PC and mobile devices.
Twitter announced yesterday that Twitter for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available for free on the iTunes App Store. According to the announcement, users do not need a Twitter account to enjoy the application. Users without a Twitter account can download the app to browse trends, read top tweets, find popular users and read public tweets. However, new users who wish to open an account can sign up within the application without having to visit the Twitter website.
PC Magazine reported on Friday that Facebook is planning to implement changes to its privacy policies that will make them easier to understand. However, the report also suggests that the changes might not be enough to satisfy the company’s growing number of critics.
Facebook released a statement which said that it had received a “pretty clear” message from users that they “appreciate having precise and comprehensive controls, but want them to be simpler and easier to use. They also like the new programs we have rolled out, but want simple and easy ways to opt out of sharing personal information with applications and Web sites through Facebook Platform.” The statement also said that Facebook would be implementing the feedback in changes to be announced “shortly.”
However, many critics are concerned that the changes won’t go far enough to alleviate concerns about Facebook’s sharing of user information. The announcement by Facebook comes on the heels of a poll by U.K.-based security firm Sophos which showed that 60 percent of almost 1,600 respondents are either “highly likely” or “probable” to quit Facebook over privacy concerns, while another 16 percent said that they already have.
