Inside Google

Google
launched an application Thursday that allows users to see what data is
stored in their accounts, but at least one group says the effort
doesn’t go far enough. The Google Dashboard is "designed to be simple
and useful" and summarizes data for a range of products from e-mail and
calendar applications to social networking and video sharing platforms.
Consumer Watchdog, a group that has repeatedly thrashed Google for its
advertising and privacy protection practices, said the Internet giant
should let users opt out of tracking and delete information associated
with their computer’s IP address from Google’s servers.

"If Google really wanted to give users control over their privacy it
would give consumers the ability to be anonymous from the company and
its advertisers in crucial areas such as search data and online
behavior," Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson said in a
press release. "The Dashboard gives the appearance of control without
the actual ability to prevent Google from tracking you and delivering
you to its marketers." That function is Google’s "black box and data
mine," he said.

Consumer Watchdog said Google should offer a simple
"make-me-anonymous" or "don’t track" button or icon on its home page,
or at the very least in its dashboard, that would prevent search
information from being logged at the choice of the user. The group also
said that the dashboard, though useful, is not easy to find. Read more
about dashboard here.