14 DAY TRIAL // Google has just announced that starting November 11 the Terms of Service will be changing in some key points. Basically, the company will be able to include adult users’ names, pictures and comments in ads shows across the Internet, unless otherwise stated.
According to the new documents, users under 18 will be excluded by default, but otherwise, users will have to opt out on their own from sharing their endorsement.
And since I won’t be agreeing to this on my own, I went ahead and did a little research to figure out how to close down this entire thing before it even starts, because, frankly, I like my online privacy as much as the next person (no, I’m not even going to mention the NSA in this article).
So, when it comes to sharing endorsements in ads, users of Google services can easily opt not to have their profile name and photograph shared with the world. This can be done by accessing the Shared Endorsements (check the picture above).
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and make sure the checkbox there is cleared. This will prevent your profile name and photograph from showing up on any type of ads.
This option has been around for a while, but it has applied for +1s only. So, if you have previously unchecked this box, Google will continue to respect your choice on the matter.
If left enabled, based on the new Terms of Service, pictures, comments and other types of endorsements you show while using a Google site, whether it’s Google Plus, Google Play or YouTube, can be used in ads for that particular individual or company.
Thus, friends, family and people who you’ve connected with online will see the things you recommended online, whether it’s a product or brand.