People don’t like it when they find out that Google is tracking them, the company says

May 23, 2013 08:20 GMT  ·  By

After launching a Windows 8 video that pokes fun at Apple’s Siri technology, the tech giant Microsoft has decided that it’s the right time to go back to its long-time rival Google.

Stefan Weitz, senior director, Bing, wrote a lengthy post to talk about Google’s I/O conference last week, explaining that this event made it very clear that the search company wants nothing more than to monetize its users’ data.

“They will be paying more attention to your location, analyzing your photos and turning them into animated gifs and they’d like some credit for their innovations while rarely mentioning that all this personal data collection gives them more opportunities to show you ads,” he explained.

While Weitz obviously used this occasion to praise Bing and the way Microsoft handles users’ data to protect their privacy, he also went on with a comparison that could make some people raise an eyebrow.

“You know, for some folks – the bargain they strike with Google is fine. Just like personal space in an elevator, people have varying degrees of tolerance for how close another person gets to them, and varying degrees of comfort when that person is actually a corporation not wearing deodorant,” he wrote.

While this could be a different way to tell that Google stinks, it’s pretty clear that Microsoft is becoming more and more aggressive in this long-distance fight with its rival.

Microsoft claims that only a few people know that Google actually tracks them while using its services, but once new consumers find out about it, they don’t like it.

Weitz then goes on to cite the findings of a study conducted by GFK Roper on behalf of Microsoft, which revealed that 9 out of the 10 of the people who heard about Google’s privacy violations wanted the practice to stop.

“Google is a big business and has to make money – off of you. Do you trust Google to do so with your best interests at heart?” he concludes.