Google privacy concerns – please read
Those who know me know I’m a tech guy. I’m not afraid of technological advancement and I’m a fan of new tools. And generally speaking, I am a fan of Google. I own stock in the company. But a friend forwarded me this email. I figured it was bogus, something that would be refuted on Snopes.com (a great website to debunk urban legends), but I tested it and it worked exactly as described. And yes, I have already submitted my request to be removed from this service.
Please read this, and especially if you have children, take action to protect your privacy.
Google has implemented a new feature which enables you to
type a telephone number into the search bar and hit enter
and you will be given the person’s name and address. If you
then hit Map, you will get a map to the person’s house.
Everyone should be aware of this! It’s a nationwide reverse
telephone book.
If a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can now
look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues
are obvious and alarming!
Note that you can have your phone number removed or
blocked. I tried my number and it came up along with the map
quest and directions straight to our house. I did fill out
the removal form for myself, and encourage all of you to do
the same. Quite scary!
Please look up your own number.
In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to:
Google ( http://www.google.com/ )
Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e.555-555-1212)
and hit enter.
If you want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private
information, simply click on your telephone number and then
click on the Removal Form.
Removal takes 48-hours.
Check your own number. (This may not apply to you if you
have an unlisted number or cell
phone as primary contact).
You may know someone who needs to know this that has little
kids. It takes Sex Offenders right to your front door!!
Please share this information with friends and family.
Technorati Tags: Egoscue
March 11, 2008 at 5:03 pm
[...] Ramblings from the Hill Country urges people to block themselves from the Google service to protect their identity and the identity of their children. I decided to follow his advice and block my number. I was greeted with an interesting disclaimer. There are at least ten more websites that allow reverse phone number lookup. So, either we are being very paranoid to think there are sex offenders typing in random ten digit numbers in hopes of finding their next victim, or we need to proactive and get an unlisted number. At the end of the day, we can protect our identity, and whether we like it or not, it is not “searches” fault if we do not take the correct precautions. [...]
March 11, 2008 at 5:25 pm
valid points.
I don’t think people are randomly typing in numbers, and while there are indeed other sites that provide the address info which you can then take and input to get a map, Google just makes it very, very easy to do it. That has its advantages and its problems. And I know someone with an unlisted number and when she typed her number into Google, it showed the map to her house.
Just like securing your home from burglars, without taking extraordinary precautions you can’t make it absolutely but the idea is to make it so it’s just a bit harder than it otherwise would be, same holds true here I think. Almost everyone with a computer knows how to use Google. Most don’t know how to do reverse lookups.
But the point is well taken, if you want to be absolutely private, the problem does not lay here.
May 28, 2008 at 12:54 am
The question is now: Do you Google? Not: Do you know?
Everything will be in Google. Satellite photos, map, phone numbers, even thing that we do not remember any more…