What is the current relationship status? – This would be the most often question people pop up and I myself too question me at times. Am I into the right relationship? What are the signs to tell that my relationship is going sour? Then, we take up those relationship quizzes in order to evaluate and get clarity on our relationship. As far as I see, I have a long standing and steady relationship with Google and Facebook. I had complete faith and dependence on these two. I found pocket-friendly alternatives to phone calls with Facebook and Google mail and chat applications – then what went wrong? Why do I doubt that things are falling apart? Being unable to come up with any revelation, I again resorted to this following relationship test (like every time I do whenever I am in little doubt) –
- Does your partner encourage you to do new things and be creative?
Answer: Yes. - Q 2. Does your partner give space when you want to express something in your mind?
- Answer: Yes.
- Q 3. Does your partner constantly check you on the sly?
Answer: Yes. - Q 4. Is there an existence of ‘other woman’ in your relationship?
Answer: Yes. - Q 5. Does your partner keep your secrets you share?
Answer: No. - Q 6. Does your partner respect the need for privacy?
Answer: No. - Q 7. Does your partner let other people intervene?
Answer: Yes.
The test result reveals that my relationship with Facebook and Google is tearing apart owing to the lack of trust and confidentiality on these two web giants. Though Google and Facebook have repeatedly reassured confidentiality and privacy of users’ data, but evidences have leaked that they continue selling information to third parties. Hence, Facebook and Google require maintaining the fidelity toward users like me, you and the rest, especially in the following areas –
Advertisers and promotions
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Intervention of advertisers between me and Facebook/Google dampen my faith like the continuance of an ‘other woman’ in a personal relationship. These two web giants use IP addresses, track our browsing histories, articles and information we mostly read and search for, our online wish lists and online purchases. Then they sell every bit of the information and monetize by flashing intruding ads on the way of our Internet navigation.
Cookies say it all
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I usually tend to skip privacy policies, hurry to hit the ‘Submit’ button as the policies appear very lengthy, elaborate and complicated. One of the important parts of these laws include cookie laws. Cookies are bits of codes that are used to track our online behavior and to allow advertisers to pop up adverts from sites that I viewed earlier. Advertisers post ads on Facebook and pay for displaying to certain demography such as women of 25 to 35 years old. Then, Facebook uses cookies to identify users’ interests, match ads to respective group of users’ interests and embed ads on their profile pages. However, Facebook keeps its data to its server.
Later, I also came to know that Facebook creates ‘shadow profiles’ by using personal data of users. And the worst is that not only Facebook and Google, many big websites sell our Internet behavioral data to third parties. Isn’t it really heartbreaking that even after implying multiple rules through ‘Privacy Settings’ on Facebook and Google, our personal data is being sold to third parties?
Could you continue your relationship with these web giants knowing your security and confidentiality is at stake? Your answer to the last question of my relationship test will help you figure out –
Q 8. Do you feel completely safe with your partner?
I guess this has been an issue for some very long time now. Facebook and Google will continue to do that because that is what give life to their businesses.