How to Turn Off Google Buzz
February 12th, 2010
Are you a Google user? Well, let me laugh at you and congratulate to voluntary participation in violation of your own privacy. As an average internet sheep, it is quite possible that you have a Gmail account and/or a Google toolbar installed. And since you have figured out how to use the internet, you would have already heard about that abomination called Google Buzz. Given that internet’s giant did their homework of brainwashing their brainless sheep to believe that Google Buzz is the next best thing, you have likely fallen for the propaganda and spread the hatred upon others by using it. However there are some who are aware of questionable privacy policies and blatant violations of such by Google so let me bring up some of the facts to your attention and most of all – show you How to Turn Off Google Buzz.
Did you know that the moment you click on Google Buzz button in your Gmail accounts that Google Buzz sets you up with followers automatically? People you email the most will be added as your followers list without you or them consenting to it. But that’s just the beginning. Since Google wants to create a tool that would be a competition to Twitter or Facebook, strangers will be able to “follow” you on Google Buzz (kind of the same way as it works on Twitter) and view your profile. Because Google has virtually no respect for your privacy, everyone who views your profile will get to see who is on your list of followers and who follows you. That may not seem like a big deal to you at first, but realize this:
- If your wife check out your Google Buzz profile and sees that your ex-girlfriend is on your list of followers – what kind of conclusions is she gonna come to? You have never added her there, Google did because you sent her a few emails believing that you’re doing it by utilizing a private tool (LOL, Gmail a private tool?)
- If your employer checks out your Google Buzz profile and finds out that you are following one of their competitors – what kind of conclusions is he going to come to? Again – perhaps you were looking for new opportunities but unsure you wanted to quit your job yet, so you looked around at other options. It’s your own private business, your current employer needs not know about it but through Google Buzz he can find it out.
If Google Buzz automatically makes the information on whom you send the most emails public for anyone to see, people could be coming to wrong conclusions or could be learning about stuff related to you they have no business knowing about – or you don’t want them to know at this time. But Google has no respect for that. That’s why it’s crucial to turn off Google Buzz before it can destroy your life. You can’t protect yourself from being spied on by Google, but you can protect yourself from people around you learning about perks from your life you may not wish them to know.
So how do I turn off Google Buzz? How do I disable it so the list of people I email to the most as well as the list of people who email me the most doesn’t become publically available? Just log in to your Gmail account and scroll all the way down. You will see the tiny link there which reads: “turn off buzz” – click on it (see picture above for reference). Make sure it changes into “turn on buzz”. That should disable your account and quit broadcasting your personal information, the information others have no business learning about.
Google violates your privacy by default. It has been like that for ever and it is no different with Google Buzz. Instead of giving you the opportunity to enable the sharing of personal information, Google automatically shares it, unless you disable it. But now that you do know how to turn off Google Buzz, go do it cause Google itself won’t. Google is also a master in concealing or not making absolutely clear the risks you are exposing yourself to when you use their applications. Together with blatant privacy violations, one has to be very careful when using Google services. It is near impossible to get out of its clutches now as Google already has so much information about you they have a pretty clear idea about who you are, what you do, where you live, where you work, how many times a day you fart and how your impotency treatment is progressing. But at least take steps to prevent other people from learning too much about you and turn off Google Buzz immediately.
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