WARNING! Google Buzz Automatically Exposes Gmail Information

[LrdElderon]

... that hot girl pic might just as well be a 40 year fat bald man waiting for you to stalk him :icon_ devil:.

Damn! There goes my cover ....

Rofl that's pretty funny. I went exploring and I did manage to find the list of followers and followees but it didn't show contacts. I think there was a checkbox that specificially asked if you wanted to share contacts or not I don't remember. Just clear your contact info and make everything private if you had it set to anything else.

problem solved.

 

[Droidnought]

You're looking at how it is now, not like it was when it was first released. Google quickly changed it after the news stories started coming out. It may be ok now, but it wasn't on the first day when they forced everybody into it without any warning or asking first.

Wally

 

[kevin1016]

..they forced everybody into it without any warning or asking first.

Wally

That's not true. There was a splash page that asked if you wanted to participate. I'd be willing to bet that their was a policy link at the bottom of that page. Ignorance is certainly bliss in this litigious society.

 

[Mercutio]

If you declined to participate, you were still signed up for and activated in Buzz - including having your contact information shared.

This was a case where ignorance certainly wasn't blissful.

Let us hope that there is a large and successful class action lawsuit over this affair. A clear and strong message must be sent that user privacy is not to be taken lightly.

 

[kevin1016]

If you declined to participate, you were still signed up for and activated in Buzz - including having your contact information shared.

Which was and is explained in the privacy policy link. I didn't read it but I'll almost guarantee that they had a privacy policy link at the bottom of the splash page. Clicking accept is agreeing that you read it.

 

[kevin1016]

Google Buzz Privacy Policy

 

[choklitcow]

You didn't have to click accept at the time, you could "No, thanks. Take me to Gmail".

However, almost all the concerns people had, including visible contact lists/making them easier to hide, were corrected that Friday. It makes sense as to why all this seems trivial now, google did what they should have and fixed the concerns.

 

[kevin1016]

You didn't have to click accept at the time, you could "No, thanks. Take me to Gmail".

However, almost all the concerns people had, including visible contact lists/making them easier to hide, were corrected that Friday. It makes sense as to why all this seems trivial now, google did what they should have and fixed the concerns.

Yeah, it's good that Google quickly made changes because of people's "concerns" but that doesn't mean the original launch was illegal or a 1.5 billion dollar lawsuit is justified.

 

[kevin1016]

Let us hope that there is a large and successful class action lawsuit over this affair. A clear and strong message must be sent that user privacy is not to be taken lightly.

Let me guess, you're a Stella Liebeck supporter?

 

[Mercutio]

Kevin,

Even if one clicked "Decline," one was still enrolled in Buzz.

 

[kevin1016]

Kevin,

Even if one clicked "Decline," one was still enrolled in Buzz.

If that's true, then that practice is indeed shady. Do you have a link?

I was referring to the people who clicked "accept" and then complained without looking into what they were accepting.

Sorry for misunderstanding what you were saying.