We may never know the full extent of information that Google stockpiles on all its users. But Google's new Google Dashboard service should bring at least some of that data to light.
Dashboard summarizes the data that Google collects in users' accounts for products like Gmail, Picasa Web Albums, Web History, Checkout, Reader, and YouTube. Where previously, users had to gather all of this information by checking multiple sites and settings locations, Dashboard brings it all together in one place, according to an article in The New York Times.
"It is a significant step forward in terms of trying to unite the user experience for people who use Google products," said Ari Schwartz, chief operating officer of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an independent advocacy group that receives some funding from Google and other technology companies.
Dahsboard provides information only about users' Google accounts for products that require them to log in, or for products in which the log-in is optional. It does not address the search records of people who are not logged into Google or the cookie data that Google uses to aim ads at people.
The service was unveiled at a European privacy conference on Thursday in Spain, and though proponents feel it will offer more transparency and control for users, privacy advocates say that the fact that Google and other companies collect this data in the first place is the real concern.