Is Google Spying on You? How to Adjust Google Privacy Settings

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lfwao/eli5_how_much_exactly_does_google_know_about_me/ 

funnily enough, google must adhere to eu rules and allow you to download all info they have on you.
and they do just that.
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=enyou can also turn off all the spying/marketing features for google if you wish, this stuff is really transparent:
https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads/authenticatedyou can also turn off your history on youtube that will pretty much shit you adds and recommendations.
personally i have every single thing google allows me to to turn off, turned off.
turning everything off, requires a tiny bit of googling, google is really transparent with these, things are not hidden, the settings are not hidden.
you can even opt out of the cookie they provide.
seems every single thing google tracks can be turned off, not hidden in any menus, but sometimes you need to know what to look for.

Facebook Prompts Remind You that FB "Cares About Your Privacy" :D

Does Facebook Suddenly Care About Your Privacy?

Article from TechCrunch:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/25/facebooks-privacy-checkups-remind-users-to-stop-posting-publicly/

Some blurbs from the article:

"Though a seemingly minor informational prompt, the addition arrives at a time when Facebook is facing increased competition with a bevy of mobile, social services offering more private sharing – WhatsApp being one which the company notably acquired for a mind-boggling $19 billion.

Earlier this month, Facebook also rolled out new private photo-sharing tools that offer an easier way for users to select specific people to share a photo album with via Facebook’s News Feed. The selector itself is reminiscent of Snapchat since it also lets you pick individual friends who can see your private photos."

"It’s also interesting to see Facebook shift its course to refocus on more private sharing in this post-Snowden era where users are beginning to feel more wary of the public nature of online sharing. Meanwhile, a new generation of users has been born into a world where their identities and private lives were already over-exposed by mom and dad while still in the womb and learning to crawl. It’s the perfect storm for a backlash against public socializing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reality:
They just realized that by sharing your data with search engines they're bleeding value from their ad platform

:D