In response to Google’s new privacy policy, the Washington Post recently conducted an informal poll of its web readers to gauge their feelings toward the shift and their futures with the company’s services. At press time, 16,325 people had taken the poll and 65 percent said they would cancel their account with the company due to the new policy, set to take effect on March 1.
The policy streamlines Google’s stance, from more than 60 different policies to one general concept. Essentially the company will now begin tracking user activity across its various services – search, Gmail, YouTube, etc. – and applying it across the platform. As Brafton reported earlier this week, the privacy update may benefit targeted marketing campaigns, but users are meeting it with mixed reviews.
Sixteen percent of respondents said they would not cancel their accounts, while 19 percent were unsure at the moment.
According to its most recent quarterly earnings report, Google’s services are among the most widely used, which may make it difficult or impractical for some users to cancel their accounts. The company reported that Gmail currently boasts 350 million users around the world, while the latest figures from comScore show 157 million Americans visited YouTube in December 2011.
Google search, however, is the most used Google product accounting for more than 65 percent of total queries in the United States.
While consumers seem skeptical of Google’s new policy, marketers will likely find SEO and content marketing targeted opportunities thanks to the adjustment.
