Google Dashboard: Transparency and Caution Simultaneously

Google Dashboard is really just a webpage that shows you how much (once you've logged in, naturally) the company knows about you. It even divides the data up into varying services. Greater transparency is what Google is aiming for here, as well as less criticism.

For example, go to Google Dashboard and log into your Google account. Note that even if you are already logged in to other Google services, for security, you will have to login again to Google Dashboard.

If a user scrolls down the page, he will see items like Gmail, Picasa, Calendar, Contacts, and more. It will show you things you might not even expect. For example, Google Dashboard will display how many of your mobile devices are using Google Sync. It will display how many sites you've "connected to" using Google FriendConnect.

Google Dashboard will even show you how many sites you may have given data access to. An example here would be if you use Fotoflexer. You can give Fotoflexer access to your Picasa account if you want to edit images. That information, that you gave Picasa that right, will show up in Google Dashboard.

Even better is the fact that each section of Google Dashboard allows you to delete data or revoke rights. Again, using Fotoflexer as an example, you can go into the Google Dashboard section for sites you have given access rights to, and revoke those rights.

This is all wonderfully transparent of Google. What might be somewhat unnerving, however, is exactly how much information Google Dashboard shows you Google does have. It might make one wonder, in addition, how much information Yahoo! has, or Microsoft, as well.

Also, while the company should be applauded for the amount of transparency Google Dashboard gives, it should be noted that the site only provides information about Google services you log into, either automatically or manually. It does address the concerns that many have noted: search records of people who are not logged into Google or the cookies used by Google to contextualize ads and display them.

Despite all this, Google Dashboard is wonderfully useful, though disturbingly alarming at the same time. It will make an end user think twice about what he or she does on the web. It is still, however, the first real step toward actual transparency an Internet-focused firm has made.

You can watch a Google-produced video of Google Dashboard here.