CREEPY

Your Online Endorsements May Soon Be Ads

Google’s new search settings are less private, more personal.

You can run but you can’t hide on the Internet and Google’s new search settings aim to make it even harder to fly under the radar. According to an announcement Friday, the search engine will soon be able to gather any photos, comments or ratings people post on social networks and use them in advertisements. While Google argues the changes are meant to make the user’s Internet experience more personal, privacy advocates say companies using personal information in a way other than that which it was originally intended by the person who posted it can feel like a violation. “We set our own boundaries,” said Deborah Peel, a psychoanalyst and founder of the advocacy group Patient Privacy Rights. “We don’t want them set by Google or Facebook.” If you agree with Peel, be careful what you “like.” Starting November 11, your name could show up in ads for that brand you follow on Google Plus.