Methods and/or means to allow users to better control access to their data used by a web app

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116
votes
11answers
33k views

Turning off Google search results indirection

In Google search results, in Firefox or Chrome, I get URLs that go through Google and not directly to the target site. For example, at http://www.google.com/search?q=foo the first result is ...
60
votes
5answers
117k views

Facebook detects if you are logged in Gmail

Today I was playing with some web security, and there was a surprise when I decided to test the Forget the Password link on Facebook. I chose to send the password reset code to my Gmail address, and ...
39
votes
8answers
19k views

How to use GPG with Gmail?

I would like to read and write GPG encrypted mails within Gmail. I found FireGPG, but the support for Gmail has been discontinued (and I am using Google Chrome as a browser). What is the most ...
38
votes
6answers
27k views

How can I follow someone on Twitter without them knowing?

Is it possible to follow someone on Twitter without them knowing?
26
votes
8answers
208k views

How to disable “Seen by” in Facebook chat?

Recently, when several people chat together, I can see Seen by xyz appearing when one of the participants sees the last message. It can be convenient, but it is also a form of privacy invasion. How ...
23
votes
3answers
418 views

How do I ensure that what I post on Facebook stays private?

On Facebook, how should I adjust my privacy settings so that my posts stay private?
22
votes
8answers
14k views

Bugmenot (registration bypasser) alternative that doesn’t suck?

I used to love Bugmenot...but then they started blocking more and more sites. Now I'd say a good 75% of the time I try to find logins on bugmenot, the site is blocked. Is there a service like bugmenot ...
20
votes
2answers
4k views

Can my Google+ contacts know in which circle I put them?

Is there any way for my contacts to know whether I have put them in circle "Close friends" or "Annoying acquaintances" ? In Facebook, groups can be public. I could not see that directly on Google+, ...
18
votes
8answers
3k views

How can I know if a website is logging my IP address?

Is there any way to check that when I visit a site, if the site is logging my IP address?
16
votes
4answers
714 views

Is it possible to stop people from associating things with me on Facebook without my permission?

On Facebook, it's possible by default for someone's friends to tag him in a photo without his permission. Is there any way for a user to stop his friends from doing that, or to at least require his ...
15
votes
1answer
7k views

How do I stop someone from seeing me on Facebook Chat?

I like Facebook Chat, but I want to hide from specific people. Is there an easy way to do this?
14
votes
4answers
377 views

send anonymous email

Is there a service that would allow one to send anonymous emails? Also if not anonymous one that would create a temporary email address.
14
votes
3answers
2k views

How does the facebook friend finder operate?

Facebook friend finder is really creepy. It has suggested to me: The father of a friend of mine, whose existence in facebook was unknown to the said friend of mine himself. The twin brother ...
13
votes
3answers
6k views

Does Google read my email?

I'm considering getting a Gmail account. I've always been hesitant about privacy with Google, though, and especially with the new privacy policy (which is hard to understand), I have some questions: ...
13
votes
3answers
126k views

How to hide my likes from my friends on Facebook?

My friends say that they are notified when I like a post on Facebook. I don't want this. What is the privacy option that can help me?
12
votes
2answers
2k views

Who is looking at my Facebook profile or pictures?

Can a Facebook application or anyone track that information? Some applications advertise this feature. I'm not sure whether I can trust them.
12
votes
5answers
4k views

How can I fully and immediately unsubscribe from Facebook?

I know that there's a way to suspend the Facebook account and it should be removed after 2 weeks. However I would like to immediately and definitively remove my account, so that in their servers ...
11
votes
1answer
162 views

Prevent Gmail from expanding email address using name from Contacts

I want to prevent Gmail from replacing To: i@corp.com with: To: The fat guy who was near takeshi at the meeting <i@corp.com> I just typed i@corp.com in the compose window, but Gmail expands ...
10
votes
5answers
1k views

How does YouTube know my Google identity without my explicitly connecting?

I've found that recently when I visit YouTube, I am automatically logged in with my Google/Gmail Account. I don't like this at all. I do not want my video browsing history tied up with my Google ...
10
votes
1answer
4k views

Make old posts visible only for my circle on Google+

How can I make my old posts on Google+ visible only for those people I have added in my circle?
9
votes
1answer
25k views

Stop Facebook from showing my current location when I make a post

Within Facebook, any time I make a post it gives away my location as "Near The Closest Large City" (naming the city). I do not want this much detail posted about my location. How do I stop this from ...
9
votes
2answers
558 views

What Facebook information is shared when I visit a website and it has a Facebook friends block?

So if I go to a website (like www.groupon.com) I get a section of the webpage which tells me the names of some of my Facebook friends who "liked" this site and offers a button that has the Facebook ...
9
votes
2answers
8k views

Tool to bulk remove Facebook status updates

Is there any tool/webapp out there that will let me bulk delete past status updates? The only solution I have found so far is going back manually and deleting them one by one.
9
votes
1answer
608 views

Why can I see all these people in Trello? And what can they see about me?

When I start typing to add my friends in Trello, I see all these people I don't know! What's up with that? Are you showing my boards to the public?
9
votes
2answers
727 views

How exactly does Facebook's “Friends of Friends” visiblity play together with “hide from” beyond the first level?

Intro I often am in the situation where I combine Facebook's "friends of friends" visibility with the "hide from" option. I see this more as an act of courtesy than secrecy (in which case I would use ...
8
votes
1answer
939 views

Does Google log your search to your Google account?

When I go google.com and do a search while being logged in to my Gmail account (or Google account). does Google log that search to that specific account or will it only log that search to the ...
8
votes
10answers
1k views

Client-side encrypted online backup service

I'm very interested in using an online backup service to keep my data safe from malfunctioning hardware. And I am, of course, willing to pay for the service. However, I don't want my data to be ...
8
votes
4answers
488 views

What will Google do with my data?

When I give data like Email, documents or my search history to Google I trust that they will keep my data secure (from hackers, employees, foreign governments, etc.) keep it private only use it for ...
8
votes
1answer
96 views

Google +1 and privacy

What happens when I press Google +1 button? Who can understand and view that I liked that article, news or whatever? My friends only, all internet users? Are there any settings to fine-tune this ...
8
votes
1answer
14k views

Facebook: how to selectively make status updates visible only to certain groups?

My friends list has people from work and my real friends. By default, I want my status updates to be visible only to my friends. And sometimes I want may want my updates to be visible to everyone. ...
8
votes
1answer
15k views

How to see my profile from a friends of friends perspective on Facebook?

I can see my profile from the perspective of a 1st level friend, but I would like to see how my profile looks for a specific friend of a friend, or even from a general "friends of friends" ...
8
votes
1answer
184 views

Where did Facebook spy to find out I was interested in some video game?

So, I read a Cracked.com article about a certain popular video game (that shall remain nameless but involves going into blue things and emerging out of orange things). I knew nothing about that game ...
8
votes
2answers
371 views

Are there any Facebook “suicide” apps out there?

I would like to delete a lot of my Facebook data without closing my account. Of course, doing it manually is a waste of time and it's not interesting :-) Are there any services similar to ...
7
votes
5answers
5k views

How do I contact Facebook after being false reported by fake accounts and harassed?

I dont know what to do, my friends and I are being harassed. Also false mass reports from this person's fake accounts are also being directed to us. I have tried reporting her for harassment and then ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views

Is it safe to use Gravatar?

I vaguely remember hearing that Gravatar had some security or privacy flaw. I think it was that someone could extract your e-mail address if you used a Gravatar. Is Gravatar safe? How do you know? ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views

How does Amazon know what I have been searching on Google?

I was just browsing at some products on Amazon, without being logged in to Amazon, and then I noticed at the bottom the 'Recent Searches' box - which showed searches I had made from Google and had ...
7
votes
1answer
725 views

How do you stop Google from using your search preferences in their ads?

Google uses what I search for in the ads that it shows me on different websites, and I don't want that because it will tell people what I'm interested in. How do I stop Google from doing that? Is ...
7
votes
0answers
2k views

Delete old Facebook wall posts [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Script or App to remove own Facebook status updates Related: How to delete all Facebook posts/comments older than 1 year? How can I delete all Facebook status ...
6
votes
6answers
767 views

Can any web applications tell if I have Facebook open in a different tab or window?

I have Facebook open in one tab, and I open YouTube in another. YouTube asks me if I want to sign in with my Facebook account. Can YouTube tell if I have Facebook open in a different tab or window?
6
votes
3answers
400 views

Is there privacy if you view email boxes in office network?

If I open my Gmail account in office network or chat with someone in Gtalk, since our communications are through a proxy, will anyone be able to see my mails? Even if I log out, will someone be able ...
6
votes
5answers
291 views

How can I make a safe search in Google?

How can I search in a way in Google that prevents my search terms being linked to my identity (cookies, IP ...)? I know there are some tools such as a Firefox extension that makes random searches from ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views

How private is private data on trello?

I volunteer as a governor on a school governing board. Lots of people, teams, tasks (current, deferred and over-arching), meetings, committees, sub-committees, etc. Trello would be an excellent tool ...
6
votes
5answers
696 views

Can I sync my Facebook status to Google Buzz? [closed]

I've seen ways to do it the other way around, but can I set up Google Buzz and Facebook so that when I post a status on Facebook, it also appears on Google Buzz? UPDATE: Unfortunately, it seems that ...
6
votes
1answer
4k views

How can I reset all public posts to be friends-only?

I recently found that despite my default posting privacy level being "friends" all of my recent posts are "public". Is there some way I can quickly move these posts back to "friends" or otherwise ...
6
votes
3answers
173 views

Is this a Google+ privacy risk? Should we be concerned?

I feel like there's no real need for this sort of information to be available to everyone: http://www.gstatic.com/s2/sitemaps/sitemap-7000.txt Since Google hosts gstatic.com, I feel like they should ...
6
votes
1answer
24k views

Friends of a friend can see my post when my friend comments or likes, even if I am not my friend's friends

If I post something on Facebook and a friend comments on it or likes it, how is it that other people who are friends of the comment writers or likers, but not friends of mine, can see it? Surely this ...
6
votes
1answer
3k views

Preventing new friends from seeing old Facebook posts

I'd like to add some new people as Facebook friends so that they can see baby pictures, but not the rest of my posts and other items. Going forward, this is easy, as I can just add them to ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views

How to remove Google Apps search history?

As of March 1st a lot of people seem to be jumping ship from Google due to their new privacy policy. EFF has posted a neat little guide to how one might opt to remove their search history, but this ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views

It looks like Google is saving my search history and tying them to my account. How do I turn this off now?

For a long time, when you would be logged in via something like Gmail or even a straight "Google Account", you could go into the privacy/advanced settings and turn on something to save your search ...
5
votes
1answer
844 views

In Facebook's privacy settings, what does the Other category mean?

I understand the other categories, but what does the 'Other' one mean. Who does it include?

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