Imagine seeing an online advertisement using your Google+ profile photo. Many people would be shocked to see their images or profile activity shared without their permission. With Google’s new Terms of Service changes, user’s images, name and activity will be available for Google to use in advertisements starting in November.
In a recent article by Emil Protalinski, the biggest change to the terms of service is the “Shared Endorsements” setting which “lets you control how your Page’s name, photo and the actions that you take (such as +1s, reviews that you write or comments that you post) may appear in advertising.” The article gives the example, “if your Page publicly follows another Page, Google may surface this action with your Page’s name and photo when relevant and helpful to users, including in ads.”
These changes take effect on November 11, 2013 and Google+ users are encouraged to opt out of the setting if they would like their page information kept out of advertisements. Google does state that opting out of “this setting does not affect other places where your Page’s name and photo may appear.” This is not a universal solution so it is important to stay aware of changes to your Google+ pages and their terms of service.
Photo Credit: bokehlicia