On Monday, Google launched “Good To Know“, a privacy campaign aimed at giving people practical advise when it comes to staying safe online. The new effort covers a wide range of topics and done with the help of the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK.
“Companies and developers that build online services are often dismissed as playing fast and loose with privacy. No doubt some bad actors do so, but most of them, including Google, understand that the viability of our businesses relies on people and their information being safe online. That safety encompasses both security and privacy,” commented Alma Whitten, Google’s Director of Privacy for Product and Engineering.
Good To Know covers advice, using video and step-by-step instructions, from selecting strong passwords, basic account security, home networking, and cookies. The new section is broken down into four areas, safety online, data on the Web, data on Google, and data management.
“We know that in-depth resources like privacy policies and terms of service are often too long, complex and legalistic. In the past few years, we’ve tried to make it easier to learn about privacy by creating short videos and by working to reduce the length and complexity of our privacy policy… but we hope a more layered approach will make this information more accessible for everyone,” Whitten added.
“Keeping people safe and providing them with the services they want requires both careful engineering and sensible public policy. It also requires that consumers understand both the benefits and the potential dangers of using new technologies. Improved media literacy will be essential to the ongoing success of the Internet, and we look forward to continuing to engage in this discussion.”
While focused on residents in the U.K., the site is available to everyone. More on “Good to Know” is available here.