Google Buzz’s amazing integration of Twitter-like functionality and automatically following everyone you know isn’t just an annoying and potentially embarrassing feature. For some users, it’s a security hazard.

One such user is Harriet Jacobs, who guest blogged about her concerns at Gizmodo.

I use my private Gmail account to email my boyfriend and my mother. There’s a BIG drop-off between them and my other “most frequent” contacts. You know who my third most frequent contact is. My abusive ex-husband.

Which is why it’s SO EXCITING, Google, that you AUTOMATICALLY allowed all my most frequent contacts access to my Reader, including all the comments I’ve made on Reader items, usually shared with my boyfriend, who I had NO REASON to hide my current location or workplace from, and never did.

…

F*ck you, Google. My privacy concerns are not trite. They are linked to my actual physical safety, and I will now have to spend the next few days maintaining that safety by continually knocking down followers as they pop up. A few days is how long I expect it will take before you either knock this sh*t off, or I delete every Google account I have ever had and use Bing out of f*cking spite.

Can you manage the new lack-of-privacy features Google has introduced? Yes. Do most people know how to do this, or know to seek out the information? Probably not.

F*ck You, Google [Gizmodo]
Buzz off: Disabling Google Buzz [CNET]

PREVIOUSLY: Google Buzz Makes Private Contact Info Public

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