Google is no stranger to flaunting with privacy issues and these time around the search giants are accused of bypassing privacy settings on Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser.
Wall Street Journal first made the discovery and many blogs follow suit in uncovering the naughty side of Google.
According to the Wall Street Journal:
Google and other advertising companies have been following iPhone and Apple users as they browse the Web, even though Apple’s Safari Web browser is set to block such tracking by default.
How have they been able to do it? Well, first they made Safari think the user was submitting an invisible form associated with the ad.
That technique allowed the companies to then place a “cookie” – a small text file that is stored on the user’s computer and can be used to track online activities. Google disabled its code after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal.
For a clearer picture of the situation, recommended read are:
Google Bypassing User Privacy Settings in IE >>
Google Caught Bypassing Safari, Internet Explorer Privacy Setting; Claims It Did Nothing Wrong >>