Google changes privacy settings for the worse

Privacy advocates are concerned with Google's new plan to merge personal data from Google Search, Gmail, Google+, YouTube and dozens of other services. This new privacy practice will go in effect on March 1, 2012 and it will not be possible to opt out. The search giant promises the plan will make search results more targeted than ever before, and we assume it also opens up new advertising possibilities.

Alma Whitten, Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, said the changes were necessary to simplify current privacy settings.

"We're rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect and how we use it in a more readable way," she said.

The firm also laid out how it will improve search.

"If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries, or tailor your search results, based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail and YouTube," the firm said.

Full details and replies from critics at BBC News.