Google under fire for account deletions
Google+ users angry while one long-time Google user's online life deleted
Google is under fire for a spate of account deletions and its account-name requirements on the burgeoning Google+ social network.
Google’s community standards state that you should “use the name your friends, family or co-workers usually call you”, in order to “help fight spam and prevent fake profiles”. However, critics have argued that this can lead to vulnerable people becoming targets.
Dave Winer has argued on his blog that Google’s real motivation for effectively banning pseudonyms and unobvious nicknames is because usage of real names enables Google to “cross-relate your account with your buying behavior with their partners, who might be banks, retailers, supermarkets, hospitals, airlines”. In other words, it’s all about the money.
But according to ZDNet, even those using their real names aren’t entirely safe, and a number of users with unusual names and spellings have had their accounts blocked, including Dr. Kiki Sanford and Limor Fried; Fried featured on the cover of Wired magazine and that account has since been reactivated. Google urges anyone in a similar situation to appeal.
Such account issues pale in comparison to what’s been suffered by ‘Dylan M’/@ThomasMonopoly. This long-time Google user recently found seven years of his online life flushed down the digital toilet, after an automated Google message informed him that it had “perceived a violation”.
The user's chilling report is available on TwitLonger and notes that he’s lost seven years of correspondence, thousands of photos and videos, many messages, hundreds of articles saved to Google Reader, and more. While he has some information backed up, any integration between items or the wider web is gone, and Google had as of this past weekend failed to respond in any meaningful manner.
These incidents should serve as warnings regarding the ownership of social networks and data, and the fact that giant corporations can crush your virtual life with the flick of a switch. At the very least, always ensure you have copies of all important data out of their reach.
Get top Black Friday deals sent straight to your inbox: Sign up now!
We curate the best offers on creative kit and give our expert recommendations to save you time this Black Friday. Upgrade your setup for less with Creative Bloq.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.