Released by  

Google is collecting a lot of data about how we use the web. The new Google Alarm Firefox addon visually & audibly alerts you whenever your personal information is being sent to Google servers. Click here to install:


No-sound version (workplace-friendly)
is also available: click to install


Chrome extension now available (beta): click to install

No sound version: click to install

Even outside Gmail and YouTube you are constantly sending Google your information through their vast network of “tracking bugs”: Google Analytics, Google AdSense, YouTube embeds, API calls… all of this data can be used to monitor & track your personal web browsing habits.

Google Alarm shows notifications, plays sound effects and keeps running stats about the % of websites you’ve visit with Google bugs present. Stay alert – install Google Alarm today.

Screenshots:

Click here for more images.

Source code: http://github.com/jamiew/google-alarm (MIT licensed)

More information on jamiedubs.com.

Originally developed during FUCK GOOGLE @ Transmediale 2010. Thanks to Evan Roth, Tobias Leingruber and Aram Bartholl for advice & assistance. For more of our creative browser addon work check out ARTZILLA.

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted on July 27, 2010

BROWSE / IN TIMELINE

COMMENTS

  1. santasonic says:

    Unfortunately it alarms on each page using Iron which is supposed to be a Google free chrom from srware.net

  2. […] invento se llama Google Alarm, y realmente merece la pena experimentar con él un poco para darnos cuenta de la impresionante […]

  3. […] a resposta para saber isso está em uma ferramenta do próprio Google, o Google Alarm, um add-on para Firefox ou extensão para Chrome que faz soar o alarme da privacidade, […]

  4. […] Google Alarm für Firefox und Chrome […]

  5. […] the contents of your Gmail and Google Docs accounts. Sure it’s a little creepy to think about all the data Google collects about an average user, but if they’re going to be mining that data anyway, they may as well pay you back with some […]

  6. […] the contents of your Gmail and Google Docs accounts. Sure it’s a little creepy to think about all the data Google collects about an average user, but if they’re going to be mining that data anyway, they may as well pay you back with some […]

  7. […] once installed, Google Alarm notifies you–visually and with some annoying horns–whenever you visit a page that has […]

  8. […] Google Alarm on CNN […]

  9. sebastian says:

    after alarm went on, i cant click links in the area of the alarm message :(

  10. FrankGrimes says:

    Ironic that I get an alert for this page..

  11. Sam says:

    What I don’t like about this is that you are making a big deal about the tracking without telling people what it used for. Terming the tracking cookies as “tracking bugs” only creates fear and panic in people when there is really nothing to fear.

    Websites use Google Analytics to better understand their visitors and figure out what kind of content and products to develop and feature. Google might be able to track exactly where you are going, but the websites using Google Analytics only get generalizations (example: 12% of visitors on the home page visit Category X next). This information is used by webmasters to highlight the most meaningful content and make it more accessible to their visitors.

    Adsense is used to display relevant advertisements on people’s websites. If you are on a tech blog, the Adsense script scans your page and tries to display ads related to the content.

    If you want to go back to the days of web rings, crappy unrelated ads all over the place, and not being able to find the content you want on your favorite websites, go ahead and continue to vilify Google. But while you’re at it, make sure to include all the other analytics packages like Omniture, HBX, ClickTracks, WebTrends, and CoreMetrics. You know, the ones that can be customized to actually follow your every move rather than provide generalizations.

  12. BoZ says:

    There is a simple way to block Google Analytics. Just add the lines to your hosts-file:

    # [Google Inc]
    127.0.0.1 http://www.google-analytics.com
    127.0.0.1 ssl.google-analytics.com

  13. BoZ says:

    Forget about the “http://” in the middle line. Obviously this site added on its own, cos’ I didn’t write it…

  14. Sally says:

    I CANNOT UNINSTALL THIS PROGRAM AND IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE WITH CHIRPING.

  15. […] can install it here, but be prepared for a very annoying vuvuzela alert […]

  16. Bella says:

    Thanks for this great innovation. I am shocked that Big Brother Google spies on EVERY WEB SITE i use. So, once the alarm goes off, how do we then prevent Google from their shenanigans? I use Ubuntu 8.4 and Google Chrome (Sometimes Opera). Can someone explain to me in simple terms? I am not a computer geek, just a simple person who does not like being spied on.
    Thanks in advance

  17. Pavel says:

    Nowhere I found any information about the requested firefox version. I have firefox 3.5.6 and it’s not possible to install.

  18. […] released the alarm plug-in on his website this […]

  19. Benjamin says:

    This site uses the analytics tracking bug.

    All this bug does is tell site owner how they got to their website. The exact same thing can be accomplished through the web servers log, google just happens to provide a super easy way to do the same thing through a piece of javascript.

    This is being blow way out of proportion. Blocking this bug provides nothing of value to your privacy.

  20. […] released the alarm plug-in on his website this […]

  21. Christopher says:

    With all due respect…. NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS! Seriously, I do not care if Google knows what I am doing online.

    You are trying to wake up people to something that they don’t really care about.

    It’s like waking someone up when a rat farts!

  22. […] דפדפן אחד שמתכוון לענות על השאלה הזו הוא התוסף "אזעקת גוגל" (Google Alarm) עבור הדפדפן פיירפוקס. התוסף מנטר את […]

  23. FrankGrimes says:

    Funny, I installed this plug in mostly out of curiosity. Less than 10% of the pages I visit picked up an alert. So either 1: Google is not picking up stats from as many pages as is being implied, or 2: I seem to have a habit of not surfing to stupid pages like blogs or a lot of e-commerce.

    Yes, the alarm is picking up on non-private info that Google grabs, but for me it’s mostly curiosity. I just want to see what they are looking at. This tool, at least in it’s current version, is useless and does nothing but spread panic.

  24. […] Google Alarm Video, Web Nálepky: google (32)   SPCTRMN […]

  25. […] Jamie的網站推出Google Alarm,主要是要讓使用者知道到底在什麼時候Google已經在監看你的活動了,以下是Google Alarm的說明影片 […]

  26. […] released this alarm plug-in on his website last […]

  27. cosy says:

    i still get sounds after installing no sound version

  28. J says:

    I think most people are missing the point. The point is that you should not be affraid to question why things are the way they are. If no one questions why then how will you know or find out if your rights have been violated.

    The biggest problem as one post said is intelectual property rights. Say you have a good idea and you do a search in google. Your idea is now fair game for anyone with access to search entries. Is that OK??

  29. karen says:

    does google know where osama is hiding – they should go after him and could improve their image – or maybe just prove how much they really know

  30. […] i dati personali di navigazione? Se utilizzate il browser Firefox ora è possibile installare Google alarm che emette un suono di sirena ogni qualvolta vengono inviati dati personali ai server […]

  31. […] ela pode vir a fazer com as suas informações no futuro? Um plugin para Chrome e Firefox, chamado Google Alarm, pode te avisar todas as vezes que suas informações pessoais estão sendo enviadas para os […]

  32. robson says:

    Opera version please!

  33. […] ve internet kullanıcılarını da onikiden vuran bir tarayıcı eklentisinden bahsetmek istiyorum: Google Alarm (Wilkinson, geçmiÅŸte de Know Your Meme gibi baÅŸarılı bir iÅŸe imza […]

  34. […] released the alarm plug-in on his website this […]

  35. […] ela pode vir a fazer com as suas informações no futuro? Um plugin para Chrome e Firefox, chamado Google Alarm, pode te avisar todas as vezes que suas informações pessoais estão sendo enviadas para os […]

  36. […] Google Alarm | F.A.T. Ever wondered just how much Google is learning about you? Turn this on, and see. I'm not posting this as a dig at Google, but rather just in a "be informed about what information about you goes where". […]

  37. […] What can be done? 1) Like this page – to let your friends know about this… Hehe, I love the irony of this 2) I’m looking for Firefox and Chrome add-ons that will block this information from Facebook… Maybe something similar to the Google Alarm offered here: https://fffff.at/google-alarm/ […]

  38. Mark-Wilson says:

    I have tried uninstalling the Google Alarm plugin to no avail. I un-installed and re-installed Firefox to get rid of the alarm but it is still there.
    How do I kill it?

  39. […] Erstellt am 19/08/2010 von Tartuffeln Mit dem Browser-Addon Google Alarm wird man per Popup und Hupgeräusch gewarnt, wenn die besuchte Seite Google-Dienste verwendet. Die […]

  40. […] 日々、Webサイトを巡回していると、何らかの形で個人情報を収集されることはもはや避けられない状況だ。もちろん、IPアドレスやホスト名を知られたからといって、自分に何か不利益が生じるわけではない。また、アクセス解析などの形で収集される情報は、Webサイトをさらに良くするためのデータとして使われる場合がほとんどで、それは巡り巡って、自分のところに返ってくる。Webサイトによる個人情報の収集は、メリットの方が大きいのだが、せめて「どのWebサイトがどんな情報を収集しているのか」は、知っておきたいのが人情というものだ。そ んな人にピッタリなのが、この「Google-Alarm」(https://fffff.at/google-alarm/)。このツールは、 「FireFox」、または「Google Chorome」のブラウザに組み込むアドオン(エクステンション)で、GoogleにWeb閲覧情報を送信するたびに、アラートしてくれるのだ。このツールをインストールしながら、Webサイトを巡回していると、大手と呼ばれるサイトのほとんどが、「Google Analytics」や「Google AdSense」を通じてユーザーの情報を収集していることがわかる。このツールは個人情報の送信をブロックするツールではないので、個人情報を送信されたとしても、傍観することしかできないのだが、様々なサイトで情報の収集が行われていることを実感することは、それなりに意味がある。ちなみに、このツールを配布しているWebサイト。ほかのエントリーではGoogleを非難していたりするのだが、その一方で「Google Analytics」を使って、ユーザーの個人情報を収集しているというのもおかしな話だ。■Google Alarm […]

  41. Burrowowl says:

    @William Lee – I double-checked the behavior of a virgin Chrome install versus a copy of Iron, and upon loading and surfing to a single website (which has no external references), Wireshark showed only traffic to the target web server when I used Iron. It showed a bunch of http requests to 80.67.74.151 when using Chrome. Also a couple http requests to 74.125.19.95 for whatever reason. Otherwise my only traffic while testing were some totally-reasonable DNS requests to where I’d expect them to go.

    I’m not claiming that SRWare was truly diligent in cleaning up the Chrome browser, but a quick honesty check indicates they did something that smacks of improved privacy.

  42. […] which won’t play any alarm sound, only the notification as shown in above snapshot can be seen.You can Download Google Alarm here.Tweet Tagged with: analytics • Chrome Extension • Firefox Extensions | Need more help ? […]

  43. […] en nuestros datos privados a cada paso que damos en la Web. Si lo dudas, instala la extensión Google Alarm, que emite un sonido cada vez que detecta el envío de datos desde tu computadora hasta alguno de […]

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