Tokyo F.A.T
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.
COMMENTS
The expressions published in this site are all in the public domain. You may enjoy, use, modify, snipe about and republish all F.A.T. media and technologies as you see fit.
Ok! And.. How we block those bugs?
Best Firefox Add-on Ever!
@Haiku yo that totally needs to be implemented in version 2!! Than it’ll be like Add-block plus, Flash block or the NoScript Add-on. GOOGLE BLOCK
Didn’t show any alerts when I hit google.co.uk
:|
GOOD. I never realized how invasive Google was before, but this is a wake-up call.
Any chance of a chrome version?
Well, this is one thing.. but what about facebook alarm? People are giving it exact personal information and also leaking a LOT of information about people who aren’t even on it, which is much much more worrying..
lol @Steve_B
Awesome add-on.The sirens are growing on me!
wow, those alarm sounds are more annoying than Google tracking my every move.
@Steve B — Chrome version is in the works. Test it out here:
http://jamiedubs.com/googlealarm/google-alarm.user.js
@anonymous — there’s a no-sound version available if you’d like just the visual alerts:
http://jamiedubs.com/googlealarm/google-alarm-nosound.xpi
I’ll fix up bugs / add more sites & release a new version shortly
Ghosteryis a Firefox plug-in that detects and blocks trackers. Not only the ones from Google, butt all trackers.
Site: http://www.ghostery.com/
Download page: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9609/
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Since you’re on a role with Firefox AND Chrome now, any chance of an Opera version? :D
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Excellent little tool. I’m a bit disturbed by its behavior on SRWare Iron (a somewhat -defanged version of Chrome), in that it sounds off on literally every page load. I’d love to see an add-on that randomizes or otherwise poisons the cookie data being sent to the mothership.
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@Burrowowl: That’s because Iron didn’t really do much beyond basically slap their own branding on Chrome. You’re not alone, I fell for it too. (Sorry can’t find the article that interviewed Iron’s project manager (CEO?) where he openly admitted this)
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After the alerts. How do we make google stop this. If its analytics let them stick to analysis…
How about an add-on that will stop this google bots?
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Guys, don’t you think you just copy cat the vast amounts of FUD out there in the main stream press about this alleged data monster Google? Also, YOUR WEBSITE DOES EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
You rightly say “All of this data CAN be used to monitor & track” – is it actually used that way? And if it is, why? What does “tracking” mean? Maybe a lot of really useful services and websites- including yours – actually depend on data to get better for users (ever heard of machine learning and statistical analysis?) Well, for that you need unique identifiers or cookies – you call them bugs – but they are not necessarily personal data.
OR WHY DOES YOUR OWN WEBSITE HAVE 15 COOKIES INCLUDING 5 GOOGLE ANALYTICS COOKIES, 3 FACEBOOK COOKIES, AND 4 TWITTER COOKIES???
You guys don’t even do what you preach…you are not prepared to go back to Internet stone age. Maybe you use all of these bugs because they are useful to you?
Hehe, the alarm didn’t seem to work for the FFFFF website then? Pretty ironic…
i have blocked Google Analytics and Adsence with Noscript and Adblock and still get the alerts. WTF?
In fact, every website is watching you, I mean, yes, EVERY! Strictly speaking most network packages sent out from your computer is private data — that’s Gigabytes of information everyday!!!
You have to think, how is the data being utilized. Surely some evil websites sell your personal contact information, some evil hackers steal your financial information… But not Google! Google makes my life better. They collect data to improve your search result relevance, to provide better fewer-bug service for you.
FYI, I just took a loot at the network activity stat. 10GB data has been sent out since last time I turn on my computer.
You know, your phone number can be encoded using only 9 Bytes. Grab your calculator, compute 10GB = ??? * 9B? Well, the plugin have no capability to tell the difference between your phone number(real privacy) from your google app’s programmatic status(data you don’t give a shit). So all you hear is beep beep beep, which is translated into “This plugin is google hater”, “This plugin is google hater”…
Incognito window or InPrivate Browsing nails it!
Google-Alarm: Firefox und Chrome Plug-in – zeigt an, wann eure Infos an Google geschickt werden…
Google ist ja bekannt dafür, alles und jeden Schritt im Web zu tracken. Um dies für Nutzer sichtbar zu machen, hat der Entwickler und Mitglied von Free Art & Technology Jamie Wilkinson ein Plug-In entworfen, das per visuellem u……
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The link to the no-noise version isn’t working…
…and now it does work again. never mind. thx!
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