Clippings of my notes on Google Search was invasion of privacy

[jon1111 0]

So, I search something random on Google, where I am signed in as I'm using my e-mail, etc., and I see clippings of notes from Evernote on the right, reminding me to sign in to Evernote. 

Now, I was shocked to see them as those were very personal. I know nobody else is seeing them, just me signed in on this computer, but seeing my personal notes clipped felt like an incredible invasion of privacy. I don't know who the hell had the idea to do this, but instead of making me want to continue using this product, it turned me off completely. I deleted every single one of my notes even though I know you still have my ***** on your servers. I was incredibly naive when I started using this product, forgetting that it doesn't belong to me. But thanks I guess for turning me off from using this product by doing something incredibly stupid and clipping my notes like that.

[gazumped 11,652]

Hi.  So there is a setting in Evernote where you (and only you) can turn on or off the option to have Google display search results from your notes as well as the internet.  It's sometimes very useful to know that you already have some information on a given subject.  Only you see the results, and you are more than welcome to disable that option if you wish.

If you do wish to cancel your account,  it's also your option to delete all notes and personal information.  More information here - How to deactivate your Evernote account

 

[PinkElephant 8,068]

Regarding the function that caused your irritation: EN searches YOUR own EN data based on YOUR own search string, it does it locally on YOUR computer, and the results stays exactly there, on YOUR machine. No information is generated on the server, and no information is going there.

And if you don’t like it, YOU can turn the function off (or on again).

So I can’t really see at which point your privacy would be negatively affected.

Why is the function active on default ? 1st because most users will find it helpful, to avoid duplicating information and as a reminder that there is no need to continue the search on Google; 2nd because if it would be set to „OFF“, many users would never find and activate it.

So if you don’t like it, go to settings and switch it off, and you‘re done. I have it running, because it helps me to get what I am looking for, fast and easy. Which is, in the end, the whole idea behind EN.

[jon1111 0]

The problem is when you're not the only person using a computer. While evernote is signed out, google isn't. Either way it should be an opt-in thing, not an opt-out thing. This is exactly why I have started to hate tech like Evernote. Just don't take ***** before asking period 

[gazumped 11,652]

3 hours ago, jon1111 said:

The problem is when you're not the only person using a computer. While evernote is signed out, google isn't. Either way it should be an opt-in thing, not an opt-out thing. This is exactly why I have started to hate tech like Evernote. Just don't take ***** before asking period 

Just to be clear,  this is a -mainly- user-supported Forum. As users, we can offer information and suggestions from our collective experience. 

As to your question,  multiple users on one computer should be signing in to their own profile,  otherwise the information for every user is available to everyone at all times;  and as with any app with several dozen functions and features,  having an 'is it OK if this happens?' pop-up would occupy most users for days before they could actually use the app as required.  If things happen that you don't like,  it should be easy to search for options and change them where possible.

To me,  it does seem logical that if this option is selected,  a search should pop up the Evernote results whether or not you're logged into the app - after all,  if you're searching online you would quickly have access to the browser-based version,  and knowing that you've clipped information previously may help avoid you needing to clip it again.

Sorry if that wasn't to your liking,  but at least you now know how to avoid it repeating should you wish to continue.

[CalS 5,280]

8 hours ago, jon1111 said:

The problem is when you're not the only person using a computer. While evernote is signed out, google isn't. Either way it should be an opt-in thing, not an opt-out thing. This is exactly why I have started to hate tech like Evernote. Just don't take ***** before asking period 

Well, if the clipper extension is in the browser anyone using the computer can clip to your account with or without your consent as well as changing the setting for EN content.  Unless you sign in/out of the clipper every time you enter/exit the browser.  First line of defense would be to control your browser or user sign on, just saying...

[charlieedstrom 31]

8 hours ago, jon1111 said:

The problem is when you're not the only person using a computer. 

If you are using Windows, you can do like other users and create a separate login for each person who uses it, to avoid the others access your sensitive info.

[PinkElephant 8,068]

Having separate users is even advisable if you can’t trust the other people that use the same machine as you do. If you are concerned about privacy and data security (as you obviously are) this should be your first priority. When access is shared, everybody can go everywhere, and see everything, without the need of a little EN search helper that you can switch off with on single swipe in the EN settings.

With one user only everything (and I mean everything) can happen to that machine, and you are not able to prove that it was not you who was responsible. It can be converted into a spam distributor, hate speech can flow from it’s internet connection, or pictures of a sort nobody ever wants to have can be stored in your user directory. No, only one user is not a good idea.

It is good practice to have at least 2 accounts even on a computer used alone: One admin user, only used for system jobs like updates or program installations, and another, without admin rights, for the day to day access. It will not stop everything, but it is a good defense against some threats that will make it to your machine. For each additional user, add an additional user account.

Just a bit of good practice in IT-terms ...

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

I'm a little late to the party here, but I've got a couple of questions. I've never seen my Evernote notes show up in Google (much less DuckDuckGo), though I've seen others talk about it as if it exists. I wouldn't mind at least trying it out, but I can't for the life of me see how to make it happen. Several knowledgeable folks here have talked about a place to turn this on in Evernote settings: could one of you kind souls point out where it is? I promise to be entertainingly embarrassed about how obvious it is. 

[PinkElephant 8,068]

IMHO using google as a search engine is enough breach of your personal data privacy for a lifetime (which is how long Google will generate and keep the data it made out of what you gave them). 

My first advise is not to turn some EN feature on or off, it is to de-Google your life:

• Do not use „login with Google“ (neither with Facebook ...)
• Avoid having a Google account (and no, not one on YouTube either) - if you enter an account in YT, Google will use it to follow you on your whole device, even on a sandboxed one like an iPad.
• Use a cloak service for your google searches (there are web sites where you can enter a search, they send it to Google, send the results back to you, and will not show Google who was searching).
• Or use another search engine (no, not Bing etc.), which in my case is DuckDuckGo. They promise not to track you, and this was audited several times. They show ads as well, but only based on your search, not on your personal search HISTORY.
• And no gsuite , Gmail, gwhatever. There are good alternatives, it just takes a bit of effort.
• Ah, and sorry for that: No Android ! Android is just another name for „Google inside“.

To go back where this started: Having somebody who volunteerly uses Google for searching the web to complain about a privacy breach by EN is sort of grotesque. It is like counting each penny while throwing the 100$-notes into the fire.

Or you decide that Google will not do evil, live with them, use their services (that are very good, just poisoned by the privacy you have to give up) etc. It is a choice - and under European privacy laws you can even force Google to „forget“ you when you decide to change that decision. But this is another story.

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I'm a little late to the party here, but I've got a couple of questions. I've never seen my Evernote notes show up in Google (much less DuckDuckGo), though I've seen others talk about it as if it exists. I wouldn't mind at least trying it out, but I can't for the life of me see how to make it happen. Several knowledgeable folks here have talked about a place to turn this on in Evernote settings: could one of you kind souls point out where it is? I promise to be entertainingly embarrassed about how obvious it is. 

In clipper settings. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

18 hours ago, CalS said:

19 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I'm a little late to the party here, but I've got a couple of questions. I've never seen my Evernote notes show up in Google (much less DuckDuckGo), though I've seen others talk about it as if it exists. I wouldn't mind at least trying it out, but I can't for the life of me see how to make it happen. Several knowledgeable folks here have talked about a place to turn this on in Evernote settings: could one of you kind souls point out where it is? I promise to be entertainingly embarrassed about how obvious it is. 

In clipper settings. 

Well. What a bizarre place to stash such a setting. I renege: I refuse to be embarrassed for not knowing that!  And IAC it doesn't work for me: I have "Show Evernote content related to my web searches" checked, and I don't get anything, even when I search Google (breaking my usual safety habit) or DuckDuckGo (my default) for content I know I have in Evernote.

[CalS 5,280]

39 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Well. What a bizarre place to stash such a setting. I renege: I refuse to be embarrassed for not knowing that!  And IAC it doesn't work for me: I have "Show Evernote content related to my web searches" checked, and I don't get anything, even when I search Google (breaking my usual safety habit) or DuckDuckGo (my default) for content I know I have in Evernote.

Got me.  I typically have it turned off.

But turned it on for a test which yielded the below using the newish Edge browser.  Worked per spec best I can tell.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

Ah ah! I mainly use Opera as my browser, so I tried in Firefox. And there a Google search does indeed bring up related Evernote content. Searching in DuckDuckGo still doesn't do so (even though it's my default search engine), presumably because it is explicitly privacy oriented. So: (a) it only works in Google, because Google has no boundaries; but (b) it doesn't work in Opera even with Google, for whatever reason. OK, now I at least know where things are and aren't broken, even if I don't know why. Would be interesting to know what browser the OP was using.