Revised Privacy Policies at Google: State of the News

Google notified users this week of revamped privacy policies and terms of service:

Dear Google user,

We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google.

Now, Google may combine identity information from one service with information from other services for a given user.  The result is that each user is treated like an individual identity across all Google products, such as Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube and other Web services.

Consumer watchdogs and privacy advocates are concerned by the changes.  Friday on State of the News, Steve Henn of NPR explained some of the potentially thorny issues.