Google Drive is out, but where is your privacy and ownership?

“Ok so the new Google Drive is out, but what about ownership of your files and the privacy that comes with it?” This was my first reaction when I heard about the launch. I have a great understanding of Google and I am sure there is more to the purpose behind this new product than meets the eye.

Microsoft SkyDrive and Dropbox are the two largest online storage services today, and yes Google took its time to join. As Google already delivers us with some remarkable services and features like Google Docs, integration with Docs, just makes sense doesn’t it?

Comparison Chart of Online Storage Service Providers

So first, let us look at the functionality of Google Drive compared to Dropbox and SkyDrive. Thanks to digitaltrends.com for creating this chart.

As you can see above there are many reasons why Google outclasses the competition when it comes to functions, overall performance and cheaper pricing options.

Even with all the astounding collectives that Google is bringing to the table with G Drive, there are still two very important facts to mull over; the ownership of your files and the privacy thereof. Imagine you have a new car driving faster, using less fuel and outperforming the competition, but every conversation you have inside the car is recorded and leaked to the car manufacturer and used, as they seem fit.

Different Terms and Privacy Policies

Dropbox (Terms and Privacy Policy)

By using our Services you provide us with information, files, and folders that you submit to Dropbox (together, “your stuff”). You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services, as explained below.

We may need your permission to do things you ask us to do with your stuff, for example, hosting your files, or sharing them at your discretion. This includes product features visible to you, for example, image thumbnails or document previews. It also includes design choices we make to technically administer our Services, for example, how we redundantly backup data to keep it safe. You give us the permissions we need to do those things solely to provide the Services. This permission also extends to trusted third parties we work with to provide the Services, for example Amazon, which provides our storage space (again, only to provide the Services).

To be clear, aside from the rare exceptions we identify in our Privacy Policy, no matter how the Services change, we won’t share your content with others, including law enforcement, for any purpose unless you direct us to. How we collect and use your information generally is also explained in our Privacy Policy.

Microsoft’s SkyDrive (Terms and Privacy Policy)

Your content

Except for material that we license to you, we don’t claim ownership of the content you provide on the service. Your content remains your content. We also don’t control, verify, or endorse the content that you and others make available on the service.

You control who may access your content. If you share content in public areas of the service or in shared areas available to others you’ve chosen, then you agree that anyone you’ve shared content with may use that content. When you give others access to your content on the service, you grant them free, nonexclusive permission to use, reproduce, distribute, display, transmit, and communicate to the public the content solely in connection with the service and other products and services made available by Microsoft. If you don’t want others to have those rights, don’t use the service to share your content.

Google Drive (Terms and Privacy Policy)

Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps).

I rest my case; one can clearly see the difference. I will not easily put my documents on Google Drive, just to ensure I have better ownership and privacy. What do you think? Please comment below.