Google testing new method to collect data, protect user privacy

Google thinks it’s found a way to gather data on people using its products while also protecting their privacy.

The search engine giant said it will use the data to improve security features and track down bugs in its software.

{mosads}The project, called the “Randomized Aggregatable Privacy-Preserving Ordinal Response” or RAPPOR, “enables learning statistics about the behavior of users’ software while guaranteeing client privacy,” said Google security researcher Úlfar Erlingsson in a blog post.

RAPPOR uses a trick that randomly sends incorrect data from some users. The false data makes it difficult for Google to identify individual users, while still gathering general information.

Essentially, Google will be able to look at “the forest of client data … without permitting the possibility of looking at individual trees,” according to a paper Google will present on the project at a conference next week.

Currently, Google is only testing the program on its Chrome Web browser.

The project’s code is up on GitHub for developers to test.

The move is only the latest as Silicon Valley companies address consumers’ concerns about privacy following Edward Snowden’s disclosure of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs.

Google and Apple have also recently unveiled smartphones that automatically lock data, preventing even police with warrants from breaking in.