Prepare your Google profile

If you have a Google account, such as Mail, Blogger, Reader and so on, you can create a profile. This is basically an About Me page that contains information about you such as where you live, gender, job title, education and so on. In the past has been possible to create a profile, but to keep it private so that no-one could see it, but now apparently this will soon change. Any profile set to private will automatically be deleted and all profiles will be made public. There won't be a private option at all.

You don't have to have a profile and if you have one it can be deleted, but it can have its uses and you might want to reveal some information about you. For example, bloggers often have a profile because it's useful to know a bit about the person writing the blog. It's not the only reason for having a profile and it makes it easier for people to find you on the internet. Long lost friends, potential employers and so on.

If you choose to have a profile, and you can create one by logging into your Google account and selecting Edit Profile - try this link - then you need to remember that it is public. The profile editor prompts you to enter all sorts of information and it could potentially be used by someone gathering details about you for identity theft or other purposes. For example, it is possible to put your work and home telephone numbers in it, but do you really want the whole world to know them? It's probably a bad idea to do this.

Similarly, adding your email address might lead to increased junk messages in your inbox. Surely the last thing you want to do is to make your email address public? Unless, of course, you have a public email address. It's useful to have two email accounts, one you give to anyone that asks for it, and another that only your best friends, employer, bank and a few others know about.

Remember that your profile is public and only give out as much or as little information as you want. Go and check it now. See what will be made public. The minimum information is your name and gender, so it's possible to have a profile yet give little away. You can, of course, delete your profile too and then no-one will be able to see anything.