SEO Tip #118: How is Google Public DNS Data Used?
Is Google public DNS tracking all the websites we visit while using it? Google is going to get a heck of a lot of data.
Matt Cutts: As I recall they don’t track or after some very short finite period of time they either get rid of the data or minimize it very comprehensively. But the main thing to know is I believe Google public DNS has promised not to share that data with other parts of Google, specifically search quality. So search quality, the web spam team we do not have access to the Google public DNS data. So if that’s something you are worried about don’t worry about it at all.
Compared to your ISP or somebody like that having your DNS data having worked at Google for ten plus years I would trust Google to have that data but feel free to go and check out their privacy policy. I read through it myself and I remember being satisfied other than the fact that search quality wouldn’t be able to get access to that data.
It’s not something that can be used in the search rankings so I think they put a fair amount of work into that. So that’s not something that you need to worry about in my opinion.
About the Author
Andy Johnson has been on the Internet since the its dawn(ie his first computer program was recorded on cassette tape) and his first hard drive cost about as much his current MacBook. His first byline was in 1993 for a local newspaper rag he eventually helmed, and his last “real job” was at a computer start up which ended when it ended. Throughout it all he’s freelanced and blogged. Now he is mesmerized by Search Engine Optimization forever trying to “rise to the top” for the right reasons. He’s been married to his wife Julia for as long as he can remember and has two lovely, wonderful children. He looks forward to sharing the latest in the technical best for all the online entrepreneurs.