Google's product VP Brad Horowitz told users Friday that several services were being culled in the near future. The company would first shed Google Buzz, its troubled social sharing service. Its programming interface should shut down in "a few weeks" and will limit users to reading and downloading whatever they made beforehand.
Google on Wednesday announced that it has come to an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the lack of privacy controls in its Buzz feature that's tied into Gmail. Under the deal with the FTC, Google will undergo an independent review of its privacy procedures every two years. Google will also ask users to grant consent before it makes any changes to how it shares personal information.
Google on Thursday launched its Buzz for mobile service for more operating systems. Initially available only for Android 2.0 and newer as well as the iPhone, the service can now be accessed by older Android builds, as well BlackBerry OS, Symbian S60, Palm WebOS and Windows Mobile devices. The XHTML version of the Buzz website allows users to log in and view buzz posts, post publicly or privately and comment on or like a post, among others.
In a move to drive adoption of Buzz, Google today added Buzz to the Gmail mobile web app. Android and iPhone users can now see the live status updates directly from the inbox rather than having to visit the main Google page. All the desktop-level features, such as comments and in-line images, remain intact.
The recently launched Google Buzz social networking service is facing even more controversy today as the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a complaint with the FTC. The public interest research group says it's not satisfied with the changes Google made to help alleviate some of the initial security and privacy concerns. EPIC is urging the service to be made available at a user's request, rather than be enabled by default.
(Update with Google clarification) Google Product Marketing VP Bradley Horowitz at the TED conference today said his company may already be planning to separate Google Buzz from its Gmail connections. The move isn't certain but would let users exist on Buzz without having to link it to a real e-mail address. A possible accompanying migration feature would also give the option of redirecting other Buzz users to a new Gmail-free name.
