Don't Be Evil or Whatevs

What you need to know:

Google caused a stir this week when it announced a controversial change that lets those with Gmail and Google+ accounts email anyone who also has both accounts — even if the sender doesn’t know the recipient’s email address. Unless you opt out, this means you can start receiving messages from strangers who follow you on Google+.

Though Google’s bold move has surprised many, it’s not the first setting — or the only one — for which Google signs you up automatically. Here’s how to opt out of Google’s latest change, plus four more settings to check.

Click through to see how to undo Google’s damage. I’d fully delete myself from Google, except that I need to be able to upload to YouTube. Fortunately, I’m able to do that with a dummy email account.

But I won’t use Google for search anymore and haven’t for a while now — which is a real shame because they’re still by far the best search engine available.

Their practices however stink, and I won’t be a party to them.