But this year, Google quietly erased that last privacy line in the sand — literally crossing out the lines in its privacy policy that promised to keep the two pots of data separate by default. In its place, Google substituted new language that says browsing habits "may be" combined with what the company learns from the use Gmail and other tools. The change is enabled by default for new Google accounts. Existing users were prompted to opt-in to the change earlier this year. The practical result of the change is that the DoubleClick ads that follow you around on the web may now be customised to you based on your name and other information Google knows about you. It also means that Google could now, if it wished to, build a complete portrait of a user by name, based on everything they write in email, every website they visit and the searches they conduct.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/consumer-security/google-drops-ban-on-personally-identifiable-web-tracking-20161023-gs8ufs.html