Only a small fraction of users of the world's largest search engine are taking advantage of privacy controls that allow them to choose which ads are steered their way, the Associated Press reports. Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, said he is "puzzled about why more people don't use more of the privacy controls." Google targets ads based on cookies left behind on users' Web browsers, but with its "ads preference manager," a user can wipe out cookies or alter the subject areas identified, the report states. Fleischer also spoke of the challenges of global Internet products with different nations having different privacy views, noting he expects more efforts to reach agreement on common privacy policies around the world.
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