Why is my ip and email public?!

i was alerted through google alerts that my ip and email are being publicly shown in my user profile page. they are, i confirmed it. I see no way to turn it off. I don’t want them being shown.

edit…

i see that when i’m logged off, those bits don’t show up. my error.

Well, that begs the question:

How is Google seeing your e-mail and IP since only the registered user can see that part of their profile page.

It would appear to me, then, that Google is logging in as you – violating privacy.

deeaycee wrote:

i was alerted through google alerts that my ip and email are being publicly shown in my user profile page. they are, i confirmed it. I see no way to turn it off. I don’t want them being shown.

 

 

 

edit…

i see that when i’m logged off, those bits don’t show up. my error.

Go to your My Settings and check under Preferences then Privacy.  Make sure your Privacy Settings doesn’t have “Show private information in profile to” set to All.  That will indeed show your ip address and email to everyone on the internet.

ok, i tried a few things…

so it only happens when I’m logged in to WD Community and do a Google search from the same computer.

When I’m logged out, nothing shows up.

I searched from my phone (from a 3g network, then from my home network where this computer is) and no email or ip is visible while I’m logged in.

 

Still seems strange, but I understand it…

Thanks for responding Bill_S

I wonder if that’s a Google thing?  I will keep an eye out for myself.  Since we’re searching from the same browser… oh, wait, I get it.  You have a gmail address.  That would explain it.  Google most certainly will have your IP address when you search.  And if you are signed in to Gmail, then obviously it has your email.  That’s why Google alerted you.  However, if you set your preferences to default (no one) to be able to see your private information, then you’re email and ip address shouldn’t show up. 

I would test this and see if you can replicate it.  Make sure your settings are at default.  Open up another different browser, without signing in to the community, and check to see if your information is seen.  If not, then open another window or tab in the same browser that you’re signed into the community, and do a Google search.  Let me know if that changes things.  If so, and your info shows up, then that is a bug.

I have Google Alerts (a custom search) set up to alert me via RSS in Google Reader if my name, ip, email, etc show up online anywhere,

It must have done a search and alerted me while I was logged in at WDC.

For sure, my privacy options are set to NO ONE.

To test:

I signed into WD Community (WDC) with Chromium.

I open Firefox (same computer) where I am not signed into WDC or Google and go to my WDC profile page and there is no IP or email shown. 

If I open another tab in Chromium, and go to my profile page, I see my email and IP. 

When I view my profile page on my phone on 3g, (which is a different network) while I’m logged in at my computer, there is no ip or email shown.

That all seems correct, as there seems to be no security issue.

But, how Google was able to alert me is beyond my knowledge.

What you’re seeing is exactly what it should be.  I guess Google is tracking your email and ip while you are signed in, which really is okay since everything is visible to you.

I get it. Thanks for helping me understand this.