Google PhoneBook.

Google Phonebook has been around from years but few people know about it.

Google Phonebook is the Google product that traces your phone numbers and your addresses. To be able to search it, you have to know the URL, you can’t directly link to it, and to enter the interface you must be linked to an already completed search, such as: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&pb=r&q=Bill+Gates&btnG=Search+PhoneBook.

Typing names you get phone’s numbers and addresses (attached directly to google maps). Obviously you may claim your privacy and ask to be removed from the list ( this is the direct link ), BUT did you know to be inside google phonebook ?
Maybe I’m wrong (and I’m sure I am, because they’re doing it… so probably they can), but in my mind the process should be the opposite: “if you want to be linked in the phonebook you should ask to be added” (or someone should ask to you if you want to be added to the phonebook). I believe many people don’t know to be linked in GPhoneBook and they don’t know to share their personal information such as phone number and addresses, to all over the world.

Dan Philpott comment was:

This feature has been around and well known for … when did Google start? Pretty much ever major search engine that ever existed has had a white pages lookup function. Published phone numbers are one of the most accessible and ubiquitous data sets available in the early days of the Internet. Search engines plugged them into the data collected and found ways to add value with things like reverse lookups.

Not sure what the privacy implications are. This information is public and published in phone books and on a wide variety of phone number sites.

Do you have any other thought ?