Google Now

Overview
Google Now is an intelligent personal assistant developed by Google, much like Apple's Siri. Google Now is available for Google Search mobile applications for Android and also on the Google Chrome web browser. Google Now uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, and perform actions by sending requests to a set of Web service. Google Now delivers information based on an individuals search habits and tracking what they search. Google Now was in update to the Google Search app, and it later came for Google Chrome on March 24, 2014.



Learning Your Habits
"If you let it learn about you and your habits, then it can throw up information that it thinks you might be interested in. News, sports scores, weather,and traffic information is served up in real time based on your previous movements and searches. Information is served up in the form of cards, which you can tap for more detail or swipe away to ignore. When it works, Google Now can give you what you want before you even know you want it.” [1]

Article: What Google Now Says it Can Do With Your Data [3]
Google updated their terms of service, now saying: "“Our automated systems analyze your content (including e-mails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection.” [3]"Although it seems nice that Google can customize your search results, and filter it's results to you, it still means that every single shared information on Google is stored (this includes e-mails sent through G-Mail accounts). Some view this as an invasion of privacy. In the article, Goodale discusses how there have been legal actions taken, including, from people who feel the company (Google) violated wiretapping laws by scanning their e-mails. [3]