Opt in or lose out 5 Jun 2007

As you probably already know, Google acquired Feedburner last week. At the time, FeedBurner told us:

"Google has a long-standing commitment to protecting the privacy of users' personal information. FeedBurner users can expect the same high standards of privacy protection following this acquisition. We believe that notice and choice are the foundations of privacy. As such, we are committed to transparency for our end users, and to respecting the choices they make with regards to their privacy preferences. The transition to Google's privacy policy and the opt-out mechanism we are providing for current FeedBurner users will help us achieve these goals."

...In case you were wondering, we're now in that opt-out period...so feel free to opt out. But if you do, be warned: you'll sacrifice all of your data.

From the FeedBurner login page:

"NOTE: Service of FeedBurner publisher accounts will not be interrupted as a result of the acquisition by Google. You will have a 14-day interim period ending June 15, 2007 to opt-out of allowing Google to service your account. If you take no action by June 15, 2007, the rights to your data will transfer from FeedBurner to Google. Opting out will terminate your user agreement with FeedBurner, permanently delete your FeedBurner account, feeds, and all related statistical data and history, and prevent the transfer of your data rights to Google. To opt-out, contact us via accountx@feedburner.com, provide your FeedBurner account Username, and request to have your FeedBurner account deleted. We will contact you at your registered email address to confirm your deletion request before completing it."

As Marketing Pilgrim's Jordan McCollum points out, this seems a little unfair:

"I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist. I'm not overly concerned about Google collecting my data. But losing all your data if you disagree?... If you're leaving FeedBurner, be sure to notify your subscribers before you delete your account."