Uhhoh – just one day after the launch of Google’s highly anticipated Google Drive service, which allows users to upload and share files to the cloud to be shared anywhere, controversy is afoot. Apparently, hidden deep within Google’s terms of service is a clause that claims, and I quote,

Your Content in our Services: When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide licence to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.

The rights that you grant in this licence are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This licence continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing that you have added to Google Maps).

Essentially, what this means is that once you upload a file to Google Drive, it’s also Google’s, not just yours. And if you delete those files off of Drive, it’s still Google’s. They can basically do whatever they want with your their files too.

I have yet to upload anything to or even activate my Google Drive account, but I think I’ll be sticking to Dropbox or Microsoft SkyDrive, where I at least get to own my own data.

Via: CNet News