The Internet is an integral part of our lives. We shop, work, have fun, meet friends, learn or play games on the Internet. However, one of the most popular ways to use the Internet is online shopping. Why fight the Black Friday crowd when you can get discounted merchandise from the comfort of your laptop?
Many websites offer products and services that you can buy online. You usually know exactly what you're looking for, but sometimes ads make you discover something new by accident. Of course, websites sometimes go overboard, which may convince you to install an ad blocker, but how often have you seen an ad that targets your interests with a slightly suspicious precision? The answer is easy: Google is to blame.
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How Google "Knows" Us
Since Google is the most popular search engine in the world and manages a number of equally popular websites, the company receives a flood of information every hour. According to Google's own FAQ, the company goes through the activity of people who use Google-owned apps and websites, filters the data by keywords and uses it to personalize ads. Examples of relevant information include Internet cookies and tracking data, YouTube videos viewed, Google and Chrome search history, and recorded IP addresses. If you search for "diapers", the Google algorithm will see this as a signal that you are a parent with a toddler, and therefore will show you more ads for diapers and baby clothes. Unless, of course, you're concerned that Google is gaining informace about you from personal emails and phone calls, then you can be sure that the company is doing no such thing. It doesn't need to - we ourselves often unknowingly reveal everything that is needed to Google.
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What Google knows about us
Informace, which Google collects about you, can be divided into two categories. The first thing Google definitely knows about them is self-explanatory. You yourself have given Google certain informace about yourself by filling out the forms needed to create a Google account, but you can also provide accurate data using phones and apps or by typing anything in the search bar.
This is all the data Google knows about you:
- Your gender
- Your age
- Your preferred language
- The browsers and applications you use
- The devices you use
- Your IP address
- Ads you click on
- Device usage, diagnostics, battery health and system errors for OS devices Android
Most personalized ads are a result of what Google thinks about you. Whenever you visit a website, click on a link or type something into the search bar, Google uses this data to learn more about you. The algorithm then makes educated guesses about you based on the results and tailors ads accordingly. Google's assumptions can be alarmingly accurate or completely off, depending on your internet activity.
What Google can assume about you:
- Your marital status
- Your education
- Your household income
- If you have children
- If you are a home owner
- Your job field
- The size of your employer's business
How to find out what Google knows about me and change it
Now we have a rough idea of what Google knows about us, what it believes about us, and how these informace uses Now let's take a look together at how to find out what Google specifically thinks about you, as well as how you can force Google to stop collecting data about you.
How to find out what Google knows about me
- Visit Google.com.
- Click on your profile icon at the top right.
- Click on the option Manage your Google Account.
- Click on Manage data and privacy in the section Privacy and personalization.
- Scroll down to Personalized ads and click on My Ad Center.
Here you will see the individual categories that Google uses to personalize ads, along with other useful data. Use the on-screen arrows to navigate through all of these categories. If you want a permanent copy of all the data Google has about you, you can back it up and export it using Google Takeout.
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If you don't like the idea of Google tracking you online, you're not alone. Not everyone is comfortable with Google collecting information about them informace. Here's how you can turn off Google's tracking methods:
- Visit the page Activity controls in your Google Account.
- Click on the option Turn off in the section Web and app activity.
- Choose either Turn off or Turn off settings and delete activity.
- Choose whether you want Google to automatically delete data every three, 18 or 36 months.
It should be noted that although Google collects a lot of data, it is often for our own convenience. For example, it can improve ad targeting and help us find relevant ones informace faster. However, it is understandable that not everyone wants to have so much information stored about them online. We hope this article helped you understand how Google is getting you informace and how you can limit his ability to collect them.
