How to check what data Google holds on you and what you can do about it
In order for Google to put a name to you, you have to have a Google account. Without one Google may well have anonymous data about you as a cookie on a laptop- or smartphone browser, but it is impossible to know what data that is (just as it is impossible for Google to know who you are). So all of the following processes rely on you being logged into your Google account. I bet you have one, too. Ever logged in to an Android phone or tablet, used Gmail, or used YouTube as a registered user?
The email and password you use for those things (or Google Calender, Google+, Google Docs etc) is your Google Account. You may – as I do – have several. In which case you will need to repeat all of what follows for each account. Amuse yourself by spotting the differences between each account. First, let's check the basics.
Search history and account basics
Google used to be only a search engine. Remember that? Almost certainly you still use Google Search, a lot. And Google collects a lot of data about the searches you make, as it says a lot about you. Sign in and head over to https://www.google.com/history/and view the search history that Google holds about you. It's actually quite freaky to see what Google knows you searched for. You can also see your YouTube search history at https://www.youtube.com/feed/history/search_history .
More prosaic but also critical basic information can be found in your account details. Sign in and head to https://myaccount.google.com/ to see the basic data you gave to Google. Head to https://www.google.com/settings/dashboard and you can see records of an array of Google tools, and your activity with them. We'll click into a couple of these further along, but this is an important dashboard for finding out what Google knows about you.
What Google thinks it knows about you
This is where it gets interesting. And also where you find the ability to opt-in and -out of interestbased advertising. The principle reason Google tracks all this data about you is so that it can more successfully target you with advertising, in order to pay for the free services you access. Depending on your viewpoint (or demographic) this is either a sinister menace or a cool way of getting free stu ff.
But it is interesting to fi nd out just what Google thinks it knows about you, and how it uses that to target ads your way. Sign in and head to http://www.google.com/settings/ads/ . You will see what Google considers to be your gender and age, as well as your interests. If you use Google+ and you tell the truth – you will fi nd the basic data is largely correct. It is the interests that are – well – interesting.
When I do this test with my work email account Google thinks I am some sort of tech maniac. Which makes sense. But on my personal Gmail accout my interests are naturally more broad. This matters because within this page you have the option to opt out of interest-based advertising. These are adverts targetted at you because Google thinks you will be interested in their content. Personally I am happy to remain in – in part because I earn my living from advertising, but mainly because it amuses me that all the adverts I see at work are for tech.
If you are less happy, as well as opting out of interest-targeted ads, you can also opt out of allowing website owners to track you via Google Analytics. Head over to the Google Analytics opt-out page: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Where Google thinks you have been
One of the options available from the Google Settings Dashboard outlined above, is the ability to fi nd out where Google thinks you have been. You can head there directly at https://maps.google. com/locationhistory. Interesting to me here is that despite me using an Android phone into which both my Google Accounts are synched, Google has no location data on me. My phone by default doesn't share that data.
What devices, apps and services have access to your Google data
In many ways this is the most important test of all. One of the benefi ts of Android is that it lets you know what permissions are required by each app you install on Android. But you encounter myriad Google apps and services on multiple devices. This page: https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions lists the devices and services, and what access they have. Click on a listed device and you can see further details and the opportunity to revoke, on the righthand side.
