Thanks to the data collected from its various services, Google develops detailed profiles on its users and their activities. But have you ever wondered what exactly Google knows about you?
We all know that Google collects a huge amount of information about us. It’s quite simple, the tech giant is omnipresent in our lives, whether through its services or its products. Web browser, search engine, mobile operating system, streaming platform, mapping service, email… The list is long, much longer than you think! When you type a few words into a search box, you may not realize it, but the engine stores a lot of information about you just for that action. In total, thousands of your data are stored safely on the company’s servers. This allows it to target advertisements, its main source of funding, based on your profile and interests. Because the more targeted the advertising, the more likely you are to click on it, and the more money Google makes. Here’s a quick overview of what the company knows about you.
Google stores thousands of pieces of data about you
To even get a glimpse of what Google knows about you, we advise you to go to the “My advertising preferences” page, which allows you to configure the use of your data for advertising targeting. In the interface, you discover that the Mountain View firm consults your activity on the Web and applications, but also your YouTube history and your geolocation. For this last point, Google specifies that the “General areas where you have used Google sites and apps in the past may affect the ads you see”. The Internet giant is trying to define your profile. Thanks to your Google account, the Internet giant knows your gender and age group. HAS From all this information, it determines the number of languages you speak, your family situation (single, in a couple or married), your occupation status (owner or tenant), your level of education, your sector of activity or the size of the company where you work.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the data listed above, Google stores your IP address, your bookmarks, your contacts, your Google Drive files, your passwords, the list of products purchased through its search engine, your calendar, the number of steps you take each day (if you use Google Fit), cookie data, the applications you consult, your bank card numbers. Worse yet, even if you don’t interact with any Google services, apps or devices, Google is still able to collect tons of information through its ad and publisher products, namely Google Analytics and Google Ads. Present on many websites, they allow Google to acquire data, including from digital spaces that do not belong to them.
To try to limit this most intrusive collection, you can start by going to the “My advertising preferences” page. Indeed, you can modify the types of advertisements to which you are exposed and refuse that certain information (relationships, education, sector of activity, etc.) be used to distribute the advertisements. You can also go to Google Takeout to access the full list of data that the Internet giant keeps about you.