Quora great question of the week

What does Google know about me? Answered by Gabriel Weinberg, CEO & Founder at Duck Duck Go

Did you know when you search on Google, they keep your search history forever? That means they know every search you’ve ever done on Google. That alone is pretty scary, but it’s just the shallow end of the very deep pool of data that they try to collect on people.

What most people don’t realise is that even if you don’t use any Google products directly, they’re still trying to track as much as they can about you. Google trackers have been found on 75 per cent of the top million websites.

Most people also don’t know that Google runs most of the ads you see across the internet and in apps – you know those ones that follow you around everywhere? Yup, that’s Google, too. They aren’t really a search company anymore – they’re a tracking company.

If you use Google products, they try to track even more. In addition to tracking everything you’ve ever searched for on Google (e.g. “weird rash”), Google also tracks every video you’ve ever watched on YouTube.

And if you use Android (yeah, Google owns that too), then Google is also usually tracking:

Every place you’ve been via Google Location Services.

How often you use your apps, when you use them, where you use them, and whom you use them to interact with. (This is just excessive by any measure.)

All of your text messages, which unlike on ios, are not encrypted by default.

Your photos (even in some cases the ones you’ve deleted).

You become the product

Why does Google want all of your information anyway? Simple: as stated, Google isn’t a search company anymore, they’re a tracking company. All of these data points allow Google to build a pretty robust profile about you.

And Google uses your personal profile to sell ads, not only on their search engine, but also on over three million other websites and apps.