Every click on the net leaves traces – if you want something, you inevitably reveal data. One company has perfected this principle: Google. Because the most popular search engine, the email service Gmail, the Android operating system,
YouTube or the Chrome browser and the web analysis software Analytics, the probability is high that some data about you is available. You can see some of them, but not some. So what data does Google collect within the scope of the individual services, if known?
Search Google without a Google account
Google search is the most widely used Google service in the world. It’s free to use and doesn’t require a Google account to use it. However, Google uses them to obtain the following personal information about you, such as:
- the country code with which Google knows where the user is.
- the IP address, a kind of license plate of the computer used, which acts as an identifier or a permanent connection between searches.
- the language in which the search was started, which can also differ and thus allow conclusions to be drawn about the user.
- The search query itself also contains a lot of information such as preferences, hobbies or inclinations, which in turn helps to complete a profile.
- the clicks on the links that appear in response to the search query, hence the information about what was searched for but also what appeals to the user.
- the number of results and whether the user has the Safe Search function switched on or off.
Google account
The Google account is the basis for many Google services so that they work or can be used in the first place. It is a kind of online account that can be used, for example, to log in to Gmail, YouTube, or Google+, but above all for unlimited use of an Android mobile phone.
With the help of a Google account, the user profile can be assigned to a specific person. As long as the user is logged in, all data and information are added to the profile.
Data that you enter directly when creating, as well as others that are collected or required during use, are:
- the registration date on which the account was created.
- the username, which does not have to match the real name, but gives the profile a face.
- the password, which often does not differ from the one used elsewhere and can therefore be used as access to many online services.
- an alternative email address.
- the country in which the user lives.
- the number of logins.
YouTube
YouTube is the world’s largest online video portal and was bought by Google in 2006. Since then, the company has grown steadily and now also serves as a relevant source of income for Google with the help of advertising.
Users can log in with an account and upload, rate, subscribe to videos, write comments, send private messages, etc.
The information that accumulates here is as follows:
- the registration data (email address, password, username, country), just like when creating a Google account, which can also be used to log in to YouTube.
- all videos uploaded by the user.
- all comments.
- all videos that were reported.
- the groups, favorites, channels, and contacts.
- which videos were viewed.
- the data transfer, as well as the click behavior.
All of the information listed reveals a lot about you. For example, what interests you or not, your own opinion on certain content or political issues, but also your own files on which you or your environment can be seen.
Gmail
Gmail is Google’s in-house online mailing platform, which also runs through your Google account. Gmail is also free and has many powerful features. But even here, Google learns more than most people think, such as:
- the contents of all incoming and outgoing mails and combs them for keywords for the profile.
- all account activities and how much storage space is used.
- the number of logins.
- Links that have been clicked.
- Contact lists.
- Spam trends, often reveal information about the user.
- the traffic and the data size
Google+
Like Facebook, Google+ is a social media platform on which users leave more data than in most other services. Although Google’s platform is said to be safer in relation to Facebook, Google gets a comprehensive profile of you through:
- the user data, which must be based on a Google account. In addition to the standard information, there are now images and all information from other Google services.
- Profile entries, messages, chat conversations, and even phone calls via the Google Talk function.
- a weblog and click behavior.
- Contacts and friends.
- Events that were viewed, from which conclusions can be drawn about the nightlife or leisure activities.
- In principle, every action that is carried out in the Google+ network allows conclusions to be drawn about the cause.
Android
Android is a Google service, or rather a subsidiary, which includes many of the services mentioned above. Android is a software company that was bought by Google in 2005. Today Android is the most common software on smartphones. Google has integrated its own services such as maps, calendars,s or mail into the software itself so that you cannot avoid using them. Furthermore, you are forced to have a Google account in order to be able to use all services. This is a fact that repeatedly meets with a lot of criticism. Android is, so to speak, the “Google complete package” for your pocket, which Google when fully used, can send all of the above data and information.
Other nondescript Google services
Now that the most important, best known, and most widespread Google services have been named and you now know what “traces” you are leaving behind, a general summary of the remaining Google services now follows.
These include Google Chrome, Google Earth, Google News, Google Maps, Google Toolbar, Picasa, Google Blogger, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google SketchUp, Google Talk, and Google Translate these are not even a fraction of the services that Google provides Provides.
With the help of all these programs, it is possible for Google to get pretty much any information about you.
In summary, you leave data and information with:
- Web searches or pages viewed.
- Photos of yourself, your surroundings, vacations, or friends.
- Destinations and place of residence.
- Appointments or the daily routine.
What else is in store for you?
With newly planned Google services such as Google glasses, Google Wallet or Google Health, it would be possible for Google to
- see what the user is seeing at all times.
- to get an even greater insight into the user’s private life.
- Know about the user’s account balance, debts, and any expenses.
- to be informed about the health of the user.