Google knows a lot about its users. Presumably the company could predict the next haircut, the next car, and the next summer vacation. What some users don’t pay attention to is that you can find out what Google knows about you.
More transparency: Google and user data
Regardless of location, browser data or conversation history – Alphabet’s Google collects and evaluates its user data. For some, the background is also clear: advertising. For most people, however, it is difficult to understand what data Google has about them and who is still allowed to use it. This leads to a loss of control over your own information.
Big Tech companies are under pressure as they don’t want to overtax consumer trust. That’s why Google is trying to create more transparency, for example by publishing its Transparency Report, as t3n explains. This report provides an annual overview of the number of government requests for user data that Google receives.
What should you pay attention to – protect your privacy properly
Google wants to show personalized advertising to its users. For this purpose, there are Google Preferences, in which data is collected that helps to offer the user an individual advertising experience, as t3n adds. This includes information such as age, gender and interests.
If you haven’t already disabled this feature in Settings, some may find it interesting to adjust your location settings. Android smartphones in particular can share the location with Google at any time. In addition, Google stores all search queries made via the service.
For those who use multiple devices, it is important to know that you can log in to your own Google account using multiple devices. Conversely, this means that Google knows exactly which devices you use. Information about which services access your account can be found in the list of extensions. This can be found in your own Google account in the “Security” section under the menu item “Your connections to third-party apps and services”. The type of access authorization can be viewed and configured there.
Google Takeout: How to Maintain Information Control
Some people might be reading the phrase “Google Takeout” for the first time, as not many people are familiar with the function. It offers the opportunity to get an idea of all the data that Google collects about you. Anyone who uses all of the Google services such as Drive, Maps, etc. has certainly already accumulated a considerable amount of data.
To receive the data, all you have to do is select the corresponding service on the website whose data you want to export, as the technology magazine Chip explains. Takeout then compresses the data into a ZIP archive, which can be downloaded to the computer after the user briefly enters the password. In total, the chip article adds, the data can be downloaded from 14 Google services.
Learn from the exported data
First and foremost, the data allows you as a user to better understand what data the tech company collects from you. A certain degree of dependence on Google as a provider can become apparent. If you want to restrict Google’s forwarding of personal information, you can adjust the appropriate settings. The central component here is the third-party access rights explained above. As an article from netzwelt.de explains, these third-party providers often have direct access to contacts, email content and other private information.
On the other hand, you can also use the Takeout service to back up your data. The exported data can then be backed up locally, meaning that the previously occupied drive storage space can now be used again, as the online portal avepoint.com explains.
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