15 things you didnt know that Google knows about YOU!

[Joe118]

Well, I'm not trying to start a flame war, we all love big-G even if they make us do "strange" things to get our websites listed in their search engine, but...

Did you ever consider how much power Google really has? Well, they say information is power, so ... Here's a glimpse of the enormous amount of information that big-G has about YOU, and who you really are (hint: even your spouse may not know some of these things ).

1. Everything you search for. Well d'oh.
2. Which websites you clicked on from the search results.
3. How fast you read -- yes, they track how long you stayed on the search results page.
4. What language you read, what city you're in, which ISP you use, who is your employer (if you use the same computer from work and home).
5. All the webpages you visit. They know this in two ways. First of all, if you visit one site with adsense on it, and then visit another site with adsense on it, Google knows you're the same person. Second, if you have Google Toolbar installed and you enabled PR display, Google knows about *every* page you visit.
6. All the alerts you set, Google knows about, and can infer things about you like what topics and keywords you are interested in.
7. If you read Google News, then Google knows about that, and what news items you read.
8. If you watch videos on YouTube, Google knows your taste in videos. Do you like young cheerleaders? Google knows that. Your spouse may not know that
9. If you visit any blogs on blogspot, Google knows. You like to read about English soccer teams? Google knows.
10. If you have an adwords or adsense account, Google knows your financial information.
11. If you use gmail, Google knows every word you wrote in email, to whom, which messages you read and when, and who you get email from -- even if the email is supposedly private.
12. If you use Google Docs, every document you store in there is saved by Google and cannot be easily deleted -- they have backups.
13. If you use Google Calendar, then Google knows where you are and when, and whom you are meeting, and the subject of every meeting you record in your calendar.
14. If you have a Google Webmaster account, you are giving Google information about every website you put in there. Google can infer information about your business, personal interests, and your skills as a webmaster.
15. Recently Google started forcing people to verify gmail accounts through SMS. Now Google correlates the owner of a gmail account with a cell phone number.

And I'll skip the more alarming ways in which Google can know stuff about you: if you use Google Health, you give Google information that can be valuable for insurance purposes. If you use Google Chrome (their browser) you are an open book for Google.

OK if you've made it thus far into my post, I'll ask the question that's on my mind after all of the above:

Does Google have too much power, in your opinion?

Your comments and opinions are very very welcome!

[Red_Virus]

Google is Skynet ! Google also access to your voicemail with Google Voice and they just had a big acquisition deal yesterday for mobile advertising platform so what is coming next ?

[Joe118]

Heh, you're right, I had missed that.

Here's another three to scare you some more:

1. After the dot-com bust, Google bought up a lot of dark fiber in the US. Its a good chance that some of your net traffic goes over Google-owned networks..
2. Google offers free wifi in several cities, e.g. Mountain View in California. Hmmm... so they know everything you looked at on your computer, every IM you sent to any of your acquaintances, and every illegal download you did during the time you were on their "free" wifi.
3. Do you use gtalk? Again, Google knows every word you wrote to all of your contacts.

And so on.

[Greg Brierley]

Yeah. I would agree that the new big brother is "G". However how can a single person go against the flow that is the "G". I am thinking probably not so maybe masking your your idn=entity is the next big thing.

Greg

[Kevin Riley]

I keep wondering when we'll need the help of John Conner to fight the GoogleBots that are intent on wiping out mankind.

[KatyaSenina]

Who cares, I have nothing to hide

[Tony Dean]

As the feds have been having a field day getting info from isp's all over the states, it would not surprise me to know the feds have access to big G's information about you as well!

[BIG Mike]

Maybe I'm the odd guy out here, but really, who cares? I'm not an "Extremist" when it comes to privacy issues...I assume that whenever I use a publicly available service there will be record of some sort and that doesn't much bother me.

From a business perspective, if that data helps them to continue to grow and offer a higher level of service, I'm all for it. After all, isn't that what we all try to do?

From the issue of ISP's sharing data with the FBI or other agencies, I'm all for that too - I've got nothing to hide and quite honestly, I'd rather give up a little privacy if there's a chance it'll stop a terrorist, kiddie porn or whatever.

Did you ever wonder how much info your telehpone or mobile carrier has about you? Or the folks with the wireless networks out there could be accumulating? Hell, even your cable company could be tracking data about you that you might not be aware of.

I'm not saying real privacy isn't important, but no one can really escape the fact that if they choose to interact online, some information about them will always be tracked on one level or another.

[jazbo]

I do!

Actually I don't but, if I want to surf porn or whatever, I want to do so without fearing that my habits etc are being logged somewhere - whatever I am surfing for.

Google is far, far to powerful and anyone involved in SEO will know that the constant hoop-jumping with no hard information on why we are jumping through the hoops, is a clear sign things have gone too far.

Lets hope Bingoo can challenge their position and give them more pause for thought.

Originally Posted by KatyaSenina

Who cares, I have nothing to hide

[KatyaSenina]

Originally Posted by jazbo

I do!

Actually I don't but, if I want to surf porn or whatever, I want to do so without fearing that my habits etc are being logged somewhere - whatever I am surfing for.

Google is far, far to powerful and anyone involved in SEO will know that the constant hoop-jumping with no hard information on why we are jumping through the hoops, is a clear sign things have gone too far.

Lets hope Bingoo can challenge their position and give them more pause for thought.

LOL
anyway you shouldn't give a damn. It's not like they are releasing this info to the public, right?

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by BIG Mike

I assume that whenever I use a publicly available service there will be record of some sort and that doesn't much bother me.

For a man who has to be dragged out of the gutter behind the cantina at least once a week and hosed down, there really isn't much to hide.

[jborjaperez]

google still writes the checks..


-JBorjaPerez

[TelegramSam]

When a customer buys from my company:

I know if they are male or female.
I know their first name.
I know their last name.
I know their address.
I know if they live in a wealthy area.
I know what they are interested in.
I know what propblem they are trying to solve.
I know if they have bought before.
I know their telephone number.
I know their credit card details.
I know their bank account details.
I know what their favourite TV program is.

Ok maybe the last one is an exaggeration. The rest isn't.

Perhaps this sounds a little scary, but in this age, it is a fact of life, unless you physically pay for something in cash.

I'm sure it is exactly how Big Brother wants it to be.

Sam

1. Everything you search for. Well d'oh.

* I do not use google for my search engine to find stuff

2. Which websites you clicked on from the search results.

* I click none

4. What language you read, what city you're in, which ISP you use, who is your employer (if you use the same computer from work and home).

* No way to tell what city I am from (ISP says I live in north carolina)

5. All the webpages you visit. They know this in two ways. First of all, if you visit one site with adsense on it, and then visit another site with adsense on it, Google knows you're the same person. Second, if you have Google Toolbar installed and you enabled PR display, Google knows about *every* page you visit.

* They have no idea if you are the same person, they can only track agent/ip and nothing more

6. All the alerts you set, Google knows about, and can infer things about you like what topics and keywords you are interested in.

* Don't setup any

7. If you read Google News, then Google knows about that, and what news items you read.

* Don't read it

8. If you watch videos on YouTube, Google knows your taste in videos. Do you like young cheerleaders? Google knows that. Your spouse may not know that

* Watch as little as possible

9. If you visit any blogs on blogspot, Google knows. You like to read about English soccer teams? Google knows.

* They have no idea who I am a million other people have the same ip/agent that I have. Besides that I do not have any bloodspot blogs and have only visited 3 in my entire life

10. If you have an adwords or adsense account, Google knows your financial information.

* Don't use and have never entered any financial info on google's site

11. If you use gmail, Google knows every word you wrote in email, to whom, which messages you read and when, and who you get email from -- even if the email is supposedly private.

* I use my own server mail

12. If you use Google Docs, every document you store in there is saved by Google and cannot be easily deleted -- they have backups.

* Don't use

13. If you use Google Calendar, then Google knows where you are and when, and whom you are meeting, and the subject of every meeting you record in your calendar.

* Don't use

14. If you have a Google Webmaster account, you are giving Google information about every website you put in there. Google can infer information about your business, personal interests, and your skills as a webmaster.

* Don't use

15. Recently Google started forcing people to verify gmail accounts through SMS. Now Google correlates the owner of a gmail account with a cell phone number.

* Don't use

Gee .. Google is tuff out of luck here.. Besides that point, they have no idea who I am anyways. I could very well be a bot programmed to do all the above task. This is what AI is for (although not perfected but anyone can create a bot to do all the above).

Besides that I agree with KatyaSenina - Who Cares, I have nothing to hide ...

James

[travlinguy]

Yep, there's always a tradeoff. We want information and they want information. We love the tools Google provides because it makes our lives easier and more effective as marketers. In return they get to track our online habits to the letter.

Even so, I wonder how much evidence there is that Goog uses the info they get. I mean, talk about detailed profiles of people. The information they have is tremendous. I wonder exactly what they do to put it to use. Thanks for the lowdown.

[Michael Oksa]

I think one of the biggest take aways from this is that Google is a BUSINESS and does things that are in ITS best interest.

They are not, nor have the ever been, Santa Claus. On the other hand, they aren't Scrooge either. Also, it's not like they are the only ones collecting information. At least we know some of the things they're doing. Think about all of the data that's collected about you online that you have NO idea about.

One other thought: If they didn't track ANYTHING their search results would be total c-r-a-p (excuse the language).

Finally, I do think these things are important to at least be aware of. What you do once you are aware is up tp you.

All the best,
Michael

[nota-bene]

Originally Posted by BIG Mike

Maybe I'm the odd guy out here, but really, who cares? I'm not an "Extremist" when it comes to privacy issues...I assume that whenever I use a publicly available service there will be record of some sort and that doesn't much bother me.

From a business perspective, if that data helps them to continue to grow and offer a higher level of service, I'm all for it. After all, isn't that what we all try to do?

From the issue of ISP's sharing data with the FBI or other agencies, I'm all for that too - I've got nothing to hide and quite honestly, I'd rather give up a little privacy if there's a chance it'll stop a terrorist, kiddie porn or whatever.

Did you ever wonder how much info your telehpone or mobile carrier has about you? Or the folks with the wireless networks out there could be accumulating? Hell, even your cable company could be tracking data about you that you might not be aware of.

I'm not saying real privacy isn't important, but no one can really escape the fact that if they choose to interact online, some information about them will always be tracked on one level or another.

Word for word, I agree with you!

[SurviveUnemployment]

From a personal perspective, Google doesn't scare me as much as Facebook. Facebook knows your friends, your real life, has pictures of you. If Facebook were weaponized, they could seriously mess with some people's heads and lives.

The power Google has is over the Internet. They basically decide what lives and dies. That's a ton of power, the power to control the flow of information.

[Micah09]

What language you read, what city you're in, which ISP you use, who is your employer (if you use the same computer from work and home).

Yeah I know about this. But I when I was working in outsourcing company last year, they are using hide IP software.. I'm just curious if Google still know about it?

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Joe118

1. Recently Google started forcing people to verify gmail accounts through SMS. Now Google correlates the owner of a gmail account with a cell phone number.

Doesn't happen here.

Must be an American thing?

[Kelly Verge]

[Kay King]

bThese days if you want total privacy, you go off the grid.

If you want to use google's (free) services such as gmail, etc - you give up some information to do it.

If google wants to follow me around online, that's fine - but the poor little bot will probably be bored to death before long.

kay

Originally Posted by Kay King

bThese days if you want total privacy, you go off the grid.

If you want to use google's (free) services such as gmail, etc - you give up some information to do it.

If google wants to follow me around online, that's fine - but the poor little bot will probably be bored to death before long.

kay

Can I follow you around Kay, I might learn a few things .... Just can't help but wonder what you have taught Google ...

James

[Istvan Horvath]

After reading the OP the first thing that came to my mind was a thread started a while ago - reminding us there is a real world out there, don't confuse WF and the IM with it

And if you think that going offline would protect your absolute privacy... think again.

Let me tell you a story. Will try to be brief but sometimes it's difficult. OK, here itgoes.

I spent about two decades of my adult life on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain in a Communist dictatorship. I wasn't among the 'good guys' so a state security officer (a major) has been assigned to keep on eye on me. My phone was intercepted, my mail was opened, my friends were recruited to spy on me etc. It wasn't fun. However, they could not follow you everywhere all the time - so, from time to time you could have a break.

Fast forward a few years. New life in Canada: real freedom, civic liberties, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, no more surveillance... actually, nobody really cares what you do.

So, one day I met an ex-sweetheart, still beautiful as she was 15 years earlier and we go on a romantic trip to Western Europe. Germany, Italy (Venice, of course), Switzerland - all the nice places. It was before the euro era, so each country had its own currency. I couldn't keep up with all those different bills amd coins - so I started to pay everywhere with my only credit card. (Even today I still have only just that one CC.)

Next month when the statement came from my bank I could follow exactly where I was and what I did:
- entering the highway and paying the toll (entered X point; exited Y point)
- dinner in ABC restaurant
- slept in XYZ hotel
- bought gas at 123 gas station

Basically, my whole trip with every details was on that CC statement. Not my online surfing, like watching funny youtube videos... My real life!

I think my "comrade major" wold have been envious seeing how easy it was. It is still a mystery why those idiotic dictators didn't let us to have credit cards

[natscash]

yup, big brother is watching. It don't matter. You should not be doing any thing "wrong anyways".

[loenex]

I'm not scared. Just want to be sure if all information about me is safe and secured.

[CliveG]

Isn't it a marketers job to find out as much as possible about prospects? Don't we all do it, if on a somewhat smaller scale?

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by KatyaSenina

LOL
anyway you shouldn't give a damn. It's not like they are releasing this info to the public, right?

Not until a government agency gets a warrant for the data or a lawyer in a civil case needs to get dirt on you and petitions for the data to be used as evidence in court.

[JohnMcCabe]

Istvan has a great point - what you do in real life can be tracked as easily as what you do online.

One of my wife's cousins is married to a police detective. He once said that among the most important tools they had were credit cards, cell phones and big mouths.

A large number of criminal cases are solved when the perp brags about what they did to the wrong person. Or makes a video about it.

When someone they're interested in goes missing, the first thing they do is monitor the credit cards and cell phones. As Istvan said, you can follow someone by their transactions. If you're the police, you can do it in almost real time.

Google might be able to dig up a lot of information about you, but most of it is the same information already available for a fee from your bank, credit card company, utility company, and even your state and local government.

Read the privacy policies that they all send out. I'll wait while you dig out the magnifier...

See all those references to affiliated companies, partners and such? That's the folks already buying your information.

Besides, my wife already reminds me to record "DCC: Making the Squad" on Saturdays...

I'll be keeping an eye on the Google paranoia, though. Maybe start a new venture recycling tinfoil hats into tinfoil gloves or keyboard covers...

[jasondinner]

Maybe Google's next plan is to recruit US Citizens to overthrow their own government
just like the colonists did to the British a couple hundred years ago.

[Matt Maiden]

Well the real truth is that your right to privacy, in the way that people choose to define it,
is a myth in the first place. At least in the U.S.

The Constitution does not protect your information from being gathered.

It protects you from how your personal information is used against you.

Matt

Originally Posted by jasondinner

Maybe Google's next plan is to recruit US Citizens to overthrow their own government
just like the colonists did to the British a couple hundred years ago.

Nah this is the 21st Century ... They will use Bots to do that ... This is what SkyNet is for ...

James

[SMS]

Interesting thread here.

Ten years ago people were worried about the 'digital power' that Microsoft had. But that pales into insignificance when compared to the Gee Monster.

BTW... You forgot Google Earth. Google knows who my window cleaner is... who my Milk Delivery man is... How many times I throw stones at the neighbour's cat everyday...

Hmm...

[CDarklock]

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

Istvan has a great point - what you do in real life can be tracked as easily as what you do online.

Some time back, Nike and Apple had this neat little thing where you could track your workouts with little transmitters in your shoes.

Some enterprising hacker generated a lot of hysteria by pointing out that someone could identify your location with a properly configured laptop placed within about 120 feet!

Because, you know, someone can't very well just look over and SEE YOU if you're 120 feet away. Let alone, say, take a picture. It's much simpler to write a bunch of code that identifies your shoes.

[Matt Maiden]

Originally Posted by CDarklock

Because, you know, someone can't very well just look over and SEE YOU if you're 120 feet away. Let alone, say, take a picture. It's much simpler to write a bunch of code that identifies your shoes.

It's like those watches that are built to survive going to the bottom of the ocean.

You'll know your exact time of death

Matt

[Joe118]

Originally Posted by jazbo

I do!

Actually I don't but, if I want to surf porn or whatever, I want to do so without fearing that my habits etc are being logged somewhere - whatever I am surfing for.

Google is far, far to powerful and anyone involved in SEO will know that the constant hoop-jumping with no hard information on why we are jumping through the hoops, is a clear sign things have gone too far.

Lets hope Bingoo can challenge their position and give them more pause for thought.

You nailed it, sir.

And just to clarify, when I said the OP that "Google knows", that's short hand for "Google has access to the information". In other words, I don't know for a fact that Google actively *collects* and *analyzes* the information. But you gotta wonder.

And to the people who say "I don't care, I don't have anything to hide": People who used to consume alcohol before prohibition became the law in the US had nothing to hide, they didn't violate the law at the time. But once prohibition became the law, if an information database such as Google has access to (again, don't know that they're actively building it) would have been an all too attractive source of information for identifying who is likely to violate the law. Another example: surfing porn may not be illegal today, but if your prospective employer knew, would that increase or decrease the likelyhood that you'd be hired? A medical example: if you're out of work and looking to buy private health insurance, is it likely that information that is available to the health insurance company will influence the decision whether to insure you?

The real problem is the concentration of information in one place. I don't really have a problem disclosing potentially private and none-of-your-business information to someone to gain access to their service. But if that same entity is my search engine, my email provider, my VOIP provider, my news provider, my video and entertainment provider, my calendar provider, my online document storer, my advertising agency, my mobile phone provider, and my network (wireless and wired) provider -- then I'm a little alarmed.

[Joe118]

Originally Posted by Matt M

Well the real truth is that your right to privacy, in the way that people choose to define it,
is a myth in the first place. At least in the U.S.

The Constitution does not protect your information from being gathered.

It protects you from how your personal information is used against you.

Matt

That's not entirely correct. The constitution protects you from how the information may be used against you by government agencies. There had to be laws made (e.g. civil rights act, housing equal oppty rights, etc etc) to ensure that companies and non-governmental agencies also respect the same principle.

[Lawrh]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated the company philosophy on the
Charlie Rose show on June 3, 2005 -

"Search is a force for peace and a better world.
Google will reveal how everybody lives and thinks
and speaks and looks and that is beneficial to world peace.
Societies get along better when they know/see/hear more about each other."

The hive mind, a work in progress. Whatever happened to individuality?
Constant surveillance reduces you to less than a number, hardly a point
on a statistical curve. Non entities do not have the right to make
judgments about themselves, so no "I have nothing to hide". That will be
decided for you. Such is life under surveillance.

Interesting that Schmidt didn't simply say "Resistance is Futile!"

It doesn't really matter, so few individuals actually exist. Most just do what
everyone else does.

[BIG Mike]

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

For a man who has to be dragged out of the gutter behind the cantina at least once a week and hosed down, there really isn't much to hide.

I still got a bottle of Wild Turkey you'll never find and neither will Google...

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by BIG Mike

I still got a bottle of Wild Turkey you'll never find and neither will Google...

I have to question the ethics of a man who keeps a wild turkey in a bottle

LMAO @ The Topic being discussed...

Peace

Jay

[actionplanbiz]

If i was ever team captain im Picking Google 1st

[Jeffery Baxter]

Great Post! Lol I'm sort of with James on this one. I usually don't do any of the above things in order for them to retrieve information.

My 0.02
Jeff

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by Joe118

And to the people who say "I don't care, I don't have anything to hide": People who used to consume alcohol before prohibition became the law in the US had nothing to hide, they didn't violate the law at the time. But once prohibition became the law, if an information database such as Google has access to (again, don't know that they're actively building it) would have been an all too attractive source of information for identifying who is likely to violate the law. Another example: surfing porn may not be illegal today, but if your prospective employer knew, would that increase or decrease the likelyhood that you'd be hired? A medical example: if you're out of work and looking to buy private health insurance, is it likely that information that is available to the health insurance company will influence the decision whether to insure you?

Re: prohibition...

You wouldn't need Google. All you would need is access to credit card records to see who is buying booze.

Re: surfing porn...

That one might bite you in the butt, whether it's illegal or not. There was a furor several years ago that video rental stores would make rental records available, thus revealing who rented adult movies. That drove many porn aficionados online.

More potentially career threatening than looking at dirty movies is what you personally publish. Look what happened to that hot chick on American Idol who got in hot water for some wet t-shirt photos on her MySpace page. They were considering booting her from the show when she got voted out anyway.

Re: buying private health insurance...

Again, that information is already available for a price. And it definitely affects your ability to buy insurance. Your credit rating affects how much you pay, even if they do decide to insure you.

None of those require Google's involvement to affect your life.

The truth is, most of us are likely too boring to keep individual track of...

[BIG Mike]

Originally Posted by Joe118

You nailed it, sir.

And just to clarify, when I said the OP that "Google knows", that's short hand for "Google has access to the information". In other words, I don't know for a fact that Google actively *collects* and *analyzes* the information. But you gotta wonder.

And to the people who say "I don't care, I don't have anything to hide": People who used to consume alcohol before prohibition became the law in the US had nothing to hide, they didn't violate the law at the time. But once prohibition became the law, if an information database such as Google has access to (again, don't know that they're actively building it) would have been an all too attractive source of information for identifying who is likely to violate the law. Another example: surfing porn may not be illegal today, but if your prospective employer knew, would that increase or decrease the likelyhood that you'd be hired? A medical example: if you're out of work and looking to buy private health insurance, is it likely that information that is available to the health insurance company will influence the decision whether to insure you?

The real problem is the concentration of information in one place. I don't really have a problem disclosing potentially private and none-of-your-business information to someone to gain access to their service. But if that same entity is my search engine, my email provider, my VOIP provider, my news provider, my video and entertainment provider, my calendar provider, my online document storer, my advertising agency, my mobile phone provider, and my network (wireless and wired) provider -- then I'm a little alarmed.

Your argument about this is disingenuous because it makes so many assumptions about individuals and the aggregate information on them as group.


Should beer become illegal, whether I agree or not, I would stop consuming beer, regardless of how I might be perceived as a potential offender. Again, I have nothing to hide.


I don’t surf for porn, and will unlikely ever be looking for a job, so what a prospective employer might think is a moot point. Regardless, I have nothing to hide here either.


The same with health insurance – while I can appreciate in the US it might present some problems, it’s not like that worldwide. My health insurance company is obligated to insure me regardless of my existing health/habits and so forth. But it doesn't matter, because contractually, you're obligated to disclose existing health problems anyways.


When it comes to patient confidentiality, the Greek Healthcare System is absolutely horrible, but again, I don’t have an overwhelming concern that others may learn about existing or past health conditions.


Realistically, you’re at greater risk of a friend or relative disclosing genuinely private information about you than some corporation gathering marketing data.


More importantly, as Mr. Spock was heard to say, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”. If de-privatizing information about me contributes to saving a single life…avoids an injury or saves some poor kid being abused or molested, I’ll be the first one to belly up to the bar to release it.


I can only speak for myself, but there is simply nothing about me that needs to be hidden. I could care less if you learned what my annual income is or the state of my health. I honestly can’t think of anything that would bother me if you knew it about me.


The worst thing you might find out is that I scratch my balls or pick my nose when I think no one is looking…so do you and pretty much everyone else in the world.

While in principle it sounds great, privacy issues can be seriously over rated.

[Joe118]

Listen you dont seem to get it. Of course I dont need Google for this or that to bite me. It's the fact that Google has (access to) *all* of this information about me that jynxes me. I know there are other ways in which surfing porn can get you, etc.

The point was (and is) whether you think Google has too much information about you all in one place...

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

Re: prohibition...

You wouldn't need Google. All you would need is access to credit card records to see who is buying booze.

Re: surfing porn...

That one might bite you in the butt, whether it's illegal or not. There was a furor several years ago that video rental stores would make rental records available, thus revealing who rented adult movies. That drove many porn aficionados online.

More potentially career threatening than looking at dirty movies is what you personally publish. Look what happened to that hot chick on American Idol who got in hot water for some wet t-shirt photos on her MySpace page. They were considering booting her from the show when she got voted out anyway.

Re: buying private health insurance...

Again, that information is already available for a price. And it definitely affects your ability to buy insurance. Your credit rating affects how much you pay, even if they do decide to insure you.

None of those require Google's involvement to affect your life.

The truth is, most of us are likely too boring to keep individual track of...

[reapr]

Originally Posted by Joe118

Well, I'm not trying to start a flame war, we all love big-G even if they make us do "strange" things to get our websites listed in their search engine, but...

Did you ever consider how much power Google really has? Well, they say information is power, so ... Here's a glimpse of the enormous amount of information that big-G has about YOU, and who you really are (hint: even your spouse may not know some of these things ).

1. Everything you search for. Well d'oh.
2. Which websites you clicked on from the search results.
3. How fast you read -- yes, they track how long you stayed on the search results page.
4. What language you read, what city you're in, which ISP you use, who is your employer (if you use the same computer from work and home).
5. All the webpages you visit. They know this in two ways. First of all, if you visit one site with adsense on it, and then visit another site with adsense on it, Google knows you're the same person. Second, if you have Google Toolbar installed and you enabled PR display, Google knows about *every* page you visit.
6. All the alerts you set, Google knows about, and can infer things about you like what topics and keywords you are interested in.
7. If you read Google News, then Google knows about that, and what news items you read.
8. If you watch videos on YouTube, Google knows your taste in videos. Do you like young cheerleaders? Google knows that. Your spouse may not know that
9. If you visit any blogs on blogspot, Google knows. You like to read about English soccer teams? Google knows.
10. If you have an adwords or adsense account, Google knows your financial information.
11. If you use gmail, Google knows every word you wrote in email, to whom, which messages you read and when, and who you get email from -- even if the email is supposedly private.
12. If you use Google Docs, every document you store in there is saved by Google and cannot be easily deleted -- they have backups.
13. If you use Google Calendar, then Google knows where you are and when, and whom you are meeting, and the subject of every meeting you record in your calendar.
14. If you have a Google Webmaster account, you are giving Google information about every website you put in there. Google can infer information about your business, personal interests, and your skills as a webmaster.
15. Recently Google started forcing people to verify gmail accounts through SMS. Now Google correlates the owner of a gmail account with a cell phone number.

And I'll skip the more alarming ways in which Google can know stuff about you: if you use Google Health, you give Google information that can be valuable for insurance purposes. If you use Google Chrome (their browser) you are an open book for Google.

OK if you've made it thus far into my post, I'll ask the question that's on my mind after all of the above:

Does Google have too much power, in your opinion?

Your comments and opinions are very very welcome!

I was looking at number 8 and so if I said my sexual prefernces were many ... google could call me on it? I mean my wife knows my door swings one way.

[Davmac40]

Eventually big G will fall foul of privacy laws; if they do not already do so and a massive class action will evolve.

[reapr]

Originally Posted by Joe118

Listen you dont seem to get it. Of course I dont need Google for this or that to bite me. It's the fact that Google has (access to) *all* of this information about me that jynxes me. I know there are other ways in which surfing porn can get you, etc.

The point was (and is) whether you think Google has too much information about you all in one place...

I do get it! It is not rocket science ... even though I have one of those degrees on paper floating around somewhere. Opps wrong again just took a dump.

My point is common sense dictates that if it bothered me that much I would either donate my computer to 'big mike' or burn it then log of the internet forever and go into hiding in some Tibetan monastery in fear that the google bots will hunt me down and kill me!

[Mr Money Maker]

Yeah Google knows all this, but Sears was fined a ton of money a few weeks ago for doing the same thing......so some win and some loose, just depends who controls the biggest part of the world !!

[reapr]

Originally Posted by lumbardi

that why you need a good proxy service if you need a privacy.

I suggest make a IP chain it is harder to track.

Tor and privoxy works wonders ... don't take my word for it! It's free ...