For all the many controversies around Facebook’s mishandling of personal data, Google actually knows way more about most of us.
The bottom line: Just how much Google knows depends to some degree on your privacy settings — and to a larger degree on which devices, products and services you use.
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Google is the undisputed leader in the tech giants’ race to accumulate user data, thanks to its huge array of services, devices and leading share of the digital ad business (37% to Facebook’s 22%). It likely knows everything you’ve ever typed into your browser’s search bar and every YouTube video you’ve ever watched.
But that’s just the beginning. It may also know where you’ve been, what you’ve bought and who you communicate with.
What Google collects:
The terms you search for.
The videos you watch.
Voice and audio information when you use audio features.
Purchase activity.
People with whom you communicate or share content.
Activity on third-party sites and apps that use Google services.
The ads and content you view on Google’s sites, as well as interactions with that content.
Location data, which Google can either gather directly via GPS data or infer from other sensors and data, including IP addresses, nearby Wi-Fi routers and Bluetooth beacons.
