What Google knows about you

Google tracks everything you do...


It's no secret that Google knows a lot about you. A large part of the search giant's business model is based around advertising – and for this to be successful it needs to know who you are.But with the right know-how it's possible to track down what Google knows about you and control what it uses for advertising purposes.

Want to find out all the things Google knows about you? Here will show you some of the data Google has about you.

1. Find out what Google thinks about you
In order to serve relevant ads, Google collects data about you and creates a profile. You can control and review the information Google has on you here:

http://www.google.com/settings/ads/

Google also has a tool called Google Analytics, that helps publishers see what pages you have viewed on their website, how many times you have visited it, how long did you stay etc. You can opt out if you don’t want this type of data to be collected:

http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout 

2. Find out your location history
If you use Android, your mobile device may be sending your location to Google. You can see your entire location history here:

https://maps.google.com/locationhistory 

3. Find out your entire Google Search history
Google saves every single search you have ever done. On top of that, they record every Google ad you have clicked on. This log is available in Google web history controls:

https://www.google.com/history/ 

4. Get a monthly security and privacy report from Google
Google offers an Account activity page that tells you about all the Google services you are using. You can even enable a monthly report that will be sent to your email:

https://www.google.com/settings/dashboard

5. Find out all the apps and extensions that are accessing your Google data
The Account activity page also offers a list of all the apps that have any type of access to your data. You can see the exact type of permissions granted to the app and revoke access to your data here:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions 

6. Export all of your data out of Google
Google lets you export all your data: bookmarks, emails, contacts, drive files, profile info, your YouTube videos, photos and more here:

https://www.google.com/takeout 

7. Google keeps a history of your YouTube searches. You can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/feed/history/search_history

Now by following these steps you can see just how much Google knows about you, your interests, the places you have visited, and your search habits.

1. Go to history.google.com/history

Credit: Google

2. Make sure you're logged into a Google account
Google only saves the searches you have made while logged into an unrestricted Google account. While it might not have every search you've ever made, it can give you a pretty accurate picture of your browsing habits. 

3. Select the down arrow next to "last week" and change it to "all time"

Credit: Google

4. Browse your more recent search history by selecting "last month" and "last year"

Credit: Google

5. Delete your browsing data
You can delete the search data Google has stored for you by clicking the three dots on the top right hand side of the window and selecting "Delete options". It gives you the immediate option to delete data from "Today" and "Yesterday". If you click "Advanced" it then lets you delete information from the last four weeks or "All time". 

Credit: Google


6. Google knows where you've been

Credit: Google


If you click the three dots in the top right hand corner of the window and select "Settings" then "Show more controls" you can "Manage Activity" under the "Places you Go" tab. If you don't have location services turned off this will show you a map of all of the places where you have used your mobile device.

 
7. See how old Google thinks you are

Credit: Google


If you scroll to the bottom of the "Activity controls" page and select "Ads" you can see the profile Google has for you, including a rough age range, your gender, and your interests. If you don't agree with the profile Google has created for you, then you can change it to make it more (or less) accurate. This affects the adverts you'll see across Alphabet products.