If you use any Google products out there and have been curious about what Google actually does with the data it collects, In this post I am going to tell you what types of data Google collects from you as a user, what it does with that data, and whether or not it sells that data to third parties. Let's dive in.
For years now we've been seeing a trend from companies like Apple on how privacy is paramount and how important it is that. Apple doesn't make money off of your data. In 2020 though it's really hard to use any service that isn't collecting data on you. You may have bought an iPhone but you're probably still using apps that collect quite a bit of data on you like Facebook and Instagram. Now Google is another large company out there that has many apps and services that do collect data from its users, so I think it's worth asking the question, what exactly is Google doing with your data? Before we answer that though I think it's important to know what types of data Google collects from it's users.
What Data Google Collects of Ours ?
- Personal information
- Name
- Phone number
- Payment
- Billing address
- Password
- Content and Activities
- Comments
- Likes,shares
- Searches
- Location
- Uploads
- Ip Address
- Browsing History
- Voice
- Downloads etc.
According to the company it collects several different types of information from you, the first is personal information that can include your name, billing address, email address,and a password that's associated with your Google account. If you add a phone number or payment information to your account, that would be considered personal information as well. Google also collects content that you create upload or receive from others while using Google services. This includes emails you write and receive, photos and videos that you save, docs and spreadsheets that you create, and comments that you leave on YouTube videos. Google also creates information about the apps browsers and devices you use in order to access Google services. For example if you use a pixel device like I do, your pixel will periodically ping Google servers and provide Google with information about your device and connection to various Google services. This information includes device type, carrier name, crash reports, and which apps I have installed.Activity is another big area of data that Google collects such as the terms you search for in Google search, videos you watch, views and interactions with content and advertisements, voice and audio information when you use audio features, purchase activity, people who you communicate with or share content with, activities on third-party sites and apps that use Google services, and Chrome browsing history you've synced with your Google account.
Google also collects location data information which helps it offer you services like driving directions through Google Maps.
How does Google know your current location?
Google uses a variety of sources like GPS, IP address, sensor data from your devices, and information about things near your device like Wi-Fi access points, cell towers ,and Bluetooth enabled devices.
Ok so that's a lot of data that Google is collecting from you and I do want to point out that there are ways for you to limit the amount of data Google does collect from you but first, I think it's really important to point out:
Why Google is collecting this data from you in the first place.
There are five main reasons why Google does: this to build better services, maintain and improve those services, develop new services, provide personalized services including content and advertisements and measuring performance and communicating with you. Now the biggest reason by farther Google collects data on its users is to provide personalized services including content and ads. Targeted advertising is one of the main ways that Google generates revenue as a company. Now you may be asking yourself :
style="text-align: left;"> What exactly is targeted advertising?Unlike in the Mad Men days of advertising when advertisers would pay to put an ad on TV or in the newspaper and they typically targeted a broad demographic targeted advertising allows advertisers to target a much more specific audience. For example as an advertiser I can target a subsection of the area where I live say Delhi, a specific demographic within that subsection, say men 18 to 34, and characteristics about that subsection. So let's say we want to target our ads to men ages 18 to 34 who are interested in mobile phones, in consumer electronics, and to subscribe to a mobile network or ISP. Google was one of the first companies that pioneered this type of advertising because of the data it collects from its users. Advertisers are willing to pay more for a targeted ad than a general one because targeted advertisements are thought to do better because they reach an audience that is more likely to buy the product or service being advertised. It's important to note that Google will not show you personalized ads based on sensitive categories like race, religion,sexual orientation, or health. Now it wouldn't be fair to just talk about Google's data collection practices in terms of selling its products to advertisers. It is true that in order to continue to exist, a company like Google needs to generate revenue, but at the same time they're generating revenue,they also need to make sure they're providing value to the users whose data they are collecting. So that's why a lot of the time the data that you give Google is actually used to help you throughout your day while using Google services. Your data helps Google do things like get the fastest directions to your destination through Google Maps, auto complete searches, find YouTube videos for you to watch, help auto complete forms for you in Chrome,help you search through your own information like appointments on your calendar, or people in your contacts, and of course the Google assistant would not be as useful as it is without access to your data.
Now as I said before Google does give you some options to turn off specific features of its data collection.You can opt out of personalized ads as well as see what categories of interest Google has placed you in, based on the data it's collected from you. You can turn off specific categories that aren't relevant to you to make the ads Google shows you more relevant. You also have the ability to turn off web app activity, location history tracking, and YouTube history for the purposes of showing you personalized ads. You can access these settings and more privacy settings by clicking your Google account profile picture in pretty much any Google application you're in and then click Manage your Google account.
Does Google Sell Our Data ?
Now let's answer one of the biggest questions you may have about Google collecting your data, does it sell that data to third-party companies? In short,no. This is actually one of the biggest misconceptions people have about Google and their data collection policies. Google does not sell any of your personal data to third-party companies. Companies use Google's ad platforms to show you ads that they think will be relevant to you but those companies themselves do not get the data set that Google owns, the data Google collects from you is too valuable for Google to give it away. Google's ad business is one of the primary sources of income for the company and it's what allows the company to create such innovative products. Google's proposition for its products and services is a trade off just like anything else in life. While most of Google services are free to use you are giving them something of value in return, which is your data.
Now because so much of Google's revenue comes from its ad business I found that the communication and language the company uses around its data collection and privacy policies to be quite clear and easy to understand. Their website is quite well laid out and the language they use is easy to understand.
That was all about what Google does with our data ? Does Google sell our data and how Google collects our information? . If you found this article helpful then give us feedback in comments section below.