Most of our lives happen online today. We search for things, get advice, offer or buy things, pay, order, talk, share… The advantages lie at hand: you don’t have to leave the house to buy something anymore. Everything is accessible from anywhere as long as you have access to the internet.
The downsides are evident as well, and we will neither discuss them nor raise the moral finger. Instead, we will show you how you can see what Google knows about you!
What Does Google Know About Me?
To properly view what Google knows about you, of course you have to log into your Google account.
Search history – https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity
When you use Google for your internet search, of course they save your search history. Depending on your browser settings, the link above will lead you to your search history.
YouTube has a separate search history you can look up here: https://www.youtube.com/feed/history/search_history
Furthermore, YouTube provides a history of videos you watched as well: https://www.youtube.com/feed/history
Ads settings – https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated
Google has an idea about your interests. This is important for them to display ads that cater to your interests and likes. Find out what Google thinks you like by checking (and editing) your Google Ads setting.
Analytics optout – https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
Many pages and websites use Google Analytics to gather information about their users and visitors. If you don’t wish your information to be referred to them, you can opt out by following the link above. That way, other websites won’t be able to collect data about you using Google Analytics.
Location history – https://maps.google.com/locationhistory
Under this link, you can see where you logged in using your Google account. When you have an Android phone, it may be that your phone sends your current location to Google. Under the above link, you can view this log.
Dashboard – https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard?pli=1
The Google Dashboard lists all Google services you are using like AdWords, Blogger, Gmail, Photos, YouTube and more. Furthermore, you can request a monthly report about your account activity there.
Security permissions – https://myaccount.google.com/permissions
You log in to external services using your Google account? Here you can get an overview of the services you use via your Google profile, and of course you can remove them from here as well and revoke access.
Devices – https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity
Fear that your account might be used by someone else? Under the link above you can check which devices were used to log in using your Google account.
Export your data – https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout?pli=1
Don’t want to click through all those links to check what Google knows about you? Then export all your data. Bookmarks, contacts, files on Google Dive, photos, e-mails, notes – all you saved using your Google account can be exported to ZIP (or another archive format).
Where Else Can Google Get Information About Me?
When you use Google’s services, you might be aware that your data is collected by them. But did you know that Google owns more than 150 companies as well? From all those, they gather information about you as well. Here are some of the better known ones:
- Android
- YouTube
- Picasa
- Songza
- Like.com
Follow us