Things That Google Knows About You
| Manoj Jasra - Thursday, March 12, 2009 3 Comments |
Obviously if you use are a user of Google services you are sharing a lot of your search behavior among other things with Google as well. The E-Justice blog has published an interesting post on 25 Surprising Things That Google Knows About You. Below is a sample from the complete list of 25.
- The web pages you visit: Google AdSense is used by many web pages for online advertising, and Google’s cookies record your visits to web pages with their ad program on them.
- The blogs you read: If you use Google Reader, Google knows the blogs you subscribe to. Even if you’re not on Google Reader, Google knows all of the Blogger pages you visit.
- Who and what you’re emailing: GMail users, and those who send mail to GMail users share a variety of personal and business information with Google.
- What’s on your PC: If you’re using Google Desktop, Google knows everything that you keep on your computer.
- Your schedule: Google Calendar opens your personal and business schedule up to the prying eyes of Google.
- Your social network and interests: Google indexes sites like Orkut, Facebook, and Digg, and as such, has access to information about what you’re interested in online.
- Where you and your friends are: Using Google Latitude, cell phone users can share their location with others. Even if you’re not using Latitude, Google Maps for mobile can approximate your location.
- Your medical issues: Do you use Google Health? If so, you’re sharing your entire medical history with Google.
- Mobile number: On SMS, Google Mobile, and Gmail, you can reveal your mobile number to Google.
- What you, your friends and family look like and do: With the photo editor Picasa, you’re revealing your photographs, friends, and moments to Google.
Labels: Google
I love Google and all the helpful tools they offer. We use a lot of them for our client projects and I use a number of them personally.
But... Wowee! A list like that sure makes you think a little bit about just how much you're sharing. Gone are the days of the only way someone knowing where you are being the note you left on the kitchen table!
Big brother is here, and his name is Google!
And they are going to use this information to...
(Dramatic Pause)
Personalize unintrusive ad spaces to better match your interests.
*gasp*