We think that only Facebook was the one invading our privacy and storing all our data, however, turns out there is something other than Facebook that is storing way more data and it’s none other than Google.
Minute information such as the last place you ate or when did you leave home, all are known to Google. A detailed log of users’ web browsing history since almost a decade has been stored, despite being ‘protected’ in the incognito mode. In the span of just a year, Google stores enough data to fill up around 569,555 A4 pages, revealed an investigation by The Daily Mail.
All the personal information is stolen from GPS, Google search engine, email, maps and YouTube. The information is so much that if piled up, it would make over 189ft, for comparison, taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Within two weeks, the tech giant collects enough data on an individual that it would reach 75ft 9in if stacked up.
Facebook has information on people who don’t even use the site
The data taken is used for building advertising portfolios as per the users’ interests projecting them on the screens. Where people believe that these ads are mostly related to the search history, little do they know about the ‘sinister surveillance’ techniques of Google, wrote The Sun.
A web developer Dylan Curran requested Google for the data about him and what he received shocked him. “I work in technology and had no idea Google was harvesting this amount of information. What was particularly shocking was it had a record of websites I looked at while I was in Google’s private, incognito mode. It also had files I had deleted from Google’s cloud service, including an old CV, as well as every photo I had taken on my phone.”
“It’s wrong to trust any entity that big with so much information. They’re just trying to make money, and at some point someone is going to make a mistake,” he added.
Moreover, Google representative told worried users for using its ‘My Account’ facility to protect their data. He said, “The privacy and security of our users is of the utmost importance, which is why we have spent years making available tools like My Account so people can understand and control their Google data and make the privacy choices that are right for them.”
“We encourage everyone to review My Account regularly. Your data makes things like Google Maps work better and more effectively, by helping to do things like recognizing traffic patterns and help you find the quickest way home.”