Signal Fall 2019 Newsletter

14 www.alliancecom.net How Much Does Google Know About You? It’s probably more than you think T here have been many stories in the last couple of years about privacy issues on Facebook. But fellow tech giant Google actually knows much more about you. Here we offer a rundown of what data Google does and doesn’t col- lect, how that data is gathered, and how to limit what Google knows. Data Collection Everywhere It may be easier to start with data Google doesn’t collect. It doesn’t collect data from business customers who use the enterprise version of its services. Nor does it collect Internet traffic data from its Google Wi-Fi home routers. It also no longer uses the content of Gmail mes- sages to determine which ads to display. What it does collect may surprise you. Google’s reach—including its familiar search engine, its Android and Chrome operating systems, and its access to many other sites online—enables it to gather information about you from a wide variety of sources. As a result, Google knows: • Every search term you’ve ever typed into the Google search engine • Every YouTube (which is owned by Google) video you’ve ever watched • Games you play on your phone • Your online purchasing activity • Which friends you communicate with • Which ads you view • Your location via Location History, Web and App Activity, and through device-level Location Services