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I am genuinely horrified to see how much data google collected from me

I created a google takeout and in that zip file I found some files containing a ton of data about me. It has logged every single page I visited while using the google search engine and chrome browser. It even logged every single time I opened an app on my old android phone. It even has VOICE RECORDINGS of me and a log of every time I used google assistant. This is just some of the data and I'm very sure there is even more data they have.

TankovayaDiviziya ,

How do you know all this? Did you request your data from Google?

dez ,
@dez@lemmy.ml avatar

takeout.google.com

TankovayaDiviziya ,

Thank you. I will trawl through 18 years of my Google account.

anticurrent ,

Friends don't let friends use Google and meta. show those you care about what you have discovered. don't lecture them just make them aware, share your findings.

Jessvj93 ,

Also for a good read on Google and Meta, check out Jedi Blue. It's a plan that FB and Google got sued for, for manipulating ad auction timings in favor of FB on Google in exchange for FB to promise to not open a competing ad service plans. They also gave FB access to every google device with Facebook (preinstalled esp) on it. The name Jedi Blue is a reference to the Jedi mind trick, assholes.

RampantParanoia2365 ,

I really don't understand why you find this surprising. We're you expecting like...42% of all that to be saved?

nexussapphire ,

Don't be so harsh we all gotta learn eventually. His moment is now brethren!

Lightfire228 ,

To be fair, it wasn't something most of us were thinking about in the early 2000's

Then Google became ubiquitous, to the point where we didn't question it. Like cell service

RampantParanoia2365 ,

That's very true. But not really by the time Android started.

BoisZoi ,
@BoisZoi@lemmy.ml avatar

Have you been under a rock?

suppenloeffel ,
@suppenloeffel@feddit.de avatar

I'm really not a fan of such gatekeeping rhetoric.

Congrats on already knowing stuff, I guess. The vast majority of people don't have the ability, will or exposure to engage with most technical stuff, especially since the concept of (digital) privacy still is surprisingly controversial.

We all benefit from more people caring about privacy. Comments like yours achieve the exact opposite and don't provide any value at all to the conversation.

Baleine ,
@Baleine@jlai.lu avatar

Omg I shoul do that too

generalpotato ,

Google has a data privacy setting that lets you delete your data history at some intervals. The lowest is 3 months last I checked. Make sure to use it.

DangerousInternet ,
@DangerousInternet@lemmy.world avatar

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    generalpotato ,

    Ideally you should, but a lot people use Android or want to use Google services. An as example, if you use Google Maps, then you have to opt in to giving Google location access and Google will collect your data. In that case, the least you can do is limit the amount of time Google keeps your data and change from the default setting which I think is forever.

    someguy3 ,

    So that would delete all the information that OP listed above?

    generalpotato ,

    Yes. You can select what to delete and what to retain if I recall correctly. It’s grouped by “activities”, by app if you will.

    badelf ,

    I've started using Kagi search. $5/mo for a great search without selling my sh1t.

    glibg10b ,

    What's a Google takeout?

    panicnow ,

    It’s Google’s name for a service that lets you download all the data Google has on your account. If you google google takeout it should get you to the page.

    Rand0mA ,

    takeout.google.com

    Everything they have on you.

    nottelling ,

    Everything they're willing to tell you they have on you.

    AutomaticJack ,

    https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190

    ivanafterall ,
    @ivanafterall@kbin.social avatar

    Yeah, anyone who's never done this really should. It's eye-opening to see it go from a theoretical discussion to "HOLY SHIT THEY HAVE ALL MY DATA" in real-time.

    Asudox ,
    @Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

    How do you think they are able to pay the bills of those expensive af services for free?

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