How to See or Find What Google Knows About You?

All of us are protective of our data, and there are all kinds of data we store in our smartphones. From photos to other minute banking details, we tend to keep all our personal data within the reach of our fingers i.e., on our phones.

We also use various net banking services, make online transactions, use different web pages, and use the same device for different personal purposes. There is no denying that we have heard a range of rumors about Google and how it keeps a track of our actions.

We have also heard how Google interrupts, saves, and uses our personal data to show us relevant Ads and even suggest various products as well as services based on our personal choices.

However, according to Google, it has a set of strict privacy policies and our data is secure. But then I’m sure you must have thought about the kind of information Google stores or has about you. Didn’t you?

It is possible to know what kind of information Google has about you and then you can limit its access to the same information as well.

Here is an outline of the information Google has about its respective user:

• Your name, gender, and birthdate.
• Your personal contact numbers.
• Recent Google searches.
• The websites you have surfed or visited.
• Where you have been for the past couple of years, location history, etc.
• Your hobby, favorite food, restaurant, place, sports, and other interests.
• Your address.
• Your profession, work, office, etc.
• Your YouTube history.
• The recordings of your voice that you have used to interact with the Assistant.

This must not come as a surprise to you, as these are some of the stuff Google has access to with your permission. However, you can limit its access by denying the permission or switching off location history, or by clicking on ‘Ad Personalization settings’.

Here is how you can see what Google knows about you in a little more detail:

1) Find out your profile created by Google:

Every time you search for something or based on your use, Google collects data about you and creates personal ads for you. The ads you see while watching YouTube videos are tailored to your interests and based on your Ads settings.

The videos you’ve watched and whether or not you’re signed in. You can control the ads you see from your Google Ads settings. These ads will be shown on the basis of the personal data & information you’ve added to your Gmail Account.

When you’re logged in the anonymous signals help decide which ads you might see:

• Types of videos you’ve played
• The types of apps on your Smartphone device
• Websites you visit
• Previous interactions with Google ads
• Your location
• Age
• Gender
• YouTube video interactions (comment, share, like)

It makes your ads experience more useful on Google Search or YouTube and other services like partner sites & apps that show Google ads. You can find out more about Ad personalization by clicking on the given link.

2) Find out Google map or location history:

You can see your most visited places and all the places you’ve been based on your location history. You can limit the location access by switching off the location history from the settings.

Google Map does keep a track of all the places you have visited for a couple of months. As an Android user, you are more likely to share your location with Google every day. You can find out the location history by visiting the below link.

3) Find out your Google activity:

Your activity helps them make more products & services useful for you, for example, rediscover, the things or events you’ve searched for, places your visit, articles you have read, and the videos watched on youtube.

If you erase your browsing history often, It keeps a clean track of your searches and the websites you have visited. You can easily turn on or off your web & app activity, location history, and YouTube history.

You can even delete your daily, or monthly activity using this page. You can find out your entire search history & activity by visiting the link given below.

4) Google Dashboard:

Google will help in keeping your account and using Google services as secure as possible. You can download a copy of your data to save locally or to use with another account.

You can also remove and manage a specific service from your Google account, like Google Play, YouTube, Blogger, Drive, Gmail, Adsense, Analytics, Chrome extensions, bookmarks, etc.

See a summary of the services you use and the data saved in your Account. You can get a monthly privacy report by visiting this link.

5) Find out all third-party apps with account access:

You use your Google Account credential to log in to these websites and apps. You have also given them access to some of your data like name, address, email ID, etc.

It is possible that they can any time access your personal data with or without your permission. To be safe, you can find out who has access to your data by clicking on this link.

6) Export a copy of your data for backup:

The best part is Google allows you to export all your personal data such as Gmail, contacts, photos, videos, shopping history, blog posts, pages, calendar data, browsing history, classroom classes, posts, your Google Fit data, groups, hangout conversation history, and more.

7) Google Analytics Opt-out:

If you don’t want to give access to your data then you can opt-out by clicking on this link. When you exclude non-Google Activity:

• Google won’t save your future browsing data from websites and apps that partner with Google, including those that show ads from Google, with your Google Account.

• Google won’t use your Account activity and information to personalize ads on the websites and apps that partner with Google.

• You’ll still see personalized ads on those websites and apps, but they won’t be based on your Google account activity and information.