Sphinn - Google Owns My Identity: 16 Things They Know About Me

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Google Owns My Identity: 16 Things They Know About Me

Went Hot: August 30, 2007 - 2:10 am
Posted By: DoshDosh 408 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.marcandangel.com)
Category: Google Other

Sure, I like to know that my personal data is secure… But have you ever actually compiled a detailed list of your personal information that Google does know? I just did, and it’s slightly startling!

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from vanessafox 408 days ago #

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Interesting angle. I bet there's even more that they could derive. For instance, based on your search history, they probably know if you're looking to buy a new car or are planning a trip.

But to be fair to Google, they aren't the only ones to know these things. Anyone who extensively uses Yahoo services, for instance, is probably giving up all of this information and more as well.

Also, it's likely that no entity within Google has access to all of this information. And particularly, one assumes the financial data is protected, so although Google as a company may have all of this data, it's unlikely that there's any one person or team within Google who could aggregate it all and use it. We have, however, seen portions of this data be used together and will continue to see it used more over time -- notably with personalized search.

from jellymeli 408 days ago #

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Google knows what color your underwear are. Honestly tho. Especially if you have a Google account that you are logged into during search. Just like vanessa mentioned, they know if you're planning a trip, looking to sell your dog, dieting, looking up porn. Google knows all. It's all logged. We're all just another statistic to build Googles all mighty algorithm.

Isn't it neat?

But this doesn't just happen online. I mean when you go to Vegas and have player cards, they track you around that city. Credit card companies know way too much about you and your family. It's all in databases.

Just tattoo my SSN on my neck, chip me, and get it over with.

from KnightCrawler 408 days ago #

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And when they give you your Google phone (equipped with the obligatory gps) they will know where you are, what local advertisers to solicit you with, who you call, how long you talk and likely, what you said. This has not been announced or discussed before, but think about it...think how specifically they would be able to target you with advertisements if their voice recognition tools could listen for keywords and evaluate what you said. And what's to keep them from logging your phone calls like they log your Google Talk conversations ?

If we all follow the Google Pied Piper down this road, consider ourselves chipped.

from qwerty 408 days ago #

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How about if they used the phone to listen to your accent and make determinations about you based on where you're apparently from? No matter where I go, I'll get a little alert every time I'm within a block of a bagel shop.

from lucia 407 days ago #

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I did this when organizing my new "about me" page. In my case, it's pretty hilarious because something like the first billion results for "lucia liljegren" refer to me.

from betweenstations 407 days ago #

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Keep in mind that your primary credit card company, if you have one, also knows a lot about you. The behavioral data that can be derived by either the issuer of your CC, or your bank in general, is nuts.