Is Google Tracking You Everywhere on the Web? If you ask this question to most users in the form of a public survey, it is likely that most users will outline how they feel. Over the past few years, constant and persistent pressure from privacy advocates, communities and regulators has prompted tech companies to cover their tracks with more urgency, while increasing marketing efforts to claim that they Are serious about protecting the privacy of users. Mainstream services like Facebook and Google have faced intense scrutiny for Collecting a wide range of user data, analyze and classify them in order to present them as a items for advertisers, and even allow third parties, contracted humans Listen to recorded audio excerpts – Conversations where users may not have even realized they were being recorded.
Recently, Google, one of the most vocally charged companies in terms of user privacy, has attempted to let users know they care. It has offered a more accessible controls for users With the company turning off Location and Internet History, it offered a toggle to virtually anonymize your data for Android users and prevent companies from accessing it, promising to eliminate third-party cookie tracking. did, and even introduced steps such as Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). ) however, the latter has received considerable backlash, with privacy communities calling on Google to power user tracking even further, and to monopolize the market while at it. With all this and with biggest anti-competitive investigation Pending for Google, it has now published a sort of FAQ sheet it claims are the “most asked” privacy questions – and their answers. Here’s what they want users to know.
*editor’s NoteAll questions and answers below were published in a Google blog post, and represent Google’s view of privacy concerns. News18 neither confirms nor denies the answers given below by Google, and users should use their own discretion. To read our detailed coverage on data privacy and related concerns, Click here.
Read also: explained | Google Privacy, Ads and Their Claims of Not Tracking You Online
Is the Google Assistant recording everything I say?
No. It’s not like that. Google Assistant is designed to wait in standby mode until it’s activated, such as when you say, “Hey Google” or “Ok Google.” In standby mode, it processes short snippets (a few seconds) of audio to detect an activation (such as “Ok Google”). If no activation is detected, those audio snippets will not be sent or saved to Google. When an activation is detected, the Assistant exits standby mode to handle your request. The status indicator on your device tells you when the Assistant is activated. And when it’s in standby mode, the Assistant won’t send what you’re saying to Google or anyone else. To help keep you in control, we’re constantly working to improve the Assistant to reduce unexpected activity.
To better tailor the Google Assistant to your environment, you can now adjust how your Assistant activation phrase occurs (like ‘Hey Google’) through the Google Home app for smart speakers and smart displays. How sensitive is it? We also provide controls for turning off the camera and mic, and we’ll provide a clear visual indicator of when they are active (like the flashing dots on the top of your device).
Using just your voice, it’s easy to delete your Google Assistant activity. Just say something like, “Ok Google, delete this week’s activity” or “Ok Google, delete my previous conversation,” and Google Assistant will remove your Assistant activity. It will appear on your My Activity page, and you can also use this page to review and delete activity from all Google products you use. And if you have people visiting you, you can also activate “Guest Mode” on Google Assistant — just say, “Hey Google, turn on Guest Mode,” and your Google Assistant conversations won’t be saved to your account.
How does Google decide which ads it shows me? How can I control it?
The ads you see can be based on many things, such as your previous searches, the sites you visit, the ads clicked, and more. For example, you might see that you’re seeing camera ads because you searched for cameras, visited photography websites, or clicked on ads for cameras in the past. ‘Why this ad?’ The feature helps you understand why you are viewing a given ad.
Data helps us personalize ads so that they’re more useful to you, but we’ll never use the content of your email or documents, or sensitive information such as health, race, religion or sexual orientation, to design ads for you. do not. It’s also easy to personalize the types of ads that are shown to you, or disable ad personalization altogether. Go to your ad settings page.
Are you creating a profile of my personal information across all of your products to target ads?
We do not sell your personal information – not to advertisers, not to anyone. And we do not use information in apps where you store personal content primarily – such as Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Photos – for advertising purposes. We use the information to improve our products and services for you and everyone. And we use anonymous, aggregated data to do so.
A small subset of information may be used to show you relevant ads (for things you really want to hear about), but only with your consent. You can turn off these settings at any time. It’s also important to note that you can use most Google products without logging in, completely anonymously — you can search in incognito mode, or clear your search history; You can watch YouTube videos and use the map. However, when you share your data with us, we can create a better experience with our products based on the information shared with us.
Are you reading my emails to sell ads?
We do not scan or read your Gmail messages to show you ads. In fact, we have several products like Gmail, Drive, and Photos that are designed to store your personal content, and this content is never used to show ads. When you use your personal Google Account and open the Promotions or Social tabs in Gmail, you’ll see ads that were chosen as the most useful and relevant to you. The process of selecting and showing personalized ads in Gmail is fully automated.
The ads you see in Gmail are based on data associated with your Google Account, such as your activity in other Google services like YouTube or Search, which can affect the types of ads you see in Gmail. To remember which ads you rejected, avoid showing you the same ads, and show you ads you might like better, we save your past ad interactions, such as which ads you clicked or rejected. Google doesn’t use keywords or messages in your inbox to show you ads – no one reads your email to show you ads. Plus, if you have a work or school account, you’ll never be shown ads in Gmail. You can adjust your ad settings at any time. Learn more about Gmail ads.
Why do you need location information on the map?
If you want to get from A to B, it’s quicker to tell us where you are from your phone than to find out your address or location. Location information helps in many other ways too, like helping us figure out how busy the traffic is. If you choose to enable location sharing, your phone will send anonymous pieces of information back to Google. It is combined with anonymous data of people around you to identify traffic patterns.
This only happens to people who turn on Location History. It is off by default. If you turn it on but then change your mind, you can visit your data in Maps — a single place for people to manage their Google Account location settings.
What information does Google know about me? How do I control it?
You can view a summary of the Google services you use and the data saved in your account from your Google Dashboard. There are also powerful privacy controls like Activity Controls and Ads Settings, which allow you to turn the collection and use of data on or off to decide how all of Google can work better for you.
We’ve made it easy for you to make decisions about your data directly within the Google services you use every day. For example, without ever leaving Search, you can review and delete your recent search activity, get quick access to relevant privacy controls from your Google Account, and learn more about How search works with your data. You can quickly access these controls in Search, Maps, and Assistant.
Privacy features and controls have always been incorporated into our Services, and we are constantly working to make it even easier to control and manage your privacy and security. But we know that the web is an ever-evolving place, where unfortunately new threats and bad actors will emerge. There will always be more work to do, and our focus will be on protecting the people who use our products and services every day. To learn more about how we keep you and your information private, safe and secure, visit the Google Safety Center.
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