Entering a word or small sentence into the Google search bar is something that almost everyone does on a daily basis. It may seem as innocent words that may reveal your thoughts a little, but when combining all of your search records, the true you is exposed.
Using the privacy of their keyboard, people confess their weirdest thoughts (Stephens-Davidowitz. 2017). After the search for ‘is it normal to want to’ the word ‘kill’ follows most often, and when adding the word kill, the search engine suggests ‘my family?’ Stephen-Davidowitz shows the sinister side of human beings.
Apparently, reality differs from how people like to present themselves. In questionnaires, although they are often anonymous, people still feel the urge to present themselves in a better way, especially with sensitive topics. On Google however, people generally feel safe to enter any question that pops into their mind. If you’re into racist jokes, you ask Google to provide them for you. You may be in denial about a depression, but your search words ‘crying for no reason’ and ‘how to fall asleep easier’ may suggest differently.
But Google is not limited to the words you enter into their search engine – it can also combine data with your location. In 2015, Google actually helped people to view their activity by creating a hub called ‘My account’, where you can view the information that Google is collecting and to change your settings. If you click on ‘My activity’, you can see almost everything you do that is related to your Google account (Cadie Thompson, 2016).
Although it is quite a scary phenomenon that Google has all this information about you, it also improves your experience with Google. After reading this, would you think twice when entering your question into the Google search engine? Are you going to change your privacy settings, or do you enjoy the benefits you have when Google tracks your search history?
Sources
Stephens-Davidowitz, S. (2017) Everybody Lies, Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are. Harper Collins, pg. 338.
Thompson, C. (2016) Business Insider. How to see everything Google knows about you. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-see-everything-google-knows-about-you-2016-6?international=true&r=US&IR=T
Hi Nina, interesting topic! Imagine all the confessions if Google would reveal this data. Personally, I did not know that you have insights in your Google account and I think many people can relate. I think because Google is so handy and very informative about anything, I will not think twice when entering my question in Google Search. On the other hand, I would not say Google knows the genuine ‘me’ rather than the way my friends know me. Some people Google things just because they want to know more about something, not especially because it is part of who they are.
Furthermore, I was curious how Google MyAccount works. This link explains what kind of insights Google has in our life and how to switch it off: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/how-see-everything-google-knows-11008397
I think your post is mostly about the transition that’s currently going on with our digital trail. Many people know that their digital trail is saved somewhere, but what’s new is that companies like Google and Facebook are nowadays openly showing their collected data that they have gathered on people over years, with options like the one you just showed us. Another example is this link: https://www.google.com/maps/timeline here you can find all the locations where you ever used any of Google’s serviced (while being logged in).
What I find interesting is that all of these options are still somewhat hidden under different options which you need to click trough. People who dig into their settings are usually the same people who were already informed about the data stored on them. I’m curious to see what will happen when people get confronted with their digital trail who aren’t aware of it yet.