SOUTH BEND, IN — Andy is a student at the University of Notre Dame. We know where he comes from. We know some things about his hobbies and interests.
We also know that he is dating.
Andy did not reveal this information. We learned everything from Google.
“They knew that I was in a relationship, that I was in college, that my family’s income was high. All of that was surprising to me,” Andy Lasky said.
Google can learn more about Andy with all the information tracked from his phone.
Five minutes after meeting Lasky and sharing what he learned about him, he said what Google knows about him is shocking.
“You would never expect a cell phone to know so much about you. It was all there,” Lasky said.
Apps, phones, and devices make it easy to manage your daily routine and ever-growing to-do list.
We use it to shop, make payments, and access emails and messages. Maps, Waze, and other navigation apps can help you find your way.
Search engines help you find sources, links, or information.
Why is your information and activity tracked?
22 Those surveyed learned about almost everything you do on your device, and the sites you visit also help the companies that create those apps and sites learn more about you. Masu.
But the reason Facebook, Google, and many other platforms offer these products is so users can spend time with them and see ads.” said Kevin Hartman, associate professor of marketing. “We can charge advertisers for the profits of displaying their ads.”
Google makes most of its revenue from advertising.
Google reportedly earned more than $300 million last year, according to federal SEC filings. Advertising revenue accounted for 75% of this.
Google user: “Everything was there.”
These targeted ads helped us learn more about Jian Johnson.
Johnson is a student and her Google 22 Investigates data profile led her to learn about one of the classes she is taking this semester.
Ji-an likes to go shopping when she’s not studying. She has seen many advertisements for Shein and other clothing retailers.
Clothes and shopping were her main interests in her profile.
After recently searching for hotels in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, she noticed an increase in advertisements for hotels and resorts.
Zhian said she often uses Google to search. She watches YouTube on her Android device. These are all Google products.
“Google knows a lot, and I think that’s a given,” Johnson said.
“It honestly seems a little creepy how much they know about me, how much they can infer about my demographic information,” said Toby Lee, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at American University. the doctor said. Notre Dame Cathedral.
Lee said the wealth of information collected about you is further detailed based on other sites you visit when using your account.
“When you visit a third-party website, you may see an option to log in with Google or log in with Facebook. This is one of the ways the third party collects your information,” Li said. says. It’s a different platform. ”
“It’s really important for consumers to be mindful of the fact that these data are being created,” Hartman said. “Your digital devices are creating a digital trail of everything you do.”
22 Investigation revealed that it was completely legal.
Get access to a wide range of Google products, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Waze, and many other apps and services for free.
The personal information in your data profile that Google marks as “not for sale” is essentially a trade-off for being able to take advantage of the company’s “free” services.
Google’s privacy and personal information statement can be found here.
“These companies are for-profit multinational corporations,” Hartman said. “They’re not necessarily doing this out of good intentions.”
“Is that tradeoff worth sacrificing privacy? I think that’s something each user has to answer for themselves,” Lee said.
How to limit apps and companies from tracking you
It can see your personal information such as contacts, location, photos, messages, etc. and gives apps and companies access to it.
iPhone users can see which apps are tracking your activity across other apps and websites, and opt out of apps tracking you. Go to Settings <>>Privacy & Security<>>Tracking.
You can also see which apps have access to your contacts, calendar, photos, camera, and wallet.
On your Android device,[設定]<>>[プライバシー<>>権限マネージャー]Move to.
You can also see and download data profiles from apps and websites like Facebook in your privacy and security settings.
Click here to see your Google data and advertising profile.
Use this link to change settings to automatically delete your search history, disable app and web activity, and customize what Google can and cannot do with your interactions.
These changes may affect how some apps and sites work.
“So they don’t take it the way you want it to and they don’t necessarily care about you as a person,” Hartman said. “They care about millions of people, and you can say there are millions of people all over the place. On an individual level, that’s not what those platforms are interested in.”
Whether you believe your data is important or not, it’s important to know that it’s out there and that you can control what you share.
Lasky is already considering changes. “More, more privacy,” he said.
