Our Google history is extensive; why not use Google itself to show us just how extensive our Google history is?
By now most of us have heard the big internet players record nearly everything we do. The business case for this is to match advertisers to us, and we’re assured of (some) anonymity. But you think it’s just your browser history? Think again, bit breath!
If you have an account with Google (for Gmail, YouTube, Android Play Store, etc.) you can get some idea of just what they collect if you dig into your account settings: https://myaccount.google.com/
It can be a bit overwhelming to realize what all they “remember,” and for how many other services (and for ALL your devices!). Bet you forgot you looked up gout symptoms two years ago on your old laptop. Or that you mis-typed a search term in YouTube that brought up some embarrassing videos.
It puts that “free” email into some perspective. Still–if you’re willing to spend a little time occasionally–you can prune your Google history yourself. They even provide some security and privacy checks so you’re more informed of your digital footprint with them.
Forewarned is forearmed, so do some digital Spring cleaning soon!