Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The Internet’s Silent Data Hoarders

As unsettling it may seem, there is always someone or something watching over every little detail of your online routine and profile. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, are capable of recollecting data from every single activity and information you upload in their platform, regardless of whether you deleted them. These social media sites store this information in their data archives to distribute them to advertisers or other clients, which they then can control and utilize freely. Moreover, social media apps can access other forms of information which is stored on the device its being accessed from. For example, Twitter and Facebook can access your internet searches which then is processed by an algorithm to provide content that will cater to your preferences, without the user even realizing or even utilizing the application. Nevertheless, this does not compare to the amount of user information Google can store. By utilizing Google Takeout, you can request Google to send you a copy of the files, information and data they have gathered from you. Some of the data you can find archived include: The various locations you have visited and when, what applications you have utilized and for how long, all the pictures you have uploaded and deleted and anything regarding internet navigation. All this is possible from the moment we give access to these platforms to verify our system storage, cookies and cache. Considering the vast amount of data these online sites can store in their database, one must always be wary of the content they share and the different permissions these services ask from you. If not careful, your information could land on the wrong hands.

Google’s Data Tracking

As we learned through the previous articles, Google possesses a system that is utilized to track various amount of data and information from. However, you can chose to delete or view all the data Google has collected from by accessing the MyActivity feature. Below I will provide a few examples of the type of information Google holds unto:

  • Search Engines information
  • Visited websites and blog pages
  • Downloaded content
  • Applications you have accessed and their individual activities

Additionally, Google creates a personalized Ad Profile that helps various companies provide you with different forms of advertising and promotions by acquiring the list of factors Google creates for your profile based on your personal information and online activity. Some of these may factors may include:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Application Usage
  • Multimedia content and preference
  • Shared content
  • Downloaded content
  • Search results
  • Internet browsing

Disconnect: Blocking Privacy Breaches

Disconnect is a browser extension that allows the user to know what internet sources are trying to access your information and content in each individual website you visit. Moreover, the extension allows you to block these sources so they no longer obtain information from you. To test this out, I decided to utilize the Disconnect extension on two of my most frequently visited websites: Twitter and Gmail. Upon enabling the extension I learned the following:

  • Twitter:
    • Once I decided to turn on the feature while browsing Twitter, it did no notify me of any potential site that could be tracking my information
  • Gmail:
    • On the other hand, upon opening Gmail I noticed a wide array of sites that tried to track my information such as: gstatic.com, ampproject.org. However, I noticed that the majority of the listed websites where in some form affiliated to Google and its various platforms and applications. For instance, Google Hangouts, Google Play Store and various Google Ad Clients.