Why YSK: Because you deserve to have peace of mind. Your privacy can mean your safety. I found out about this today, and in this comment I mentioned it and said I would make something more detailed.

I bet you heard that Google tracks you, as have I. But it’s insanely daunting to see every movement, app and thing you have interacted with on your device for the last 8 years just laid out in front of you neatly. When you add your google account on your phone(or any device), it tracks this, with a timestamp, including:

-any app you used(including Contacts, Calendar, Phone, and when you pressed your home screen button-it is regarded as Samsung UI Home etc.)

-apps you viewed on google play

-map area on maps(you don’t even have to search a specific place in order for it to get logged)

-if you called a place from maps(if you press the call button from maps to call a place and make a reservation, for example)

-images you saw and searched for on your browser

-location, video and voice notes and more

It is mentioned that if you log in on another device, it can keep track of this on that device as well.

#What can you do?

The first thing you can do is turn it off. Log on your google account, press the icon on the top right, then press on “Manage your Google Account”. On the left side you will see a panel, choose “Data and privacy”, and scroll on the center of the screen to see History settings, and press on My activity. You can choose to turn it off if you want. Make sure to stroll around to manage your advertisement settings, location settings, subscriptions and so on.

I also recommend switch to Proton Mail if you can.

#How I found out?

Recently, as you probably know, Youtube decided to be foolish(yes, more than usual) and force its users to either consume ads or buy Premium, blocking you after three viewed videos if you use any form of ad block. I said ew, no. Let’s use yt clients that don’t scrape your data and allow you to have privacy and no ads, it’s about time I jump ship.

I didn’t want to have to manage every subscription and videos in playlists manually(it would take days). I wanted something for my desktop, and I stumbled upon FreeTube. They have a guide that tells you how to export subscriptions and videos, the whole thing.

Following the instructions, I inevitably stumbled upon my managed data. It’s a weird feeling seeing all that was. I vaguely remember how I felt in those years, but I never thought I would see what I was doing or what app I was using then. Inevitably we forget some trivial things in our lives, but this is what gets to be remembered, and this is the proof that we existed. It’s strange.

Ending note: I assume most people here probably already know this, but I just wanted to pass this along for awareness purposes. I knew that I wanted to have random stats at the end of my life to like, review and read, but not like this.

  • iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    563·
    1 year ago

    Turning off your history in Google is about as useful as using the incognito mode in Chrome. It just hides it from you, but you can be sure Google is keeping their own copy. Don’t use Chrome, gmail, Google docs… Use custom ungoogled roms (GrapheneOS, LineageOS). Switch to Linux, use privacy friendly dns, or even your own… The path to privacy is a long and arduous constant fight, full of inconveniences.

    • pickles@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      151·
      1 year ago

      The path to privacy is a long and arduous constant fight, full of inconveniences.

      You got that right! Especially when rooting your phone is the best option. I never did figure it out, that shit is hard!

      • iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.worldEnglish
        71·
        1 year ago

        I don’t root my phone these days anymore. It makes a whole host of other issues with banking applications and the like, plus a nasty app might take advantage of the elevation as well. Either a full rom, or going the path of adb disabling system apps. Not pretty. Using GrapheneOS these days.

      • iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.worldEnglish
        51·
        1 year ago

        I don’t root my phone these days anymore. It makes a whole host of other issues with banking applications and the like, plus a nasty app might take advantage of the elevation as well. Either a full rom, or going the path of adb disabling system apps. Not pretty. Using GrapheneOS these days.

        • pickles@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          4·
          1 year ago

          Good point! Yeah I couldn’t even unlock my bootloader on my Oneplus 😭 so i disable what apps I can these days

        • pickles@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          I couldn’t unlock my bootloader on my oneplus 9 pro. I also tend to need DETAILED instructions for things, so there is a chance I missed a step and didn’t realize it. I also didn’t know that there’s a difference between rooting and running a different OS…I thought they were the same thing.

          • XpeeN@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I also didn’t know that there’s a difference between rooting and running a different OS…I thought they were the same thing.

            Root gives you and allowed programs special access and “abilities”, but it doesn’t change the whole OS. Why you even need root though? Tbh I was just lazy figuring out how to install microg so I root to do so. And enjoying sold QOL and a different webview in the process.

            Usually the bootloader is unlocked via adb, but some phones, like ones from xiaomi, needs another step or two. I bet there are details videos on YouTube.

            • pickles@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
              1·
              1 year ago

              I was trying to degoogle and permanently remove the google shit, and at the time this model had just come out and there wasn’t much about it. I may try again on this phone when it starts to go.

    • dekatron@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
      7·
      1 year ago

      I turned off my activity history, and I’ve noticed a needlessly degraded experience on some Google apps, like in Maps where it no longer labels your home location as “Home”, but it’s a saved location anyway.

    • Altomes@lemm.eeEnglish
      61·
      1 year ago

      Dumb question but what are your thoughts on just using iOS

      • overload@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        20·
        1 year ago

        It’s closed source, so how can you really know what Apple are or are not doing? I don’t know if publicly available external audits are done on Apples software, but I doubt it.

  • tallwookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5711·
    1 year ago

    eh, i realized a long time ago than the only privacy that exists is between your ears.

    • magmaus3@szmer.infoEnglish
      331·
      1 year ago

      it’s possible to have privacy with technology, you need to use alternatives

      • ShustOne@lemmy.oneEnglish
        311·
        1 year ago

        Yeah it’s just hard sometimes. I try to strike a good balance between privacy and not making my life waaaay harder.

        • smitten@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          4·
          1 year ago

          people who care about privacy are trying hard to make it easier. Hopefully in the future privacy will be the easiest option

    • BrikoX@vlemmy.netEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      Not really, it’s possible to reach it online, but it comes with compromises to user experience. That’s not something most people will ever want, but everyone can easily minimize the data being collected about them without harming user experience.

      • Bazoogle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Yeah. The best case scenario I can think for this is location data for Google maps. For all the users sharing their location with Google maps, Google can generate eerily accurate ETAs. And you as the end user greatly benefit from that. You can see if a place is busier than usual. You can see where accidents have occurred or where construction is happening.

        Sure, we could aim for an open source alternative that does collect this data but strictly uses it for the increased accuracy of the maps, but getting enough users for it to be as accurate as google would be near impossible. Not to mention the people coding google maps are some of the best developers in the world. You’re just not going to get nearly as good of an app. Maybe you could get one that’s less accurate, not as smooth, and doesn’t collect your data. How many people would make that trade? It just makes an average person’s life realistically easier, and that’s what people want from technology.

          • Bazoogle@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            1 year ago

            Going bases off those numbers alone, Google maps reportedly has 10 billion downloads. So OsmAnd has 0.1% the users google maps does (extremely rough estimates).

            • BrikoX@vlemmy.netEnglish
              2·
              1 year ago

              All Google apps download numbers are useless as they count every single Android phone ever sold. Never compare them.

            • RaoulDook@lemmy.worldEnglish
              0·
              1 year ago

              OsmAnd is great, that just means those are the 0.1% of users who are smart.

              It’s great for road trips because you can pre-download any maps you want, and do full GPS navigation without any cell phone or Internet service at all.

              So you get all that without the tracking and selling of your data, for free

              • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.oneEnglish
                2·
                1 year ago

                Osmand user checking in 👋

                Also great for planning routes, and as a bike computer with built in trip recorder and OSD. Really detailed layers make it super useful for navigating inside malls and transport hubs too!

                There are occasionally times that I may want to use Gmaps for some preliminary travel research though, and for that a private mobile tab works just fine.

              • Bazoogle@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                I mean, Google also has the download maps feature. You can download a specific trip or an entire area. Obviously with trackers, but it doesn’t have a leg up on gmaps

    • koper@feddit.nlEnglish
      18·
      1 year ago

      The biggest privacy problems are Google location services, G play services and G analytics in other apps. This approach doesn’t fix that. To really degoogle you have to use a different phone OS, like E or Lineage/microg.

    • iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      While this helps… If you have any Google software, it tends to call home anyway by using hardcoded IPs into their apps. Samsung does likewise. The solution being, not only a DNS server, but also a serious firewall in the router. And, even better, a ROM you can trust, such as LineageOS.

  • Vendul@feddit.deEnglish
    243·
    1 year ago

    Do you really think Google will stop storing those juicy records of you if you click a switch?

      • polymer@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Shit, sorry! We didn’t know that these internal stores — which you cannot see — were still retaining your information after the removal request.

        Jokes aside, all collected information is likely compiled as an aggregate (which ostensibly removes the personal aspect) that’ll have more uses for than just targeted advertisements, and not just on the data sources themselves. Pattern matching/guesswork for “filling in the blanks” with users they’ve less information on is one possible use case I could think of.

        People like you and me can often be predictably unpredictable . . . I think it’s now (more than ever, what with all the quantity of data and extent of technology) the case of what they effectively know, instead of them explicitly having that information.

        • Bazoogle@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          1 year ago

          Realistically, google has no reason not to comply with a removal request. They get so much data, the people that decide to remove theirs is just a drop in a bucket. It’s easier for them to simply automate the deletion process anyway. Not to say they’ll stop tracking you, your name just won’t be tied to it

    • Atemu@lemmy.mlEnglish
      9·
      1 year ago

      I’d trust them to stop storing it but I don’t trust them to stop processing it.

      Ingest -> Train various AI models -> /dev/null rather than Ingest -> Train various AI models -> store for future training

  • slush@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    18·
    1 year ago

    My moment of realization was when gdpr was introduced and I pulled all data Facebook had on me. Found call logs, every picture I had, sms conversations etc from my Sony Ericsson phone and all of my android phones. They scraped everything of every phone I ever owned and used Facebook on. Some sms conversations were from when I was 10 years old. Very strange feeling and that made me delete Facebook and over time move away from big tech in general.

  • mawkishdave@lemmy.worldEnglish
    71·
    1 year ago

    I downloaded duckduckgo which blocks all the app tracking and it did shock me just how much data was being collected.

  • drascus@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    Yes and I will add to this… Just degoogle your phone and slowly stop using Google services. Even this is not a perfect solution but its better than doing nothing.

  • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    1 year ago

    I am a gmail user so I’m not in a position to preach, but I am glad that I’m not using an entire phone made by an ad company.

      • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        1 year ago

        It’s obvious from this that you consider Apple an ad company, and if you think that then I know already I won’t be able to convince you with reason. Apple Search Ads does exist, and monetizes promotion of apps. I suppose this makes them “an ad company?” Suffice to say I disagree. Google makes phones too but I’d hardly call them “a phone company.” Apple’s business is in selling hardware/software devices. And while their privacy record isn’t perfect, they’ve figured out that they have more to gain than lose by restricting tracking and foregrounding user privacy. If you don’t think Apple are strict about this, then I guess you haven’t bought any ads in the last 2 years. I have. I develop apps for Android and iOS and iOS has definitely gotten tighter since 14.5. You can get away with much more tracking, as an advertiser, on Android.

        • AlbyEvent@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          If you don’t want to change anything major in your phone or go into the technical stuff, iPhone is better, but the best phone privacy-wise is a Pixel with custom (privacy oriented) ROM installed, since Pixels have the best security features among Android.

          • Djeikup@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            So, the solution to not give Google your precious privacy data through their software is to give Google your precious money to buy their hardware?

              • Djeikup@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                I get that. But it’s like sticking it to Google by not using their operating system… While handing them money for a phone.

                I get that it’s an option, and maybe the best. But at the same time it feels like a shitty deal.

          • deezbutts@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I’m curious what makes pixels inherently better at privacy than other Android phones once you replace the ROM?

            • elderflower@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              1 year ago

              GrapheneOS has strict sandboxing for all apps. App A cannot talk to App B unless given explicit user permission. Google Play services is not installed by default, and if you do install it, it’s subject to the same sandbox. This basically addresses all userspace tracking concerns, unless you actively choose to weaken those defaults.

            • elderflower@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              1 year ago

              GrapheneOS has strict sandboxing for all apps. App A cannot talk to App B unless given explicit user permission. Google Play services is not installed by default, and if you do install it, it’s subject to the same sandbox. This basically addresses rid of all userspace tracking concerns, unless you actively choose to weaken those defaults.

              (There are still concerns associated with the closed source firmware of the baseband modem)

  • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    How cN I get a copy to see ally data? While it certainly is creepy, I want to just see everything I have forgotten. So many things I’ve looked up and can’t remember when I went to find it again I couldn’t remember but I couldn’t just ask my computer. I consigned myself to knowing they were probably doing this when I bought a Pixel 2 so long ago.