After the indignant response against Facebook sharing users’ data with political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, further information about which can be found here, I decided to see how and to what extent other tech giants kept data on their users.
I focused one of the largest companies, Google. Using a tool called Google Takeout, I downloaded the data associated with my Google account as a zip folder. Upon opening the folder, I was surprised to see how much information was kept within. Google held data on my bookmarks, YouTube watch history, search history, and much more. More interestingly, in a folder labeled “My Activity,” Google had information on every command I’ve ever directed at my Google Assistant and a record of every Google Ad I’ve viewed.
It was shocking to see not only the extent of the documentation Google kept, but more so to see that there was stored information about me that I myself had forgotten. I could not tell you that on March 16th I was thinking about and looking up the goings-on in the MOMA, but Google certainly could.
Yes, it is true that I have always known I was being tracked. What I didn’t know was the extent of it. Now that I do, can I say that I am indignant? That I will protest and make a statement against Google’s practices? Probably not.
Personally, I don’t take issue with tech companies storing information about my activities. I don’t feel like I have much to hide. For me, the problem is not that the companies have my data, it’s what they choose to do with it.
See, if Google stores my data and shares it with advertisers who influence what I wear and buy, it’s not very concerning to me. I’m already inundated with media — commercials, billboards, and the like — that breed within me illusionary wants and desires. But if Facebook stores my data and sells it to Cambridge Analytica, a company that used the data to put Trump into office, that’s when I feel downright violated.
The story, then, is not about the storage of users’ data. It is about the usage of it. Clearly, improper distribution of personal information can have real-world consequences. The man sitting in the oval office is merely one example.
