Here’s what Google knows about you—and how to change it

We all wonder what others think of us. Are our jokes funny? Are we engaging conversationalists or dreadfully boring? The truth is, we may never truly know. However, we can discover exactly what Google's algorithms infer about us – no awkward conversations required.

Google tracks browsing habits to build a user profile, used for targeted advertising across its services (Search, YouTube, Maps, etc.). While this personalization offers benefits (relevant ads, fewer irrelevant ones), it also raises privacy concerns. The good news is managing this data is surprisingly simple.

Balancing Convenience and Privacy

Personalized ads filter out irrelevant content. If you're not interested in parenting, you won't see stroller ads. However, this personalization also fuels targeted advertising, aiming to keep you engaged and consuming. The more you engage, the more revenue Google and advertisers generate.

[Related: How to safeguard your smartphone's privacy]

If you value convenience but also want more control over your privacy, you can easily adjust Google's data collection.

Reviewing and Managing Your Google Profile

Access your Google account (from any Google service) by clicking your profile picture (usually top right). Select "Manage your Google account," then "Data & Privacy." Under "Ad Settings," choose "Ad personalization."

The "ad personalization" toggle will likely be enabled. Before disabling it entirely, review the categories Google uses to define your profile. These include age, gender, and language. You can update or manage these categories; for languages, you can add or remove languages, or prevent automatic additions based on your activity. Your age, once entered, cannot be removed, but you can add supplementary information.

[Related: Securing your online privacy when governments fall short]

Next, you'll see inferred interests (news, sports, movies, hobbies). Google's estimations aren't always accurate – they might be amusingly off the mark. You can leave these as they are, disable individual interests ("Turn off"), or disable ad personalization entirely to switch off all data collection for targeted ads.

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