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Blog2 minutes read
November 3, 2023
Is Google Spying On Me?
No.
Thank you for reading this article.
Wait! What about…
Oh you wanted a bit more of an explanation? Allow me to elaborate.
It isn’t spying when you use their products - which openly and freely tell you that they’re going to use your information.
That’s like walking into someone else’s open house, signing their guest book, eating the canapes they left out for potential clients, testing out the bathroom, grabbing one of the estate agent coffee mugs… all the while telling them that they aren’t allowed to look at you, talk to you, or read what you wrote in the guest book.
You’re on their property - nobody forced you to be there. They aren’t making you eat their snacks, and they aren’t twisting your arm and forcing you to take their free stuff. If you don’t want to be looked at or talked to… leave.
In the case of Google: You are using their services, under their terms and conditions. For things like Gmail, you agreed to certain standards when you signed up for an account. For Google Home, you literally bought and/or installed a device that is designed to listen for your commands.
In every case, you’re either on their turf or you installed them in your home. It isn’t spying if you opted in.
I Still Think Its Spying
Okay, then cut them out of your life! You clearly don’t agree with the terms of use. You clearly don’t agree with the way they pay for their free services like search, E-mail, basic storage, document editing and hosting, and all that. So stop using those services.
If you want a different search engine, how about DuckDuckGo? What about Bing?
If you want a different web browser, how about FireFox? Or Edge? Opera? Or even Tor?
If you want a different E-mail account provider, maybe try ProtonMail? Or Outlook?
It’s not like there aren’t a ton of alternatives you could try… assuming you agree with their privacy policies, of course. Read that fine print carefully.
Think those other services suck when compared to Google? You may be right. The simple truth is, that people want to use Google’s services because they’re highly refined, and they’re free.
But the only reason they’re free is because they sell your personal information in the form of advertising. Did you really think that Google did all this out of the goodness of their own heart? The days of ‘Do No Evil’ are long dead. It’s time to wake up.
Here’s the harsh truth: Nothing is free. Google is a corporate giant, and if you use their services then you’re the product.
You can either accept that and continue to use their services, or you can get Google out of your life and stop using their services completely.
Or continue to use your Android phone with built-in Gmail and automatic Google search. Then surf on over to Google-owned YouTube, watch a video on how to do spreadsheet formulas in Google Docs. As you’re walking around town, check where you are on Google Maps and ask Alexa if there are any good bars nearby.
Because after you realize just how many Google-owned products you use on a regular basis, you might just need a stiff drink before you cut them all out of your life.
But before you head off to ponder that life choice, riddle me this: Did you get here by typing ‘Is Google Spying On Me’ into Google itself? If so, you may want to reconsider your instincts - you just informed the ‘spy’ that you’re checking up on them. That might not be a wise choice.
Will RWill is a former Silicon Valley sysadmin and award-winning non-functional tester. After 20+ years in tech, he decided to share his experience with the world as a writer. His recent work involves documenting government hacking methods while probing the current state of privacy and security on the Internet.
