How does Google track Me even When I'm not using it?

Many of of us experience being stalked via those ads on the internet. Possibly we can hear from those using a VPN. I try to use the TOR browser as much as possible and rarely use Google. So here is some excellent commentary by the CEO of Duck Duck Go as to the subject and basically price fixing by the airlines according to your personal buying bio metrics that AI has acquired from various other Google platforms. Its interesting to the extreme, crosses over many web pages and well explained.

You may have to enter your Google or Facebook information but its worth it to access the article

Written by:

Gabriel Weinberg , CEO/Founder DuckDuckGo. Co-author Super Thinking, Traction.

How does Google track me even when I'm not using it?

Google can (and does) track your activity across many non-Google websites and apps. That may be surprising, even if you already know that when you use Google products like Google Search, Chrome, and YouTube, they collect a shocking amount of personal information about you.

In addition, all of this data also enables industries like airlines to charge users different prices based upon their personal information (through yet another Google product). Yes, you could be charged more for your next vacation as a result of the data collected about you![/ex]

edit on 24-5-2022 by Waterglass because: forgot link

a reply to: Waterglass

The same way the government has the ability to track you even though you are not using your smartphone......

a reply to: IamSeekerof

Or control and take over the vehicle we drive

This is a must watch. Slightly dated, but still very relevant.

I have a co-worker who often talked about watching geo-political videos on youtube in the last month.

Since last week, I have lots of propostitions for geo-political videos on youtube, and yet, I never requested a video containing that word...

Algorythms, algorythms...

Same way you see add's after talking about an item -

a reply to: Waterglass

Google apps and bluetooth track us in so many different ways we probably can't even keep track of them.

I made the mistake of syncing my office calendar with my personal one on my phone so that I could look at everything in one place. Now, even though I've never pulled up personal YouTube videos while I'm at work, a bunch of related personal video options come up on my work computer if I pull up YouTube.

I'll never forget the thread here on ATS of someone proving that the bluetooth in their car was listening to them while they were having conversations with their spouse in their garage while their phones were nowhere near them. They turned off their other electronics, placed them on the opposite end of the house, and by the time they turned them all back on, they were getting ads popping up that were related to their personal conversations in the garage.

a reply to: Waterglass

I think it goes much deeper, AI is watching all of us through surveillance/traffic cams + satellites.

They have mapped us entirely.

a reply to: Waterglass


I am sorry, this is quite a lengthy post.

I am avoiding an indepth explanation, but I would like to offer a very high-level view.

Even if you block ALL browser cookies (which will render most websites you visit unrenderable to your browser), google has a large number of other tricks to follow your web navigation and history

Many websites, I might even say most, use some sort of service from google.

If you install "NoScript" browser plug in, you will see the websites that use a google server in some way or another.

With google in mind you will often find websites use one or more of the services below. google provides service such as fonts, _javascript, images etc.

gstatic.com
ajax.googleapis.com
youtube.com
googlevideo.com
google.com
google-analytics.com
maps.googleapis.com
fonts.googleapis.com
googlesyndication.com

This is not a complete list, just the more common ones you may come across.

Each of these google services can pick up your IP address, and interrogate your browser's capability - such as browser version-number, the installed plugins, inbuilt webrtc (exposes your IP) etc. A lot more info than this is revealed by your browser.

Google can then build a digital footprint of your browser session. Google (and others) attempts to collate these signature across multiple websites.

At some point you will log into a site, and then they can cross reference you login-identity to your ip and browser-signature, and then they have history you your personal surfing history. Goole has claimed in the past, to statistically identify you in just three browser clicks.

Web browsers have several inbuilt optimisations that are said to provide a 'faster surfing experience'. This means that the browser will pre-visit links in the background, even if you dont actually tell your browser to visit them. If a webpage has a link, your browser can previsit the site in the background, just in case you want to go there.

There are other things that can be leaked directly by your browser. For example see the firefox settings
network.dns.disablePrefetch
network.prefetch-next
There are many other too, things that are automatically in the background to improve your surfing experience.

Many popular free DNS services use the google cloud DNS servers behind-the-scene - they've got you again. You never quite know where you are connecting to for DNS - (do some research DNS interception techniques) - again google cloud comes into the picture. Many public DNS servers provided by internet service providers, they often log you web site DNS lookup, and then pass the request onto the google cloud. An IP/DNS trace tool will not detect this - it is hidden behind the intercepting server. DNS lookup over HTTPS will sometimes help - but is still prone to intercept.

Your browser will also periodically check and update its internal security-certificates - needed to surf secure websites over https etc. Oops, there goes you IP to google again.

To make it more difficult to 'hide' from services such as google, you have to jump through many hoops - even using a country hopping VPN will not fully protect you from google's prying eyes.

There are so many hoops to jump through to reduce you google footprint, even if that is actually possible today. There is no one-off solution.
For the real paranoid, you need to install network monitoring software, and see what information you are leaking to the world, and adjust your browser filters, plugins accordingly.

Do a search for the channel "Rob Braxman Tech" on the odysee video platform. He outlines some technologies, and more importantly, behaviours, that you will need to adopt to reduce your online surfing footprint.


Happy Hiding!

GP

a reply to: GrumpyPants

now thats what i call deep knowledge, I know some people think a VPN is a one stop shop but it is barely scratching the surface, your insightful post failed to mention one other thing


D
O
N
T

use ATS either......ooops to late

originally posted by: XipeTotex
a reply to: Waterglass

I think it goes much deeper, AI is watching all of us through surveillance/traffic cams + satellites.

They have mapped us entirely.

It is more like super natural whats goin on with the net.................

Me and her indoors were out in the garden doing the digging prior to bean planting. We were pretty knackered in no time at all it probably age related, we both talked how in a perfect world a rotovator would be the perfect answer

That evening an advert for a rotovator appeared on the laptop! There were no phones or computers in the garden with us when digging. It gotta be super natural what going on these days

a reply to: Waterglass

I remember back in the day when searching for airline tickets through Expedia, or cheap tickets, that every time I logged back in to price tickets again they alway bumped up in price each time I looked. I quickly stopped using their sh1t tracking websites and book direct.

a reply to: GrumpyPants

That's lame - apparently if I disable all the google crap on this forum , it becomes unusable. No replying, no starring..

All the more reasons to rely as little as possible on the internet for your daily needs.
It's not even limited to google, the whole system is out to track and profile everyone.

The really icky part is, those of us who don't rely on the web for most things end up being flagged as seemingly even more suspicious. It's a double edged sword... but I prefer to be less exposed to it and make it a little harder for them. :p
I, for example, have never heavily relied (or relied at all for that matter, all just optional) on the internet for anything. Even e-mail has been an optional item. No smart phone, and no iGadgets of any kind. I get by perfectly well at work and at home.

That said, still, I'm sure that even for what very, very little I do use on the web (ATS included), they've got a ServoVenford file in there somewhere... and if I ever logged into a google service, I'd be willing to bet the ads would be far too personal for comfort.
There is literally no way out. Even your family member/friend/coworker's devices are on the eavesdrop.

a reply to: Waterglass


Even if you dont have your own phone near you and your not even in your own house things mentioned can and will pop up in your YT/google feed. I have experienced this myself.

Go out for 8 hours, leave all your smart devices at home. By the time you come back you will have passed a thousand microphones and camera's.

Much like how it is depicted here.

Also eye-tracking through phone front camera, AI see everything what you are seeing on screen. Cover your front camera.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise as many use Android phones which are Google/Alphabet entities. The Apps we access our news on, or entertain ourselves daily are largely downloaded from another Google entity as in the Google store. Our televisions are largely Android based and constantly tracking everything. People carry on conversations with the computerized assistants like Alexis which listens to everything and records it. So why anyone wonders is itself a perplexing wonder, perhaps the Eighth Wonder of the World.

originally posted by: Waterglass
a reply to: IamSeekerof

Or control and take over the vehicle we drive

The power of aluminum foil.

And with the world becoming more and more "connected" to the internet of things (IoT), everyone everywhere will have no escape from the prying eyes of Big Tech. As much as I hate to admit it, it is our own fault. There are privacy rights that people willingly give away to save money at the grocery store.

Just today, I was offered yet another in-store credit card and along with that came a "free" $25 gift card as long as I signed up and gave them all my information. Well...let me tell you something. That information is not free.

People are giving up their rights and privacy on a minute-by-minute basis.
Online, social media, using Google services, and your local grocer.

All for the sake of convenience.
It's our own fault.

I don't know, how come my hacker associates can know what I do on my computer although I removed the wifi card, disabled all the network drivers, disabled all network connections in services, deleted all network software and deleted all network registry entries? You tell me.