Delete G
gle

If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place - Eric Schmidt, former CEO.

Sorry Eric, that's hypocritical nonsense.

Your privacy is for sale

Google makes billions of dollars every year

The company does this by processing your private data and selling the ability to show you relevant ads.

The company's core business model revolves around tracking you and billions of others while you use their services.

Google tracks you even if you don't use their products!

Google does not need to do this. It is possible to be profitable without sacrificing user privacy.

How did we get here?

Google started life as a search engine research project at Stanford University in the 1990s.

It was titled Backrub.

The project was renamed for understandable reasons. The perceived ick level when combined with Google's subsequent intrusive business model would likely have made profit pretty difficult.

The founders' initial mission was, admirably,

to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

After more than quarter of a century since it's inception, Google has become a massive corporation that has diverged significantly from its founding principles.

Years chasing growth and profit at the inevitable expense of ethics has secured both founders' place in the world's top 20 richest people.

Intrenched & verbified

‘Google’ is now a verb in common use.

as it is difficult for brands to become verbs, the few that do create immense brand equity, and hence, a substantial barrier to entry.

Google fulfils the vast majority of worldwide searches. It is hard for competitors to break this stranglehold and therefore hard to minimise Google's continued hoovering of private data.

Inevitable scope creep

The company's pursuit of profit has led to plenty of steps over the creepy line.

There is what I call the creepy line. The Google policy on a lot of things is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it. - Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO.

This leads to predictable lapses,

What can you do?

You can minimise your contribution to Google's data grinder,

It's possible to do this gradually. Start by trying alternatives.

If you really can't leave Google, consider a fresh account for a slight privacy benefit.

Accountability

Many of us weren't fully aware what we are signing up for when using Google services.

Google and Facebook are watching our every move online. It's time to make them stop. - Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo.

Few would consent to the invasion of privacy that is now part of the Google package.

Children cannot consent to personal data theft. And yet Chromebooks dominate in schools…

Google will continue to collect personal data for profit, rejecting the notion of any accountability for doing so.

This includes doing whatever it takes to ensure a healthy pool of future users.

OK Google

Google's relentless tracking makes it seem like your phone is listening to you.

Talking to my mum and she asks what I'm having for tea. Then I turn my Google on, up it pops, rice and chili con carne. I really don't like it. - Good Listener, Don Broco

Tracking. The global data shit-storm.

Input data is used to predict your future.

Google makes predictions based on observed behavioural patterns. To do this it needs to know as much about your recent life as possible.

These insights are then used, correct or not, to allow advertisers to target you.

Web acquisition methods

Google has tempted web developers into installing trackers on approximately 85% of the top 50K sites.

Each tracker requires the web developer to copy-and-paste a small Google code snippet into their website code.

It's super easy to sell your website viewer's privacy for advertising money.

Your web browser runs the code when you load the page, thereby connecting Google's tracking to your browsing.

Google never forgets

The most recent data is the most valuable, but everything is stored.

Google is never satisfied with yesterday's data. It is important to keep tracking you.

There are very few limits on the kind of data Google tracks.

Nothing personal, just business?

Data source expansion

Google buys companies that can expand the type of data it is possible to collect.

  • Android ($50 million). The phone operating system. The centre of many people's digital existance. What a bargain!
  • YouTube ($1.65 billion). Everything you're interested in watching.
  • Nest ($3.2 billion). Smoke alarms, thermostats, video cameras in your home.
  • Fitbit ($2.1 billion). Heartrate, sleep, steps etc.

Even payment providers can be involved.

We trust Gmail with our lives

Email is a private form of communication. It requires a password to access.

Very few would happily share the keys to an email account with a stranger or even someone you knew. Why would you share it with Google?

Email is often the source of authenticity for everyday services.

  • Bank details, communication.
  • Payment providers e.g. PayPal receipts.
  • Online shopping. Receipts, sale notifications.
  • Membership e.g. cinema, gym.

Google tracks your real-world location

Google employs every possible means to accurately track your location over time.

  • Phone signal
  • Wi-Fi
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth

Your visits to sensitive locations are not exempt. Google tracks you even when you tell it not to.

Google maps

Google maps is a very useful and impressive service. However, you are sharing your location with Google at every stage.

Need to visit the Hospital? Alchoholics Anonymous? It's easy to see how sensitive this data can be.

Time tracking

Consider how private your time spent is. Google has the potential to monitor:

  • Waking hours. How much sleep.
  • Time spent exercising.
  • Hours behind the wheel of a car.
  • Time on Google services e.g. YouTube.

Very few people would accept being tracked 24 hours a day.

Privacy matters

Being watched changes behaviour

As soon as you feel like you are being watched, you cannot behave naturally. Being watched does not allow you to freely experiment as a human being.

Those who do not move, do not notice their chains - Rosa Luxemburg.

Breaking it down

Nothing to hide?

Consider how you would feel if forced to give your unlocked phone to someone you did not trust.

What you are feeling now is the appropriate level of distrust you should have for giving data to technology companies.

Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say - Edward Snowden

Privacy should be the default.

How to permanently delete a Google account

Getting started

Google is intertwined with our digital lives. It can take a little effort to detangle.

There is no rush. Stopping contribution of recent data is a good start.

When you are ready, proceed to the account deletion page.

The account deletion process

The deletion process will remind you of all the reasons not to delete your account.

  • How much data is deleted.
  • Photos you will lose.
  • How many gmail conversations.

It is worth considering your options, but don't let this page put you off. It is designed to make you nervous about deletion.

Remember to download your data, then you won't lose anything.

What happens to your data?

In theory, deleting your account removes all Google data related to you. In reality it's more complicated.

Allegations of complicity with National Security Agency surveillance and multiple data-privacy breaches suggest that your data may never truly be deleted.

Data shared with apps and advertisers is with them forever.

As a Google user you are leaving behind a valuable personal data footprint.

What to do next?

Take a deep breath

Google doesn't have an essential product from a user point of view.

They should probably be a little worried about that, but it's good news for everyone else!

Here are some recommendations.

Search engine

Google is a great search engine, but competitors have caught up. It is important to have a default search engine that respects your privacy.

DuckDuckGo comes recommended. The privacy focused search engine offers excellent search without the tracking.

Internet browsing

Chrome is bad. It makes little sense to use a browser from a company that tracks users.

It is not in Google's best interest to enhance browser privacy at the expense of it's primary ad business.

This conflict of interest makes any claim to build a more private web likely to be debunked soon thereafter.

Google can track non-users via Google Analytics and other similar means. You can minimise this and protect your privacy.

Switch to a privacy focused browser like DuckDuckGo.

You'll enjoy faster loading, smooth websites. The trackers really slow them down.

Here's how the browsers stack up privacy-wise.

Email

Switch from Gmail to a reputable email provider. You don't have to immediately delete your Gmail account.

Once settled, clean out your old Gmail account.

Messaging

Try a secure messaging app. Signal is a great choice.

Avoid Google products

There are plenty of reputable alternatives,

Enjoy your freedom

Google was founded in the 1990s. Their leadership has had well over a decade to learn from their privacy blunders. They have consistently failed to reign in their greed.

And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. — Sir John Dalberg-Acton.

App and/or web developer by trade?

You can make a difference

Every little bit helps. Plus you get a faster website.

  • Remove Google trackers/widgets e.g. Analytics, Adsense.
  • Avoid Google for sign in.
  • Reduce Google technology dependency, especially 3rd party scripts.
  • Avoid using AMP. You have the skills to achieve the same lightweight result.

Google Ads and Analytics

Stop using Google Analytics on your website.

The ethical approach would make it harder for Google to track users around the web.

With the rise of ad-blockers, you're likely to see reduced income with Google ads.

Old-school methods like a notice to advertise can result in increased income whilst preserving user privacy.

Google in the news